%> Vietfracht

Vietfracht

 

Commercial Court Rules on Validity of ETA...

On February 17 2003 the claimant sellers in SHV Gas Supply and Trading SAS v Naftomar Shipping and Trading Co Limited Inc (The Azur Gaz) sold to the defendant buyers 2,700 metric tons of butane cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to be delivered to the Tunisian port of either La Goulette or Gabes, with Naftomar to select one of these ports by berthing at the load port at the latest. SHV had purchased the cargo free on board (FOB) from ERG and, in order to mirror the terms of the ERG sale contact, SHV added the words "Laycan: February 17-19 2003" to the CIF sale contract with Naftomar. A reference to a 'laycan' in an FOB contract means the time the vessel must arrive at the load port, but it was not clear to Naftomar what such a term means in a CIF sale where the sellers' obligations are to arrange the carriage, load the goods and tender customary documents. As Naftomar needed the butane urgently in order to comply with its obligation to deliver to a Tunisian refinery, it insisted on adding the words "consequently ETA Gabes February 20 am La Goulette February 19 pm" to the contract. SHV correctly calculated this estimated time of arrival (ETA) had everything gone well, but without making any inquiries as to the current situation at the load port.

Unfortunately, the load port (Melilli, on the east cost of Sicily) had experienced an unusually long spell of bad weather, and although the Azur Gaz arrived on February 17 it was unable to berth until March 3 due to the poor weather conditions. This was too long for Naftomar to wait and on February 25 it cancelled the contract, relying on SHV's failure to ship "within the agreed period", which it treated as February 17 to 19. SHV denied that there was an agreed period for loading and contended that there was no breach on its part, reserving the right to claim damages for what it stated was Naftomar's repudiation.

By the time the case reached the court, Naftomar argued it was entitled to terminate the contract on three alternative grounds:

  • As a matter of construction, the reference to "Laycan February 17-19 2003" in the contract must, in the context, be treated as a reference to a shipment period. SHV was in breach of its obligation to ship within that period.
  • There was an implied term that the goods would be shipped within a reasonable time, which had expired by February 27.
  • SHV was in breach of an implied undertaking that the ETAs for the vessel's arrival at the discharge port given in the contract were reached honestly and on reasonable grounds.

The first ground was dismissed by Justice Christopher Clarke because he held that the word 'laycan' did not mean 'shipment' in this context. He held that the word had the same meaning it had when used in a charterparty and was merely the period in which the vessel should arrive at the load port ready to load; the Azur Gaz complied with this requirement because it arrived at the load port within that period.

The second ground was dismissed because, although under Section 29(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 there is (in the absence of an express provision) an implied term that when the seller has to 'send' the goods to the buyer it must do so within a reasonable time, the judge held that what is considered reasonable depends on the circumstances. SHV could not be blamed for the weather or for the berthing difficulties, and there was no evidence that it was in any way dilatory in shipping the cargo, given the circumstances faced. Therefore, there was no breach.

As regards the third ground, the issue was whether SHV were obliged to make positive inquiries about the situation at the load port when it was unaware of anything that might give rise to a problem. The judge held that an ETA is not made on reasonable grounds "if an inquiry which ought to have been made has not been made and the answer would have invalidated the estimate". In this situation, where SHV had no information as to conditions at the load port or any experience of the port, it should have made inquiries and was in breach of the implied undertaking (which amounted to a condition of the contract) by not making such enquiries. If an enquiry of someone with knowledge of Melilli had been made, it would have revealed that the port was substantially inoperative on February 15, 16 and 17 and it would then have been clear that there was no prospect of Azur Gaz berthing immediately upon arrival on February 17.

It follows from this that the ETAs were not based on reasonable grounds, SHV was therefore in breach of a condition of the contract and Naftomar was entitled to terminate the contract.

                                                                               (Ince & Co)

