A Russian shipowner has won a UK legal victory in a charter dispute case arising from the lapsed class certification of an anchor-handler.
Silverburn Shipping is entitled to take re-delivery of the 50-bp Arctic (built 2012) from Nikolay Sochin's Ark Shipping, high court judge Sue Carr ruled.
Silverburn had appealed a 2018 tribunal award against it on the basis that it reached conclusions on two points of law that were "at least open to serious doubt".
The tribunal had dismissed a bid by Silverburn for an injunction requiring re-delivery following what it said was a lawful termination of the 15-year bareboat deal from 2012.
The owner claimed Ark had allowed the expiration of class certificates in November 2017.
The charterparty provided that the charterer "shall keep the vessel with unexpired classification."
Carr considered two questions of law: whether the obligation to keep the ship in class was "absolute" and whether it was a condition of the contract.
She said: "Although it was common ground that the vessel's class certificates were allowed to expire, the tribunal held that there had been no breach of what it concluded was a qualified obligation only to take steps to reinstate expired class certificates within a reasonable time.
"It held that that this obligation was not a condition but rather an intermediate obligation."
Charter torn up
The ship had arrived at the Caspian port of Astrakhan for repairs and maintenance on 31 October 2017.
The class certificates expired on 6 November, before it entered drydock.
The charter was terminated on 7 December.
Silverburn wrote to Ark: "Without prejudice to the previous termination of the charter on 15 March 2017 it has recently come to our attention that the vessel is currently in a very poor condition and, of very serious concern that the vessel's class certificates have expired."
Ark denied allegations of disrepair and stated that the owner was fully aware that the vessel was undergoing scheduled maintenance works.
It maintained the ship was not out of class and that upon completion of the works, Bureau Veritas surveyors would undertake a final inspection and a new set of documents would be issued.
The tribunal has since published two further awards entitling Silverburn to terminate the deal and take delivery of the ship.
But Carr said: "The outcome of this appeal nevertheless remains material, since it will affect the calculation of owners' claims for damages and mesne [intermediate] profits. Further, charterers have sought leave to appeal the award of November 2018."
She ruled the tribunal had erred in law in finding that the classification obligation was only an obligation to reinstate expired class certificates within a reasonable time.
And the obligation was a condition of the charter, she said.
"Charterers should be ordered to pay the costs of and occasioned by the award," Carr added.
