The shipping practice at leading law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper has succeeded in both winning and successfully defending arbitration appeals at the High Court this week.

Judgment was handed down this morning in The Tai Prize [2020] EWHC 127 (Comm). Specialist marine lawyers Darryl Kennard and Andrew Hawkins successfully appealed a London arbitration award under s69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 - the gateway for appeals on points of law. Being given permission to appeal under s69 is relatively rare; it is even more uncommon for these appeals to be successful.

The decision is likely to be of wide interest in the maritime sector – particularly to charterers and other users of standard form bills of lading such as the Congenbill 1994 form, and their insurers.

The dispute concerned owners’ entitlement to an indemnity under a voyage charter in respect of cargo damage claims brought in China. The London tribunal found that the cargo – soyabeans – was shipped in a damaged condition but that (as was common ground) the Master could not reasonably have observed such defects during the course of loading.

The core issue on appeal was the legal effect of presenting draft bills of lading for signature containing the words “clean on board” and/or “shipped in apparent good order and condition” in circumstances where, on the facts (as determined by the arbitrator), the shipper either knew or ought to have known that the cargo had suffered pre-shipment damage.

You can read the rest of the article below.

Originally published on 31 January 2020 on Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP website.