Commercial court Archives

September 21, 2020

Terms of sale: are they final and binding or just binding?

What happens when two clauses for the sale of fuel oil appear to contradict each other? Does one prevail over the other or do they work in tandem together, with one qualifying the other? How should the parties to a contract approach such a contradiction? These... Read more >

July 9, 2019

Personal Guarantors Watch Out!

The personal guarantee is a mainstay of traditional ship finance. However, it is rare for banks to enforce such guarantees. In a recent case (1) the Commercial Court handed down a judgment upholding a bank’s claim against a personal guarantor. The case concerned... Read more >

June 25, 2019

Watch your contractual time limits

In a recent judgment(1) the Commercial Court has reaffirmed the importance of contractually agreed time limits in Charter Parties. The appeal against an LMAA Tribunal award centred on the interpretation of the Hire and Payments clause, 12(e), of BIMCO’s new Supplytime... Read more >

April 27, 2017

Commercial Court decides that an option agreement with delivery dates to be specified is void for uncertainty

This case could be of interest in a climate where new orders are increasing with options often being requested for more ships to follow. In April 2013 Teekay Tankers (“Teekay”) entered into an option agreement with STX Offshore & Shipbuilding (“STX”) for the... Read more >

January 9, 2017

The Coral Seas: Commercial Court upholds LMAA arbitration finding that fouling constituted fair wear and tear under a continuing performance warranty.

Under English law, Owners are not entitled to an indemnity for complying with charterers’ orders where the vessel’s performance is affected by fouling arising from a long stay in a warm water port. The Commercial Court has upheld an LMAA arbitration finding that this... Read more >