Shipowner (and Charterer) found liable for misdelivery resulting from discharge without B/Ls
In Standard Chartered Bank vs. DORCHESTER LNG (2) LIMITED RE: MT ERIN SCHULTE [2013] EWHC 808 (Comm) the Court held that a Shipowner, by discharging and delivering the goods without production of the bill of lading, committed a breach of the contract of carriage contained in or evidenced by the bill of lading. The fact that the Shipowner discharged in accordance with the instructions of the Shipper / Charterer was considered irrelevant by the Court. The Shipowner was ordered to pay SCB the value of the cargo, i.e., in excess of US$6MM for losses suffered. The Court was advised that the Charterer took over the defence of the claim for misdelivery, as it was required to indemnity the Shipowner under the discharge LOI it had given, ultimately leaving the loss for misdelivery on the Charterer. essDOCS will provide a more full analysis of this case in the near future, so please check on our website for that analysis.