The English High Court issued a Judgment on 15/5/2015 maintaining an anti-suit injunction to restrain the Xiamen Maritime Court’s legal proceedings in breach of a London arbitration agreement. [Case No: 2015-515], [2015 WL 2238741], [2015 EWHC 1974 COMM]
In November 2013 a cargo of 55,000 metric tonnes of nickel ore (“the Cargo”) was loaded on board the vessel M/V Anna Bo (“the Vessel”) in Indonesia for carriage to China. The cargo was shipped on board the vessel pursuant to a CONGEN bill of lading dated 28/11/2013. It was consigned “To The Order” and named Tsingshan Holding as the notifying party. The bill of lading stated on its face “Freight payable as per CHARTER-PARTY dated 11/04/13” and included the following term on its reverse:
“All terms and conditions, liberties and exceptions of the Charter Party, dated as overleaf, including the Law and Arbitration Clause, are herewith incorporated.”
The charterparty referred to on the face of the Bill of Lading was a time charterparty concluded on an amended NYPE 1946 form dated 11/4/2013 between the shipowner and AMC Shipping as charterers (“the Charterparty”). The Charterparty included, in relevant part, the following clauses:
“17. Bimco Arbitration Clause to apply — as per Clause 93 — with English Law and arbitration in London …. Any dispute arising out of this Charter Party and from the issuing of Bill of Lading shall be referred to arbitration in London and English law to apply. … 19. … Furthermore all Bills of Lading issued under this Charter Party are to incorporate the Arbitration Clause and English Law. CLAUSE 93 ARBITRATION CLAUSE ANY DISPUTE ARISING UNDER THE CHARTER TO BE REFERRED TO ARBITRATION IN LONDON IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LMAA RULES IN FORCE AT THE TIME OF COMMENCEMENT OF ARBITRATION …. ENGLISH LAW TO APPLY”
On 3/12/2013, a few days after departure from the loadport, the Vessel developed a starboard list. It was subsequently discovered that the Cargo had liquefied and the Vessel proceeded to a safe anchorage in the Philippines. Salvage services were engaged and the shipowner declared general average by reason of the incident. In due course Tsingshan Holding took delivery of the Cargo and sold it to a third party. Transhipment costs of approximately $1.2 million were allegedly incurred in respect of the onward sale of the Cargo.
On 24/6/2014 the shipowner commenced arbitration proceedings against charterers seeking damages for breach of the Charterparty and/or indemnity in respect of the charterers’ loading of dangerous cargo.
On 30/10/2014 the shipowner also commenced arbitration proceedings against Tsingshan Holding under the bill of lading, notifying Tsingshan Holding it had appointed Mr Brown as arbitrator in respect of all claims arising out of the carriage of the Cargo under the bill of lading and invited Tsingshan Holding to appoint its own arbitrator. On 19/11/2014 Tsingshan Holding informed the shipowner that it had appointed Mr Aston as its arbitrator in respect of disputes between the shipowner and Tsingshan Holding under the bill of lading, reserving Tsingshan Holding’s position as to the jurisdiction of the tribunal so appointed. A third arbitrator had yet to be appointed. No further steps were taken in the London arbitration.
On about 3/3/2015 the Vessel’s managing agents received, via ordinary post at their address in Greece, official Chinese court papers and documents from the Xiamen Maritime Court in China. These papers, when translated, showed Tsingshan Holding had commenced court proceedings against the shipowner in that court seeking damages or an indemnity in respect of the transhipment costs together with any General Average contribution and Tsingshan Holding’s portion of the salvage fees. On 17/3/2015 the managing agents wrote to the Chinese court returning the papers served upon them and informing the court they were not authorised to accept service of any official court papers on behalf of the shipowner.
The shipowner issued this arbitration claim form on 21/4/2015 seeking to restrain Tsingshan Holding from litigating matters under the bill of lading otherwise than in London arbitration. The shipowner also sought an interim anti-suit injunction, which was granted by Blair J on 24/4/2015 restraining Tsingshan Holding from pursuing proceedings against the shipowner before the Xiamen Maritime Court in China or otherwise than by arbitration in London. Blair J also granted permission to serve Tsingshan Holding out of the jurisdiction and by way of alternative service.
