Charterers Held To Have Lost Right To Cancel Where Revised Loadport Orders Given

ST Shipping & Transport Inc v Kriti Filoxenia Shipping Co SA [2015] EWHC 997 (Comm)

Charter terms

The charter, on BPVOY3 form, provided that subject to the provisions of clause 24, the vessel would proceed to "1/2 safe port(s) Black Sea excl Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey".

Clause 17 provided for a laycan period of 1 to 3 April 2003. Clause 24 provided inter alia as follows regarding revised orders:

"If after any loading or discharge port or place has been nominated Charterers desire to vary such port or place, Owners shall issue such revised instructions as are necessary at any time to give effect to Charterers' revised orders ..."

Facts

Charterers nominated Tuapse as the first loadport, then three days later gave a revised nomination of Batumi. The vessel's estimated time of arrival at Batumi was after the cancelling date, and on that basis Charterers purported to cancel the charter. Owners accepted that cancellation as a repudiatory breach and claimed