| Archives: October 2010

Award N° 1177 – Yacht contract of construction – Invalid for fraud (No) – Expert appointment (No). The discovery by the vessel’s owner, several months after the delivery of a ship, of which the construction of the hull had begun six years before the signature of the contract does not constitute a fraud as far as, on one hand, the deliberatenature of this lack of information is not clearly proven and, on the other hand, it is not at all established that the noticed malfunctions are age related or linked with the early commencement of construction. Appointment of an expert is not imperative because in case of technical dispute, arbitration by a classification company is specifically provided for by the contract. The Tribunal dismissed claims of the parties and arbitration fees and expenses are shared on a 50/50 basis.

Award N° 1178 – Yacht contract of construction – Guaranteed works entrusted to a third party contractor – Financial dispute between shipyard and repair yard. Consequences of the partial deterioration of the cocoon of protection (hull) for the painting works following bad weather must also be supported by the repair yard which benefited from the contractual clause (of replacement) of the shipyard insurers who did not call on the specialized subcontractor who had set up the cocoon (hull). And there is no reason to grant the penalties of delays requested by the shipyard which were not expressly scheduled in amendments signed in the course of construction. The repair yard did not have to support the consequences of the modifications to the initial contract.