In the legal proceedings in question, Tsingshan Holding opposed the continuation of the injunction on three grounds. The first raised arguments concerning the incorporation of the Charterparty and the arbitration clause contained therein. The second challenged the jurisdiction of the court to grant an anti-suit injunction in the case in question, the contention being that the conditions set out in s44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 had to be satisfied even if an injunction was in fact granted under section 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981, it being asserted that the conditions of section 44 were not met in the case in question. And thirdly, it was contended that there were strong reasons not to grant the order as a matter of discretion even if the arbitration clause was to be treated as incorporated and the court did otherwise have jurisdiction.
Turning first to the question of incorporation, Tsingshan Holding confined its submission to a contention that there was doubt as to the Charterparty’s incorporation so that the court should not regard the position as sufficiently certain as to justify the grant of an anti-suit injunction. Tsingshan Holding accepted that the bill of lading referred to the incorporation of a charterparty dated 11/4/2013 and further purported to incorporate all terms and conditions of the charterparty “dated as overleaf”, including the law and arbitration clause therein. It submitted, however, that it was arguable that, on a true construction, the reference to a charterparty dated 11/4/2013 should not be read as referring to the time charterparty of that date but to a voyage charterparty of 28/11/2013, which was not referred to expressly anywhere in the bill of lading. In support of that contention Tsingshan Holding referred to the fact that the bill of lading referred to freight being payable as per the specified charterparty, whereas a time charterparty such as the 11/4/2013 Charterparty provided for payment of hire rather than freight. It referred to The SLS Everest [1981] 2 Lloyds Rep 389 , in which the Court of Appeal held that, where reference to a charterparty in a bill of lading was left blank, it was readily to be inferred that a voyage charterparty was intended to be incorporated. Lord Denning MR referred at page 392 to a note in Scrutton on Charterparties , which says:
“The position is less clear where it is a time charter, the terms of which are in many respects inapposite for the carriage of goods on a voyage. The court might well hesitate to hold the consignee liable for, say, unpaid time hire charter.”
It is clear, however, that there is no bar to the court finding that a time charterparty is incorporated by reference in a bill of lading, for example in The “Duden” [2009] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 145. Mr Jonathan Hirst QC, sitting as a judge of the High Court, stated as follows:
“The bills of lading expressly provided that all terms and conditions, liberties and exceptions of the Charter Party dated 28 September 2005 ‘including the Law and Arbitration Clause’ were incorporated. The charterparty was a time charter rather than a voyage charter, so hire rather than freight would be payable. There can be no doubt that the parties intended the terms of the time charterparty (to which the sellers Capezzana were party) to be incorporated in the bill of lading contracts. The express reference to the arbitration clause would be sufficient to incorporate a charter party arbitration clause, even if it required a degree of manipulation … ”
Tsingshan Holding did not therefore suggest that it was impossible to incorporate a time charterparty such as the 11/4/2013 charterparty, but suggested that there was a sufficient degree of uncertainty that the court might be persuaded to find that, on a true construction, the parties intended to refer to a voyage charter party instead.
In the Judge’s judgement the reference in the case in question to the charterparty of 11/4/2013 was entirely clear and unambiguous. As it is accepted that there is nothing impermissible or necessarily irreconcilable about the incorporation of the terms of a time charter, the Judge saw no reason to doubt that the time charterparty of 11/4/2013 was incorporated as per the express terms of the bill of lading and the Judge did not accept Tsingshan Holding’s suggestion that this should be approached as a matter which was in doubt. The shipowner was entitled to rely upon the express terms of the bill of lading as incorporating the Charterparty there referred to. The Judge was therefore satisfied that the London arbitration clause in the 11/4/2013 Charterparty was effectively incorporated, as indeed was Blair J.
On the second ground, the question of jurisdiction, in v AES Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropower Plant LLP v. Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropower Plant JSC [2013] 1 WLR 1889 SC , the question arose as to whether the court had jurisdiction under section 37 to grant an anti-suit injunction where no actual or intended arbitration was in view. Lord Mance JSC, with whom all other members of the court agreed, held in paragraph 43 that:
“…the court’s powers listed in section 44 are exercisable only ‘for the purposes of and in relation to arbitral proceedings’ and depend upon such proceedings being on foot or ‘proposed’: see section 44(3). That alone is sufficient in my opinion to lead to a conclusion that section 44 has no bearing on the question whether section 37 empowers the court to restrain the commencement or continuation of foreign proceedings in the light of an arbitration agreement under which neither party wishes to commence an arbitration.”
