Award 1241 – Steel products under B/L. Protracted waiting time on roads at discharging without remittance of NOR – Cargo damages – Letter of undertaking by shipowner’s P&I Club giving competence to CAMP – Hague-Visby rules – Receivers right to act – Carrier partial liability.
A part cargo of steel products was loaded in China for an African port under clean bills of lading. The vessel arrived on roadstead of discharging port where it stayed for 2.5 months without remitting a NOR then left it for 46 days before coming back. Cargo damages mainly due to rust were ascertained after discharging. Cargo interests claimed to Shipowners a compensation for the damages and sums related to profit loss and disruption of business relationship. Defendant opposed that the proceedings resumption was invalid, the inadmissibility of the claim and on the merits the fact the rust was existing before loading.
Firstly the arbitrators accepted the validity of the proceedings resumption and rejected the claim inadmissibility asserted by the defendant. On the merits, they considered that if the oxidation process indeed started before the loading, it was aggravated by the long stay in the vessel’s hold. The carrier strict liability being involved under the Hague Visby rules, they decided the Shipowner had to pay to the Receivers a percentage of damages corresponding to the delay in delivering the cargo but rejected the other claims as it was not proved they were related to the delay.
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