Members of Essex Court Chambers were instructed in two of the cases selected by i-law as its eight “most notable charterparty disputes of 2014″.
Jeffrey Gruder QC and Claudia Renton acted for the charterers in Trafigura Beheer BV v. Navigazione Montanari SPA (the “Valle di Cordoba”) [2014] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 550. The hearing of preliminary issues concerned the question of whether cargo transferred by pirates constituted “in transit loss” within the meaning of an ITL clause.
Nigel Eaton QC acted for the managing owners in American Overseas Marine Corporation v. Golar Commodities Ltd (the “LNG Gemini”) [2014] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 113. The case involved the question of whether a cargo was in breach of a charter clause precluding carriage of “cargoes injurious to the Vessel”.
