Article by Nigel Wagland
Time charters: Safety of ports in Iraq and the Arabian Gulf region
At the time of publication, an attack in Iraq was imminent. The question arises whether in the case of a time charter where Iraq (and the region) is not excluded as a potential destination, the shipowner could refuse to go there on the basis of prospective unsafety of that port.
At present it is rumoured that charterers serving Iraq have secured lucrative deals for food supplies as Iraq prepares itself for a siege, so the issue may well arise.
The legal test for safety is well known (the Eastern City [1958] 2LLR 127): ‘‘…a port will not be safe unless, in the relevant period of time, the particular ship can reach it, use it and return from it without, in the absence of some abnormal occurrence, being exposed to danger which cannot be avoided by good navigation and seamanship …’’. The relevant period of time at which to judge the prospective safety of the port is when the charterers’ order