Lord Mance went on to make further observations as to the inter-relationship between s37 of the Senior Courts Act and s44 of the Arbitration Act. At paragraph 48 he stated that:
“The reference in section 44(2)(e) to the granting of an interim injunction was not intended either to exclude the Court’s general power to act under section 37 of the 1981 Act in circumstances outside the scope of section 44 of the 1996 Act or to duplicate part of the general power contained in section 37 of the 1981 Act. Where an injunction is sought to restrain foreign proceedings in breach of an arbitration agreement — whether on an interim or a final basis and whether at a time when arbitral proceedings are or are not on foot or proposed — the source of the power to grant such an injunction is to be found not in section 44 of the 1996 Act, but in section 37 of the 1981 Act. Such an injunction is not ‘for the purposes of and in relation to arbitral proceedings’, but for the purposes of and in relation to the negative promise contained in the arbitration agreement not to bring foreign proceedings, which applies and is enforceable regardless of whether or not arbitral proceedings are on foot or proposed.”
That reasoning, that the power to grant an anti-suit injunction to enforce a negative promise comes from s37 as opposed to s44 , was a complete answer to Tsingshan Holding’s contention. Lord Mance’s analysis is the most powerful and persuasive reasoning. Further, the conclusion that an anti-suit injunction is not for the purposes of and in relation to arbitral proceedings but for the purposes of enforcing the negative promise contained in the arbitration agreement not to bring foreign proceedings was, in the Judge’s judgement, irresistible. The Judge was satisfied that he had jurisdiction under s37 to continue the anti-suit injunction.
The primary question which arose, given that arbitrators had been appointed, was whether the case was one of urgency. Tsingshan Holding argued that, given that a period of some two months passed between notification that Chinese proceedings had been commenced and the shipowner making its application for an injunction, it could not be said to be a situation of urgency. Whilst there was some force in that submission, it was equally the case that the urgency arose from what might happen in the near future, namely the continuation of the pursuit of the Chinese proceedings rather than what had happened so far. The Judge agreed with the reasoning of Blair J that the situation was urgent because the Chinese proceedings might be pursued if an injunction was not urgently granted.
The Judge was satisfied that the court had jurisdiction to grant an anti-suit injunction in the case in question.
The final ground advanced by Tsingshan Holding was the alleged existence of strong reasons why an injunction should not be granted. The primary factor upon which Tsingshan Holding relied in this regard was the fact that Tsingshan Holding had an outstanding claim in China against insurers under an insurance contract which was subject to Chinese law and arbitration in the China Maritime Arbitration Commission. Tsingshan Holding contended that, if it was restrained from continuing proceedings against the shipowner in China, that would seriously prejudice its insurance claim in China, in particular because the insurance policy, by Clause 16.1, required Tsingshan Holding to take such measures as might be reasonable for the purpose of averting or minimising such loss.
The question arose as to why any difficulties which Tsingshan Holding might have with its separate relationship with an insurer in China should be regarded as a strong reason not to enforce the shipowner’s contractual rights not to be sued other than by way of London arbitration. Insurance contracts and proceedings thereunder were typically regarded as res inter alios acta : in other words, matters which were not relevant to the relationship between the shipowner and Tsingshan Holding. Even if pursuing arbitration in London did deprive Tsingshan Holding of certain rights against the shipowner, it was clear that that would not be a reason not to grant an anti-suit injunction (see in that regard Raphael on the Anti-suit Injunction, paragraph 820, and the decision in Beazley v Horizon Offshore Contractors Inc [2005] 1 Lloyd’s Rep IR 231 at 237–238). The position, in the Judge’s judgement, was even stronger where the right or interest which Tsingshan Holding might lose was against a third party and was not something for which the shipowner was responsible or otherwise interested. The Judge did not regard Tsingshan Holding‘s insurance claim in China as a strong reason not to grant an anti-suit injunction.
