A Singapore arbitration tribunal has backed a shipowner in a row over alleged delays to the loading of a bulker cargo.
A heavily redacted account of the ruling obtained by financing company C Demurrage reveals only that under an amended GENCON 94 form a vessel was chartered to carry bulk iron briquettes which were loaded at a river port in the Malacca Strait.
Disputes arose over what time counted for first opening the hatches; whether the owner delayed cargo operations by not providing a written undertaking to the port authority; liability for load-port pilotage and other amounts; and whether the charterer should indemnify the owner for resulting losses.
The cargo transfer agent simply recorded an aggregate of 50 minutes for opening of hatches and other activities.
There was no evidence of how long it took just to open the hatches. The owner said five minutes, while the charterer claimed an hour.
The tribunal refused to entertain theory or estimate, and ruled that it was for the charterer to prove the claimed deduction.
As it could not, the whole disputed period counted as laytime.
The charterer also sought a 25.5 hour reduction for a delay in providing port authorities with a standard undertaking as to damages.
Notice period unreasonable
This claim failed because the owner did not have to provide the undertaking and the charterer had not given the owner a reasonable notice period.
Also, the vessel could not have berthed at the time as the designated slot was occupied.
The charterer also claimed the master had ordered additional pilotage which the owner should pay for.
The tribunal rejected that and ruled that the charterer had breached both its obligation and its undertaking to pay its share of the fees.
Because of the charterer's failure to settle the account, the port agent had threatened to bar the owner from the relevant port and perhaps others nearby.
The shipowner sought an indemnity from the charterer for any resulting losses and the tribunal agreed.
C Demurrage said: "As well as underlining the importance of accurate contemporary records, even for something as routine as opening hatches, this award shows that demurrage issues can arise when charterers seek to divert formal operational responsibilities to owners, and (where possible) wording agreed in advance should address this.
"Also, care must be taken with charterers’ liabilities, to owners or otherwise. A proposed undertaking in return for release of the Bs/L or other waiver should always be examined and considered carefully, as later default could mean difficulty with third parties."
