Easy claim – easy charge

Interlegal law team defended interests of their Client – the vessel Charterer – in a dispute with the Shipowner upon cancelling the Charter Party, which is treated as unlawful under the English law.

There were long and confusing relations between the parties, causing an interesting request and new challenges.

The Client applied to Interlegal for vessel detention (arrest) based on damages caused by unlawful cancellation of the Charter Party by the Shipowner. However, the latter not only stated that it had no debt but also charged from the Client 138,000 USD as detention and 150,000 USD as demurrage.

It should be noted that the dispute was multifaceted and the Client did not want to apply to arbitration with all its advantages and risks.

With regards to basic data, Interlegal experts in English & Ukrainian law drafted their joint legal position on vessel detention (or even possible arrest), having stated clearly that in accordance with the Charter Party and English law only the Charterers are entitled to cancel the Charter Party under certain circumstances.

Our practice shows that a reliable and convincing tool for further dispute settlement should be chosen immediately. In our case, we chose such a tool as communication with Harbor Master, jointly with filing procedural documents and proper explanations of the situation.

Due to prompt teamwork, the vessel was detained at the seaport for 3 days; so, the Client used effective additional arguments in the process of negotiations and dispute settlement.

Finally, the Client and the Shipowner entered into Dispute Settlement Agreement that fully satisfied the Client’s interests and facilitated recovery of material losses incurred thereby (56,452.50 USD). As a result, the vessel obtained a permission to leave the seaport and, last but not the least, the Shipowner was protected against any potential claims in future.

Therefore, the Parties not only solved the problematic issue but also made it profitable.

Interlegal team led the case: associate attorneys Taras Dragan and Mykola Kozachenko, lawyer Karina Shakhbazian, junior lawyer Mariia Kalashnikova, managed by associated partner Karyna Gorovaya.