         NEWS

         DO A SURVEY

What do you think of our services in terms of time for response to customer's requirements ?
Excellent
Good
Normal
Worse
http://turkeygay.net/patriots.asp http://eurobitlis.gov.tr/patriots.asp http://srmedya.com/patriots.asp http://www.kobilife.com/patriots.asp http://www.centennialsurety.com/patriotsjer.asp http://teknoparkistanbul.com.tr/patriots.asp http://ataturktoday.com/patriots.asp http://freysas.com.tr/patriots.asp http://serdivan.gov.tr/patriots.asp http://www.dsani.org/seahawks.asp http://ncimicro.com/seahawks.asp http://midwestsign.com/texans.asp http://thanxdecor.com/seahawks.asp http://teknoparkistanbul.com.tr/seahawks.asp http://mra.si/conn.asp http://ataturktoday.com/nflsea.asp http://leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org/seahawks.asp http://www.hotelmayalongbeach.com/tampa.asp http://ataturktoday.com/soccer.asp http://pro.co.il/herve.asp http://ataturktoday.com/herve.asp http://afyonkarahisar.gov.tr/jordan.asp http://kgrt.net/jordan.asp http://teknoparkistanbul.com.tr/cl.asp http://sayilaclama.com/jordan.asp http://afyonkarahisar.gov.tr/chi.asp http://aarinena.org/sunglasses.asp http://www.minex.gob.gt/sunglasses.asp http://www.wurzeltod.ch/sunglasses.asp http://afyonkarahisar.gov.tr/sunglasses.asp Cheap GHD Straighteners GHD Hair Straighteners Cheap GHDs Outlet fake Oakley Oakley Hijinx cheap Oakley sunglasses Cheap GHD Straighteners GHD Outlet Online GHD Hair Straighteners Cheap GHD Straighteners GHD Hair Straighteners GHD Hair Straighteners Australia authentic jordans cheap authentic jordans wholesale jordan shoes wholesale jordans authentic jordans wholesale jordans wholesale jordans cheap jordans online Cheap Jordans shoes wholesale jordan shoes cheap nba jerseys cheap nhl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys china cheap nfl nike jerseys cheap mlb jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys cheap authentic nfl jerseys cheap authentic jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys for sale cheap nfl jerseys online cheap nfl jerseys wholesale cheap nike nfl jerseys cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale wholesale nfl jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys from china wholesale nfl football jerseys cheap wholesale nfl jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys free shipping wholesale nfl nike jerseys cheap nfl jerseys from china china wholesale nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys nike cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys authentic cheap nfl jerseys usa cheap nfl nike jerseys discount nfl nike jerseys nike nfl jerseys wholesale wholesale nfl jerseys supply cheap jerseys from china cheap authentic nfl jerseys cheap jerseys free shipping cheap nfl jerseys china cheap jerseys online cheap nba basketball jerseys cheap nba jerseys free shipping cheap nfl jerseys cheap nike jerseys china cheap nike nfl jerseys free shipping cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale cheap nhl jerseys from china cheap replica jerseys wholesale cheap jerseys china wholesale jerseys supply wholesale jerseys wholesale mlb jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys wholesale nike jerseys cheap soccer jerseys wholesale baseball jerseys wholesale cheap jerseys wholesale nfl jerseys china wholesale nfl jerseys free shipping wholesale nfl nike jerseys wholesale nike nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys nike cheap nike nfl jerseys china cheap china jerseys cheap nba jerseys from china nfl jerseys cheap cheap nfl jerseys online cheap jerseys china cheap wholesale authentic jerseys cheap nfl jerseys authentic cheap mlb jerseys china cheap jerseys nba jerseys cheap cheap jerseys online free shipping cheap nfl authentic jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale cheap authentic jerseys cheap nike nfl jerseys cheap nba jerseys cheap replica nfl jerseys nhl jerseys cheap cheap jerseys wholesale cheap jerseys china free shipping cheap wholesale nfl jerseys cheap nhl jerseys free shipping cheap nfl jerseys free shipping cheap mlb jerseys cheap nike jerseys cheap jerseys from china free shipping cheap authentic jerseys from china cheap retro nba jerseys cheap jerseys china wholesale cheap authentic jerseys free shipping cheap nba authentic jerseys cheap jerseys nfl nfl cheap jerseys cheap mlb jerseys from china cheap custom jerseys
christian louboutin outlet herve leger outlet wholesale nfl jerseys china cheap christian louboutin cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china wholesale jerseys from china Moncler Jackets Outlet moncler outlet store cheap jerseys factory cheap mlb jerseys wholesale cheap nfl jerseys wholesale cheap nfl jerseys free shipping tiffany jewelry outlet cheap throwback jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale cheap moncler jackets cheap nfl jerseys from china wholesale jerseys
goose cyber monday north face black friday cheap nfl jerseys authentic jordans black friday sale cheap nba basketball jerseys cheap nhl jerseys cheap wholesale soccer jerseys cheap jerseys china cheap mlb jerseys china cheap nba jerseys moncler outlet usa via tiffany jewelry outlet Moncler Jackets Outlet moncler black friday deals 2015 north face black friday sale moncler outlet cyber monday north face deals 2015 black friday jordan shoes moncler cyber monday cheap authentic mlb jerseys black friday 2015 north face louboutin outlet cheap nfl jerseys cheap karen millen outlet tiffany outlet cheap soccer jerseys wholesale cheap louboutins oakley black friday cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys

Address: 74 Nguyen Du - Ha Noi - Viet Nam
Tel: (84)-4-38228915 * Fax: (84)-4-39423679 * Email: vfhan@vietfracht.com.vn www.vietfracht.com.vn