The Judge dealt briefly with the other factors which Tsingshan Holding said might amount to strong reasons for not granting an anti-suit injunction. The first was Tsingshan Holding asserted that damages would be a sufficient remedy for the shipowner, as the only concern the shipowner had raised, Tsingshan Holding suggested, was that the shipowner would be exposed to the costs of the Chinese proceedings. In the Judge’s judgement, that was an unfair reading of the shipowner’s first statement where, although the shopowner did refer to the fact that the shipowner would be forced to incur costs in China, the shipowner also referred to the fact it would lose its right to be sued through arbitration under the bill of lading if proceedings were allowed to continue in China. It is well recognised that a claimant is entitled to enforce their contractual rights to be sued in the agreed forum and that damages are not an adequate remedy for the loss of that right (see, in particular, The “Alexandros T” [2008] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 230 per Cooke J at 233, paragraph 12).
The next suggestion was that the application was not made promptly. In the Judge’s judgement, there was no force in this submission. The application was made before any steps were taken in the Chinese proceedings by the shipowner and, even if was not made urgently, in the sense of within a matter of days, it was in the Judge’s judgement made sufficiently promptly and there was no reason to refuse the injunction on the grounds of delay.
Finally, Tsingshan Holding made a point that it was Tsingshan Holding who was the innocent party in this dispute, being the party who suffered the loss following the problems with the Cargo. The Judge failed to understand the import of this submission. Issues of which party was in the right or the wrong were obviously matters for determination in the arbitration, and the fact that Tsingshan Holding claimed to be the aggrieved party was by no means unusual and was certainly not a strong reason for refusing an anti-suit injunction.
For all these reasons the Judge was satisfied it was appropriate to continue this anti-suit injunction. The Judge agreed with the reasons which were given by Blair J on the without notice hearing.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or you would like to have a copy of the Judgment.
23/F, Excel Centre, 483A Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong 香港九龍荔枝角青山道483A卓匯中心23樓 Tel: 2299 5566 Fax: 2866 7096 E-mail: gm@smicsl.com Website: www.sun-mobility.com A MEMBER OF THE HONG KONG CONFEDERATION OF INSURANCE BROKERS 香港保險顧問聯會會員
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Remember our Chans advice/165 (reporting the Hong Kong Court of Appeal holding the Hong Kong forwarder liable to pay US$852,339 plus costs and interest to the Indian bank in the air cargo misdelivery case)? On 19/5/2016, the Court of Final Appeal dismissed the Hong Kong forwarder’s application for seeking leave to appeal. [FAMV Nos 45 & 52 of 2015]
The English High Court issued a Judgment on 31/7/2015 dismissing a cargo owner’s conversion claim US $565,891.58 against a shipowner in an uncollected cargo case. [(2015) EWHC 2288 (Comm), (2015) 2 C.L.C. 415]
We have received some enquiries from our forwarder clients about the FCR e.g. what is FCR? How many types of FCR are there? What are the uses of FCR? We would like to discuss these in this issue.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 3/2/2017 holding Natural Dairy liable to pay HK$4,360,948.38 to Schenker being the outstanding freight charges. In the Judgment, the Judge also explained the principles regarding the meaning of notice of the forwarder’s standard trading conditions. [HCA 1755/2011].
Following the Hong Kong Court of Appeal’s Judgment dated 11/3/2015 discharging the Mareva Injunctions and the receivership orders (mentioned in our monthly newsletter of Chans advice/171 two months ago), the Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 12/5/2015 to determine the question of who should pay the remuneration to the receivers. [HCMP 1449/2014]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Judgment on 1/11/2012 ordering the USA/Canada owners of a cargo (a yacht) to put up HK$250,000 as further security for costs in their legal action against the ship owners. [HCAJ 177/2009]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a decision on 11/9/2013 concerning a shipowner’s application to extend the validity of a writ of summons against a Taiwan hull and machinery insurer. [HCAJ 95/2012]
This continues the Q&A in our off-line real seminar on Uncollected and Undelivered Cargo on 28 May 2024. Participants were keen to know more about seaway bills, how war plays in insurance? How modes of transport differ mis-delivery claims handling? What is insurers’ attitude towards transloading claims? And finally, why mis-delivery and uncollected cargo claims deserve special attention. SMIC deals with similar questions daily. Each case varies in its cause, and therefore healing recipe differs. But if you are conversant with fundamentals. They could be simple.
