在最新的London Arbitration 7/23案中,涉案船舶以修改过的NYPE格式出租,执行一个从南非装载煤炭到印度或巴基斯坦卸的航次期租。合同规定禁止承租人转租船舶,但承租人还是转租了船舶;最终分承租人安排到巴基斯坦的Gadani锚地卸货。
在卸货期间,遭遇了工损,承租人接受该工损是他们的责任,在合同下需要安排维修。然而在Gadani锚地无法维修,承租人于是安排船舶到Khor Fakkan维修。工损维修之后,承租人安排船到Fujairah港安排加油,然后在那还船给船东。
船东随后就多种争议提起仲裁,双方都委托了各自仲裁员。
额外的船舶战争险奖金
船东声称他们有权因承租人指示到Khor Fakkan及Fujairah港而额外增加的船员战争险奖金获得偿还。
其中合同第35条为Applicable Piracy Clauses,第61条为BIMCO Standard War Risks Clause 1993;第88条还规定承租人支付船员奖金及加班费,其受船舶船旗或船籍标准约束。
承租人指出在本争议中船东并没有证明承租人有任何法律义务需要支付船员额外奖金。
船东认为虽然合同中并没有严格规定需要给船员额外的奖金,但是支付奖金与船员的合同关系并不相关,即使在最好的情况下,此类额外付款也是惯例,也是确保船员继续完成所需工作所必需的。
仲裁庭认为,船东没有举出任何证据来证明任何此类习俗或必要性,仲裁庭以前也没有遇到过这样的论点。船东所依赖的租船合同条款是明确的,但在此并不被接受。因此,裁定船东的索赔不成立。[1]
转租及不安全卸货
船东试图支持其因未能按照租船合同还船而造成的损失,他们辩称,这些损失是由于承租人违约转租了船舶,以及船东所说的卸货不安全造成的,因此承租人再次违反合同。
仲裁庭认为,从任何实质性意义上来说,不能说船东遭受的任何损失的原因是船舶没有在Gadani港还船,或者是卸货作业的进行方式,或者是因为违反租船合同转租船舶,或这些因素的任意组合。他们只是为承租人提供了安排船舶到 Khor Fakkan 和 Fujairah 的机会。造成损失的直接原因是承租人未按照租船合同约定还船。租船合同没有规定还船时间。
租船合同第 4 条,租船确认书修改后规定,在印度或巴基斯坦DLOSP还船,除非双方另有约定。
仲裁庭认为根据其条款,承租人有义务修复卸货造成的损坏,但由于在Gadani锚地无法安排维修,承租人他们有权将船舶安排到其他地方进行修复。他们也可以在修复后将船舶开回到Gadani锚地,然后在那还船,这一切都是完全合法的。[2]
此外,仲裁庭认为船东所谓的损失不能以任何方式说是所抱怨的违规行为可以合理预见到后果。任何人在租船合同签订之日被问及是否可以合理预期转租船舶,甚至在卸货过程中损坏船舶,可能会导致船东所抱怨的后果,毫无疑问会回答“不”。[3]
仲裁庭认为船东遭受损失的真正原因是,在本案情况下,根据租船合同,承租人违反合同未能在印度或巴基斯坦港口下引水后还船。[4]
后续航次的损失
船东声称如果船舶在Gadani港还船,他们能够几乎立即签订一个从南非Richards Bay到印度东岸,市场水平为14,000美元/天的程租合同。但是,船东错失了这样的机会,签订了一份替代合同,在5天或更晚之后,租金水平仅10,000美元/天。从Gadani到Richards Bay再回到印度,船东说航次大约需要40天,因此他们能够追偿大约160,000美元的利润损失。
承租人认为在错误位置还船,正常的损失计算方法是从实际还船位置到合同还船位置,在假设的航次中所能赚钱的净利润。基于此,承租人认为船东的损失仅仅是33,495美元,抵扣之前已经支付的12,319.50美元,因此船东仅能够获得21,175.50美元。
承租人认为,随后航次的损失太过遥远。这与在错误位置还船的恰当损失计量不一致;而且船东混淆了违约的性质,随后航次错过受载期的主要原因是时间,而不是位置;在本案中违约的是关于船舶在哪还船,而不是什么时候还船。此外,承租人认为如果,如他们有权这么做,在工损维修后指示船舶回到Gadani锚地还船,船舶仍将错过受载期,因此船东所谓的损失和实际还船位置并没有直接的因果关系。
船东提出额外的索赔基于在Fujairah寻找下航次任务而等待的6天时间损失,他们认为如果承租人未违约这种情况就不会发生。如果船舶在Gadani还船,将能够几乎立即签订下航次。因此索赔5.7917天时间损失,按每天14,000美元计算共93,622.80美元。
仲裁庭认为最后一项索赔实际上与后续航次损失索赔重复。仅出于这个原因,无法追偿。
至于后续航次的损失,各方对于上议院在Iransfield Shipping lnc v Mercator Shipping Inc (The Achilleas) [2008] 2 Lloyd’s Rep.275一案中的判决的观点存在不同看法,那个案子是关于在错误的时间还船的争议。船东认为,这使得那案子与本案完全不同。仲裁庭同意承租人的观点,即在错误地点还船的情况下必须适用同样的原则。那个案子提到了 Cooke法官在Maestro Bulk Ltd v Cosco Bulk Carrier Co Ltd (The Great Creation) [2015] 1 Lloyd’s Rep.315案中第 66 段的判决:与假设的后续航次相比,后续航次的本质就是在租船合同签订时产生不可量化、不可预测性、不可控性和不成比例的概念,即使这些数字事后可以量化。[5]
船东表示,当承租人签订租船合同时,他们就充分意识到,在 Fujairah或附近地区等此类地点还船将导致船东遭受与所索赔类型完全相同的损失。
仲裁庭同意承租人的论点,即显然导致船东后续航次损失的不是地点,而是还船时间的问题。这与承租人未能按照第 4 条在正确的位置还船无关。如果船舶在修理后已在Gadani锚地还船,或者例如卸货操作花费了更长的时间并且之后在Gadani锚地还船,很显然仍会错过接下来的航次。 因此,船东声称的损失原因与还船地点无关。[6]
基于这些原因,仲裁庭裁定船东的索赔仅在21,175.50美元范围内胜诉。他们还有权就这笔款项以及仲裁开始后承租人支付的款项收取利息。
