| Archives: December 2005

Award N°1126 – Port services – Damages to a shore gantry crane and a vessel crane. While discharging containers, a collision happened between a shore gantry crane and a vessel crane. The sole arbitrator, having noted the conflicting evidences submitted by the parties, decided that the blame must be shared between the stevedore and owners.

Award N°1123 – Charter-party bill of lading marked «FIOS». The acronym «FIOS» mentioned on bills of lading causes them to be opposable to a third party holder as well as to their subrogated underwriters because it constitutes a provision of the contract of carriage in respect of the loading and delivery of the cargo. It cannot be considered as a mere financial clause.

Award N°1125 – Damage to cargo – Unseaworthiness – Obligation to discharge – Right to not carry out a contractual obligation due to nonperformance of the other party. A charterer has an absolute obligation to discharge the cargo. But, when owners and their Master are heavily responsible in respect of the unseaworthiness of the vessel and the loss of the cargo of frozen goods, the prohibition to discharge the damaged cargo by port authorities finds its direct cause in this unseaworthiness. Owners are then liable for the damages and the resulting consequences.

Award N°1122 – Agency agreement – Balance of accounts. When two parties, having entered into an agency agreement for freight procurement on a liner business, claim each other their respective good faith, arbitrators interpreted the meaning of contentious clauses taking only into account contractual terms and the circumstances of the trade as evidenced by an undisputed statement from the shipper, released upon arbitrators’request.