Tribunal considers whether Charterers were in anticipatory breach of a charterparty by redelivering the vessel early, and if so whether Owners accepted that breach as terminating the charterparty

17 Авг

Фрахтователь вернул судно из тайм-чартера на 653 дня раньше срока завершения договора. Суд признал право Собственника судна на компенсацию его убытков в связи с падением фрахтовых рыночных ставок

London Arbitration 2/11
Owners timechartered a vessel  to Charterers for a period of 24 months +/- 30 days in
Charterers’ option. 40 days after delivery of the vessel, Charterers asked Owners to reduce
the hire rate, arguing that it was too high given the state of the market. Owners declined to
do this. Two days later, Charterers sent a message to Owners saying that if they were not
willing to renegotiate the charterparty, then that message should be taken as 7 days’ notice of
redelivery. Owners responded, saying that they  had to take the vessel to minimise their
losses, and to start looking for alternative employment, but that they considered Charterers
in breach of the charterparty as a result of the early redelivery. The vessel was eventually
redelivered only 47 days after delivery, 653 days early.
Owners claimed damages for repudiatory breach and for the balance of hire due. They
submitted that by giving notice of redelivery before the contractual term of the charterparty
had expired, Charterers were in anticipatory breach. Further,  Owners had accepted this
breach by way of their response to Charterers’ 7 days’ redelivery notice. Charterers denied
that they were in repudiatory breach, and even if they were Owners had not accepted their
notice of redelivery as a wrongful repudiation. Rather, Owners had accepted that the
charterparty should remain in force, and that hire remained due, until the vessel completed
its present voyage.
The Tribunal held that Charterers’ message had given unequivocal notice of their intention
to redeliver, which amounted to an anticipatory repudiatory breach, and that Owners had
accepted that breach by accepting the early redelivery of the vessel. They either accepted the
breach as terminating the charterparty at that point, or alternatively by taking the vessel back
on redelivery. That conclusion was not affected by the fact that the vessel continued on
charter until completion of discharge and redelivery.
The Tribunal also considered the quantum of Owners’ damages. In relation to damages for
loss of earnings, they were entitled to damages  from the date of actual redelivery to the
earliest contractual redelivery date (653 days) at the difference between the charterparty rate
and the market rate. Owners were also entitled to damages for the balance of hire owed.
Источник: REEDSMITH
SHIPPING GROUP MONTHLY BULLETIN. –  2011. –   JULY. – Р. 16.

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