关于还船时间,还船位置,还船油量,是否free of AGM,是否清理垫舱物料等等,这些其实都不是是否能够还船的先决条件。如本文所介绍的伦敦仲裁案子,即使不在合同约定的位置内还船,船东并不能不接受承租人还船,只能索赔损失;这类损失船东还负有举证义务。
[1] The owners adduced no evidence to show any such custom or necessity and this was not an argument that the tribunal had ever encountered before. The charterparty provisions relied upon by the owners were clear and not satisfied here. The claim must therefore fail.
[2] The charterers were bound under its terms to repair the discharging damage and, since that could not be done at Gadani, they were entitled to send her elsewhere to repair. They could also have sent her back to Gadani after the repairs and redelivered her there, all perfectly legitimately.
[3] In addition, the alleged losses could not be said in any way to have been reasonably foreseeable as consequences of the breaches complained of. Anyone asked at the date the charterparty was entered into whether it could be reasonably anticipated that sub-chartering the vessel, or even damaging her during discharging, could lead to the consequences of which the owners complained, would undoubtedly have replied “No”.
The true cause of any loss the owners suffered was, in these circumstances, the charterers’ breach in failing to redeliver on dropping outward pilot at an Indian or Pakistani port, in accordance with the charterparty.
[4] The true cause of any loss the owners suffered was, in these circumstances, the charterers’ breach in failing to redeliver on dropping outward pilot at an Indian or Pakistani port, in accordance with the charterparty.
[5] It is the very nature of the follow-on fixture, when compared with an hypothetical follow-on fixture, which gives rise to notions of unquantifiability, unpredictability, uncontrollability and disproportionality at the date of the charter, even if the figures can be quantified ex post facto.
[6] The tribunal agreed with the charterers' argument that it was not the location which apparently caused the owners to suffer the loss of the follow-on fixture it was the question of the timing of redelivery, and that had nothing to do with the charterers’ breach for failing to redeliver at the right place in accordance with clause 4. If the vessel had been redelivered at Gadani following repairs, or even if for example, the discharging operation had taken longer and she had been redelivered at Gadani but later, the follow-on fixture might well still have been lost. The cause of the owners alleged loss was thus nothing to do with the place of redelivery.
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