Summary
The dispute arose under a tanker charter party on an amended ASBATANKVOY form, over demurrage charges amounting to $331,567.70 due to excess laytime at four different ports. The Owner initiated arbitration proceedings after the Charterer failed to respond to payment requests. The Panel unanimously found in favor of the Owner based on evidence provided, including statements of facts and notices of readiness showing compliance with charter party requirements. In addition to the demurrage claim, interest from February 6th 2023 until March 4th 2024 amounting to $29,661.69 was awarded along with attorney’s fees and costs totaling $9,163. The total sum ordered for payment by Respondent was $385,262.39 which includes Demurrage ($331,567.70), Interest ($29,661.69), Attorney’s Fees ($9,163), Sub-Total Amount ($370,392.39) and Arbitrators’ Fees as per Appendix B"($14,870).
The Voyage
The voyage involved loading a full cargo of CBFS, or 67,856.142 MT. Part of the cargo, or 12,678.588 MT, was loaded from the Centre Point Terminal in Port Allen, with the balance cargo of 55,177.554 MT loaded from the IMTT Terminal at St. Rose. The discharge was accomplished by first lightering a total of 12,678.588 MT into two 'Daughter vessels’ (hereafter "transshipment vessels") via STS operations at Dharma, with the balance cargo of 55,177.554 MT discharging at the HDC Terminal in Haldia. The charter party allowed for a total of 192 hours for laytime, with a demurrage rate of $50,000 per day/pro-rata. The charter party expressly provided that the Vessel comply with multiple, specific vessel operational and port restrictive requirements, including tank presentation, maximum draft and clearance restrictions, and extensive requirements on the STS operation. The Panel noted no protests issued by the Charterer or delays specific to the Owner’s failure to comply as contracted. The Vessel waited 5 days to berth at Port Allen and encountered no delays in berthing at St. Rose. As earlier mentioned, the discharge was accomplished by first lightering a total of 12,678.588 MT into two transshipment vessels at Dharma. The first transshipment vessel was available shortly after the M/T Cabo Fuji arrived. However, the M/T Cabo Fuji waited for 3.4 days for the second transshipment vessel to arrive. Although the charter party called for one STS operation, the Panel noted no protest from the Owner for the Vessel performing two STS operations. The remaining 55,177.554 MT of cargo was discharged at Haldia, where the Vessel encountered a minor berthing delay.
Decision
The Panel found that Owner properly applied the appropriate laytime exceptions and correctly calculated the demurrage as required by the governing charter party. Demurrage was incurred on this voyage primarily due to time lost while the Vessel was waiting to load at Port Allen; and time lost waiting for the second lightering vessel for the STS operation at Dharma. The charter party allowed laytime of 192 hours for loading and discharging, but the Vessel waited slightly over 120 hours [5 days] to berth at Port Allan and about 97 hours [about 4 days] for the second transshipment daughter vessel to arrive at Dharma. The Panel unanimously finds that Owner is due net demurrage of $331,567.70, as set forth in Appendix "A", which is made an integral part of this Award.
The award was published in March 2024 and can be found on Jus Mundi | AI-Powered Search for International Law & Arbitration