Can Sinkers claim demurrage against the cricket clubs Essay

Can Sinkers claim demurrage against the cricket clubs - Essay Example Vessel will be losing her time and the connected payment. In the present case, reaching the berth and unloading the goods took longer time than expected and the vessel has gone onto demurrage. The popular rule is 'once on demurrage, always on demurrage'. As an exception, demurrage would not occur if the delay was purely due to ship owner's fault and as the repercussion of actions taken by him suitable for his convenience and benefit. "The freighter of a ship is bound not to detain it, beyond the stipulated or usual time, to load or deliver the cargo, or to sail. The extra days beyond the lay days (being the days allowed to load and unload the cargo) are called the days of demurrage. The term is likewise applied to the payment for such delay, and it may become due, either by the ship's detention, for the purpose of loading or unloading the cargo, either before, during or after the voyage, or in waiting for convoy2." A shipowner will be entitled to unliquidated damages for being detained while loading or unloading, or delivering a consignment, within the stipulated time, if the delay happens for no fault of his or his representatives. In some transactions, to be safe, there could be an agreement to pay demurrage, which is usually for preventing the shipowner from demanding an enormous sum if an unfortunate delay occurs. As a result of this written understanding and agreement, if the demurrage is fixed at a certain rate per hour, the shipowner would be unable to demand more money as demurrage. According to John Wilson, "Liability for the payment of demurrage accrues immediately on the expiration of the lay days and runs continuously through Sundays, holidays and other periods normally excluded from laytime, e.g. bad weather working days3." Demurrage or the dead freight can occur at any point of affreightment. It is actually a fixed sum per hour or per day that charterer has to pay the vessel owner for the delays while loading and unloading of his consignments, and the time lost (beyond the stipulated time) and these days are called lay days. "If no demurrage is provided for by the charter-party, and the vessel is not loading or discharging beyond the lay days, the shipowner is entitled to claim damages in respect of the loss which he has suffered by the detention of his ship4" This is mainly to force the charterers to load and unload within the time fixed. If the time is not fixed, then it might be difficult for the shipowner to prove that the ship has run onto demurrage. There are difficult circumstances, honouring difficult judgements too. "Where time under a limitation clause runs from completion of discharge of the cargo, but there was no cargo to discharge, the judge held that the limitation clause does not apply. He refused to imply additional words into the clause that would have allowed time to run from when the cargo should have been discharged since, if the parties had wanted to provide for such a circumstance, they could easily have done so. The judge also held that, in addition to damages for repudiation, the shipowners could claim demurrage that had accrued before the charterparty was repudiated5". http://www.onlinedmc.co.uk/odfjell_seachem_v__continentale.htm As both the clubs are named as consignees in the receipts, even though they did not do the transactions personally through