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Decision on 23 May 2018 allowing a shipowner to be represented by 2 different firms of solicitors (one appointed by its hull underwriters and the other appointed by its P&I Club). [HCAJ84/2017] [2018HKCFI1136]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 19 March 2018 dealing with some legal principles in relation to granting relief against unless orders in a ship collision case. [HCAJ 84/2017] [2018 HKCFI 609]
Remember Chans advice/142 and Chans advice/145 that the High Court of Hong Kong held the forwarder liable for cargo misdelivery without production of original bills of lading? The Court of Appeal of Hong Kong issued a Judgment on 31/1/2013 dismissing the forwarder’s applications for an extension of time to appeal. [HCMP 2366/2012 & HCMP 2367/2012]
The English High Court issued a Judgment on 2/4/2014 holding the Hague Visby Rules instead of the Hague Rules (as incorporated by a Paramount Clause) to apply to a shipment ex Belgium. [Case No: 2012 Folio 102, 2014 EWHC 971 Comm, 2014 WL 1219313]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 2/6/2017 dealing with the liability apportionment among 3 vessels in 2 almost simultaneous collisions that happened near Hong Kong on 14/5/2011. [HCAJ158/2012 and HCAJ49/2013 and HCAJ48/2011]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Decision on 21/9/2017 dealing with the principles in respect of the real risk of dissipation of assets in a case of Mareva Injunction involving a shipowner and a charterer. [HCMP 1010/2017]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Judgment on 22/5/2017 holding that the District Court has jurisdiction to determine bill of lading and bailment cases. [HCAJ 150/2014]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 22/11/2013 concerning an unless order in relation to a freight forwarder’s claims for outstanding freight charges of HK$4,427,336. [HCA 1755/2011]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 13 August 2021 holding a forwarder liable to pay nominal damages of HKD1,000 to a shipper in a cargo misdelivery claim case of USD1,299,189.87. [HCA 937/2016] [2021 HKCFI 2310]
To continue our recent series of loss prevention articles, we would like to discuss in this issue the major provisions of the PRC Maritime Code as far as the international carriage of goods by sea is concerned.
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 20 September 2019 declining to give leave of appeal to Changhong Group in relation to the High Court Decision dated 29 January 2019 (reported in our Chans advice/221). [CAMP197/2019] [2019HKCA1061]
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 9/7/2015 in relation to the High Court Judgment dated 21/7/2014 (reported in our Chans advice/167 dated 28/11/2014). [HCMP 2315/2014]
In the last issue of Chans advice, we reported the case that the Hong Kong Court of Appeal rejected the mortgagee’s appeal against the High Court’s order of granting a stay until 24 April 2019 for the sale of the Vessel Brightoil Glory. On 17 May 2019, the Court of Appeal issued another judgment refusing the shipowners’ appeal in respect of their application for a further stay of the sale of the Vessel until 22 May 2019. [CAMP81/2019] [2019 HKCA 561]
In the transport industry, the contracts of carriage (e.g. Bills of Lading, Air Waybills) usually contain an exclusive jurisdiction clause for settling disputes. However, it is not uncommon that the shippers and consignees sue the transport operators in a court other than the one specified in the exclusive jurisdiction clause. In Hong Kong, the transport operators may rely on the Foreign Judgments (Restriction on Recognition and Enforcement) Ordinance to tackle this kind of situation.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a judgment on 30/4/2015 dealing with the legal principles in respect of the order of priorities in distributing the sale proceeds of an arrested ship. [HCAJ 129/2013]
Our Chans advice/191 reported a Hong Kong High Court’s case concerning a shipping company’s restitution claim against its former deputy general manager (Mr Ma) for HK$387,655,303.70. The latest development of this case is: the Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 1/2/2018 and a Decision on 9/2/2018 holding that Mr Ma was in contempt of Court as a result of his breach of a Mareva Injunction Order and that he be committed to prison for 4 months. [HCMP1115/2017] [2018 HKCFI176] [2018 HKCFI328]
In this issue, we would like to continue with the case (CSAV v Hin-Pro) mentioned in our monthly newsletter of Chans advice/169 two months ago. The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued its Judgment on 11/3/2015 discharging the Mareva Injunctions and the receivership orders granted by DHCJ Saunders against Hin-Pro and Soar. [CACV 243/2014]
On 12/4/2017, the Hong Kong High Court dismissed an application made by a cargo owner for stay of proceedings commenced by two forwarders in relation to an uncollected cargo case. [HCA 1927/2016]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 9/5/2017 allowing a time extension for some cargo interests to claim against the Tonnage Limitation Fund constituted by the owner of one of the two vessels involved in a collision that happened on 7/11/2013. [HCAJ 189/2013]
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 17/7/2014 holding a Hong Kong forwarder liable to pay US$852,339 plus costs and interest (as damages for conversion) to an Indian bank in an air cargo misdelivery case. [CACV 282/2012]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 25/8/2017 to determine whether the Hong Kong Court or the Yangon Court was the natural and appropriate forum in an in rem legal proceedings in relation to a cargo damage claim of USD143,852.02. [HCAJ 101/2015]
