| Archives: July 2012

Award 1197 – C/P Synacomex – Unseaworthiness for mismanagement and breach to regulations – Lack of insurance – Poor maintenance – Lack of documentation on board – Arrest and sale of ship. The Owner’s duty of due diligence to make the ship seaworthy is not limited to nautical and technical fields but also includes the administrative and statutory aspects of the ship. The breaches ascertained by port authorities where the ship was arrested left no doubt that the ship was unseaworthy before the commencement of the voyage. The Owner is solely liable for the various causes which led to successive delays and, subsequently, to the termination of the voyage and the forced sale of the ship. The Charterer who had to pay expenses that Owners could not meet must be reimbursed in full.

Award 1195 – Voyage charter – Discharging in Ivory Coast – European regulation forbidding any financial relationship with Ivory Coast authorities – Impossibility to perform – Ship Owner compensation (yes) – Unrecovered expenses (yes ) – Los to pportunity of profit (no). The voyage charter to Abidjan was contrary to European regulation, forbidding at the time any payment through the local authorities, rendering its execution impossible which vindicates the charterer’s decision to cancel the charter. However, as the charterer’s decision was not free from any mistake, the charterer must indemnify the ship owner for his unrecoverable expenses but not for his lost opportunity of profit.