The Court of appeal and the commercial court have recently handed down two judgments which are of particular interest to the shipping industry. In the Sino Channel Asia Ltd v. Dana Shipping and Trade Pte Singapore and Dana Shipping and Trading SA [2016] EWHC 1118 (Comm), the Commercial Court set aside an arbitration award under Section 72 of the Arbitration Act 1996 finding that the respondent had not been given proper notice of the arbitration. In the Grand China Logistics Holding (Group) Co Ltd v Spar Shipping AS [2016] EWCA Civ 982., the Court of Appeal held that payment of hire was not a condition, such that a hire payment default does not provide a basis for claiming damages in addition to the contractual right of withdrawal.
Please refer to this Nordisk Circular issue for summaries of these important and interesting cases.
