Summary The Court of Appeal’s decision in Ark Shipping Co LLC v. Silverburn Shipping (IOM) Ltd, “ARCTIC”  [2019] EWCA Civ 1161, provides a clear statement of the principles of construction, and how they are applied in ascertaining whether a term is a condition or an innominate term. This decision provides guidance on the proper interpretation of parties’ continuing obligations during the life of a bareboat charterparty in relation to matters such as classification status, and…

The outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is getting worse. The World Health Organisation reports that 1,396 have already lost their lives in this latest outbreak with a total 2,071 reported cases as of 10 June 2019. Perhaps more worryingly, Ugandan authorities confirmed the deaths of two people yesterday, only two days after the first incidence on 11 June 2019. During previous outbreaks there were numerous instances of vessels considered to be…

In Dera Commercial Estate v. Derya Inc [2018] EWHC 1673, the Commercial Court considered several issues of interest arising out of Article III Rule 6 of the Hague Rules ( “Article III Rule 6”), in the context of a bill of lading for the carriage of maize destined for Jordan which, on arrival, was not allowed into the country by the Jordanian customs authorities, due to damage and “apparent fungus”.  Although, after various efforts to…

In Robert Bou-Simon v. BGC Brokers LP [2018] EWCA Civ 1525, the Court of Appeal considered deleted provisions and implied terms. Although in the context of an employment contract, the decision obviously has wider application. The Court held that the judge at first instance had not properly applied the legal test for the implication of contractual terms, as established in Marks & Spencer Plc v. BNP Paribas Securities Services Trust Co (Jersey) Ltd [2016] AC 742.…

For an update on recent developments in the Shipping Industry, click here to listen to our recent webinar. During the webinar, we cover some of the key shipping cases in the last 6 months. We also take a look at electronic bills of lading including how they work, common benefits and pitfalls, as well as considering how they could operate in the future. Recent developments in case law Interclub agreement US COGSA – “management of…

In Rock Advertising Limited v MWB Business Exchange Centres Limited  [2018] UKSC 24, the Supreme Court has handed down a decision which has provided further certainty in the area of no oral variation /modification clauses, albeit in doing so it has overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal referred to previously in our blog of 7 July 2016. The wording considered was “All variations to this Licence must be agreed, set out in writing…

Navigators Insurance Company Limited v Atlasnavios-Navegacao LDA [2018] UKSC 26 In a decision handed down yesterday (22 May) the Supreme  Court  held that where a vessel was used by unknown third parties in an unsuccessful attempt to export cocaine from Venezuela (by strapping a parcel of drugs to the vessel underwater), leading to a detention of the vessel by Venezuelan authorities for more than 6 months, the Owners were not entitled to recover the vessel’s…