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal on 1 December 2021 allowed a charterer’s appeal against a High Court’s Decision dated 13 April 2021 (which disallowed the charterer’s charter hire claims of US$234,955 against the shipowner because the High Court was not satisfied the claims were well founded). [CACV 294/2021] [2021 HKCA 1865]
The PRC Supreme Court on 26/11/2015 issued a Judgment holding a shipping company’s container demurrage claim against a shipper time barred. [2015民提字第119號]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 20/12/2017 dealing with a dispute of US$948,802.05 (as the price of bunkers supplied to a vessel) between a vessel charterer and a bunker supplier. [HCA2265/2016]
The Hong Kong District Court issued a Judgment on 28/4/2014 dismissing a seller’s cargo misdelivery claim of US$122,302.80 against a freight forwarder and holding the seller liable to pay the outstanding freight charges of US$28,855 to the forwarder. [DCCJ 344/2010]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision As To Costs on 5 December 2024 ordering a shipowner (which lost in an anti-suit injunction court case) to pay the winning party’s (a cargo owner) costs on an indemnity basis. HCCT 66/2024 [2024 HKCFI 3511]
The Court of Appeal of Hong Kong issued a judgment on 28 March 2019 dealing with a matter concerning the sale pendente lite of an oil tanker Brightoil Glory. [CAMP49/2019][2019HKCA395]
In Chans advice/14 dated 28/2/2002, we discussed this topic 15 years ago. In its Judgment dated 16/10/2017, the District Court of New South Wales in Australia had to deal with, inter alia, a malpractice that a forwarder issued its own house B/Ls but signed off with as agent for China Ocean Shipping, Pacific International Lines, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Limited or Orient Overseas Container Line without authority. [2017 NSWDC 279]
As reported in our Chans advice/170 dated 27/2/2015, the English High Court on 14/10/2014 held CSAV’s bill of lading’s English jurisdiction clause as an exclusive jurisdiction clause. On 23/4/2015, the English Court of Appeal issued its Judgment reaching the same conclusion. [Neutral Citation No: 2015 EWCA Civ 401, Case No: A3/2014/3584]
The English Commercial Court issued a Judgment on 7/11/2012 holding a carrier liable for US$458,655.69 owing to its issuing 13 clean Bills of Lading for a consignment of steel pipes which had some pre-shipment damage. [2012 EWHC 3124 (Comm)]
Remember Chans advice/142 dated 31/10/2012 that the High Court of Hong Kong held the forwarder liable for cargo misdelivery without production of original bills of lading? The High Court of Hong Kong issued another Judgment on 4/12/2012 dealing with the interest and costs. [HCCL 20/2011 & HCCL 21/2011]
The amendment to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 Chapter VI, Regulation 2 in respect of the verified gross mass of a container carrying cargo (laden container) is for entry into force globally on 1 July 2016.
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 23/12/2013 dealing with an application for security for costs in relation to a ship sinking case. [HCAJ 213/2009]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Judgment on 26/8/2011 to determine which ship to blame in a collision case that occurred at Shanghai. [HCAJ 200/2007]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 22 Feb 2021 holding that the wreck removal claims of a ship sunk were not subject to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976. [HCAJ 98/2019] [2021 HKCFI 396]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 29/4/2013 relating to a discovery order ancillary to and in support of a Mareva injunction. [HCA 2124/2011]
The Hong Kong District Court issued a Decision on 30 April 2021 dealing with a personal injury case in relation to a container terminal. [DCPI 110/2020] [2021 HKDC 463]
In Chans advice/215, we reported the High Court of Hong Kong refused Changhong Group’s application to stay the Hong Kong action. The Court of Appeal also subsequently dismissed Changhong Group’s appeal. On 13 July 2020, the Court of Final Appeal finally dismissed Changhong Group’s application for leave to appeal. [FAMV No. 34 of 2020] [2020 HKCFA 24]
Remember our Chans advice/163 about the English High Court’s Judgment holding the Hague Visby Rules instead of the Hague Rules to apply to the cargo damage claim case in excess of US$3.6 million? The English Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 24/2/2016 upholding the High Court’s conclusion but with different reasons. [Case No: A3/2014/1285, 2016 EWCA Civ 101, 2016 WL 00692394]
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Decision on 15 March 2021 converting a domestic Mareva injunction into a worldwide Mareva injunction in a shipowner’s freight and demurrage claim against a charterer. [HCMP 1190/2020] [2021 HKCFI 680]
The English Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 13/12/2017 dealing with a cargo damage claim of EUR2,654,238 and a charter hire claim of USD1,012,740 in connection with a NYPE charterparty. [2017 EWCA Civ 2107] [2017 WL 06343564] [Case No. A3/2016/4770]
We have received a lot of cargo claims from our forwarder clients in the recent months. In this issue, we would like to discuss in general how the forwarders should handle the cargo claims.
