| Award 1212

Award 1212 – C/P Synacomex 90 – Demurrage – Dispute on notice of readiness – Inaccessibility and unavailability of loading berth – Force majeure (yes). A few hours before the vessel’s arrival on waiting anchorage at a river mouth and while the loading berth was occupied, another vessel ran aground in the channel thus impeding the access to seagoing vessels. The ship owner disputed the charterer’s demurrage account with regard to the beginning of laytime and his declaration of force majeure. With respect to the beginning of laytime, the Arbitral Tribunal validated the notice of readiness, albeit tendered before the date of commencement of laydays in the C/P, since it had been accepted by the charterer’s agent, thereby allowing the vessel to join the waiting queue. It also judged that the unusual nature of the blocking and its exceptional duration did indeed constitute a force majeure case entailing the suspension of laytime, limited, however, to the delays suffered by the charterer at loading berth, and decided that the charterer should pay some extra demurrage.