United Kingdom: Marine/ Shipping

In Rhine Shipping v Vitol [2024], the Court of Appeal upheld the decision that Vitol's internal swaps, unaffected by Rhine's breach of contract, did not reduce Vitol's damages. Rhine's re-cast appeal was dismissed due to lack of trial evidence.

A recent ruling clarified that slot charterers, including Maersk and Bengal Tiger Line, qualify as "charterers" under Article 1(2) of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, allowing them to limit liability for losses.

The Star Axe I LLC v. Royal and Sun Alliance Luxembourg S.A. decision challenges the long-standing interpretation of the Congenbill 1994 clause incorporating the 1994 York-Antwerp Rules (YAR). The court ruled that the clause actually includes the 2016 YAR, potentially disrupting previous GA assessments and raising risks related to the YAR 2016's one-year time bar. This ruling could lead to significant legal uncertainties in general average claims.