On 5/8/2011, the District Court of Hong Kong dismissed a shipping company’s container claims against a forwarder for want of prosecution and abuse of process. [DCCJ 765/2005]
The High Court of Hong Kong issued a Decision on 15 November 2018 concerning the tragic collision between the cargo vessel CF Crystal and the tanker Sanchi, which happened on 6 January 2018 and led to the death of all the officers and crew of the Sanchi. [HCAJ3/2018] [2018HKCFI2474]
In Chans advice/191 and Chans advice/206, we reported a case relating to a shipping company’s claim against its former deputy general manager (Mr Ma) over the alleged theft of the company’s money. The Hong Kong High Court on 16 December 2020 sentenced Mr Ma to 15 years’ imprisonment. [HCCC 20/2018] [2021 HKCFI 195]
The District Court of Hong Kong issued a Judgment on 21/4/2011 dismissing a forwarder’s cargo indemnity claim of US$46,201.81 against a trucking company. [DCCJ 2092/2009]
Remember our Chans advice/138 regarding the Hong Kong High Court’s Judgment holding the He Da 98’s owners fully liable in the collision that happened off Shanghai? The Hong Kong High Court issued its Decision on 18/1/2013 dealing with the damages to be paid to the Pontodamon’s owners. [HCAJ 200/2007]
Remember our Chans advice/171 of 31/3/2015 reporting that the Hong Kong Court of Appeal discharged the Mareva injunctions against Hin-Pro? The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal issued a Judgment on 14/11/2016 reversing the Court of Appeal’s Judgment of 11/3/2015. [FACA No. 1 of 2016]
In our last issue of Chans advice/253, the Hong Kong District Court’s judgment dated 26 April 2022 mentioned a case authority of China Ocean v Mitrans Shipping. We would like to discuss this judgment dated 11 July 1995 of the Hong Kong Court of Appeal in our Chans advice this month. [1995 No. 71 Civil]
What is the difference between a straight bill of lading and an order bill of lading? This can be illustrated in the Wuhan Maritime Court’s Judgment dated 17 September 2019 concerning a cargo misdelivery claim of US$89,838.
Are Standard Trading Conditions (“STC”) equivalent to the House Bill of Lading (“HB/L”) terms or the House Air Waybill (“HAWB”) terms? We have been frequently asked this question by our forwarder clients.
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal issued a Judgment on 20 February 2019 dismissing Changhong Group’s appeal against the High Court’s Decision of 15 November 2018 (reported in Chans advice/215) because Changhong Group had not obtained leave to appeal from the Hong Kong High Court. [CACV576/2018] [2019HKCA246]
The VGM laws have come into operation in Hong Kong since 1/7/2016. They are mainly contained in Section 3 and Section 3A of the Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Carriage of Cargoes and Oil Fuel) Regulation (Chapter 369AV) as follows:
The Hong Kong High Court issued a Judgment on 22/8/2016 dealing with a case that a forwarder wanted to strike out a cargo misdelivery claim on the ground that the claim disclosed no reasonable cause of action. [HCCL 5/2015]
In our Chans advice/169 last month, we mentioned the English Court’s Judgment dated 14/10/2014 holding CSAV’s bill of lading’s English jurisdiction clause to be an exclusive jurisdiction clause. In this issue, let’s look at that English High Court Judgment [2013 Folio No 1248, 2014 EWHC 3632 Comm, 2014 WL 5113447] issued by Justice Cooke in detail.
