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Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

singapore@twentyessex.com
t: +65 62257230

Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

singapore@twentyessex.com
t: +65 62257230

31/01/2014

The Valle di Cordoba – tankers, in transit loss clauses, strict liability and piracy

This is an archived article, and some links may not work. Contact us if you have any questions.

Michael Ashcroft QC acted for the successful shipowners in this interesting case concerning a claim by charterers for alleged “in transit loss” of premium motor oil. The vessel carrying the cargo was attacked off-shore Nigeria by pirates who forced the Master at gun point to discharge some 5,300 MT of cargo to an unknown lighter which then disappeared. Charterers contended that the shipowners were absolutely/strictly liable for this loss pursuant to the terms of an “in transit loss” clause that was incorporated into the charterparty and claimed approaching US$5m against the shipowners. Andrew Smith J, accepting the shipowners’ arguments, disagreed. Cargo discharged from the vessel by pirates was not “in transit loss” within the meaning of the clause. In any event, even if that was wrong, the “in transit loss” clause was clearly subject to the Hague-Visby Rules exceptions, that were also incorporated into the charterparty, and those exceptions applied to protect the shipowners on the facts of the case.


Judgment

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