“The Court declined to grant owners an anti-suit injunction restraining proceedings against them by buyers of a cargo of cycle oil carried on board their vessel. An implied contract (said by owners (i) to arise out of buyers' conduct and (ii) to include a B/L exclusive English law/jurisdiction clause -ECJ) even if established, was insufficient to satisfy Art.25 of the Recast Brussels Regulation: whilst the B/L was in writing, the required consent to it and its ECJ was not.”

“The Court dismissed the appeal against an arbitration award which ordered the Buyer, K, to pay the balance of the price under a contract of sale of a cargo of sunflower meal. K was victim of fraud as the payment was directed to an account other than that of the Seller, A, by a forged email. The Court upheld the Tribunal's ruling that K bore the risk of false instructions and its contractual obligation was to ensure that payment in cash was received by A in its nominated bank account. The Court however remitted the award back to the Tribunal on the grounds of serious irregularity in failing to hear K's argument as to validity of the true instructions.”

“The Commercial Court decides that the jurisdiction clause of a charterparty applies also to an agreement for settlement of disputes under the charter, even though the settlement agreement contained no jurisdiction clause.”

“A bill of lading provided that cargo was "loaded on deck at shipper's and/or consignee's and/or receiver's risk; the carrier and/or Owners and/or Vessel being not responsible for loss or damage howsoever arising...". The Court considered that it was difficult to conceive of wider words of exemption and held that the provision was effective to exclude Owners' liability for loss or damage to deck cargo even if caused by unseaworthiness or their negligence.”

“A Time charter clause provided that Charterers were allowed to transit the Gulf of Aden, against reimbursing EWR/K&R premia and crew bonus; also, that if the vessel 'threatened/kidnapped by reason of piracy payment of hire shall be suspended'. The High Court, confirming an arbitration award on this point, held that this clause rendered the Vessel off hire throughout the period starting with her seizure in the Arabian Sea on her laden passage (after transit of Suez and the Gulf of Aden), and continuing following her release (7 months later) during emergency repairs and supplies and until regaining a position equidistant between seizure and destination. The Court held that in a charter of this nature, the geographical extent of the Gulf of Aden is not strictly defined and the natural construction of the risk allocation provision is that loss of time as a consequence of the transit should be borne by Owners.”

“The High Court held that the Classification clause (9) in a BARECON '89 Charterparty is both an absolute obligation and a condition, such that if charterers allow Class to lapse, owners are entitled to terminate. In so doing it overturned an arbitration award concluding that clause (9) was part of the continuing maintenance obligation and imposed only an intermediate obligation of reasonable diligence, i.e. to reinstate the vessel's Class within a reasonable time.”