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irrespective of the reasons why the vessel missed Given” incident would not be considered “within the
the Cancelling Date and therefore even if delay was Carrier’s control” and therefore there would be no
due to a circumstance beyond the control of the liability by the Owners.
Owner.
The two charterparty forms have a specific clause
If the contract is terminated by the Charterer, dealing with “Canal Transit” (respectively cl. 15 in the
however, “the Owner shall not be responsible for any HEAVYCON and cl. 22 in the HEAVYLOFTVOY). The
loss or damage whatsoever incurred by the clauses are very similar and we shall analyze cl. 15
Charterers” (cl. 8.h of HEAVYCON; cl. 6.g of of the HEAVYCON. Sub-clause (a) provides that the
HEAVYLIFTCON is very similar). transit in the canal shall count as free time and, if the
stipulated free time is exceeded, Charterers shall
The HEAVYCON form has no specific provision pay for such extra time at the demurrage rate.
regarding transit time and only states that “The
Owners shall perform the voyage with due dispatch, “In conclusion, the provisions of both
unless otherwise agreed” (cl. 2.b). The HEAVYCON the HEAVYCON and HEAVYLIFTVOY
form then has a “knock for knock” liability clause (cl. standard forms appear to be
22) whereby “the Owners shall not be responsible significantly unbalanced in favour of
for .. any liability consequent upon delay of cargo”. the Owners of the Delayed Ship
Cl. 23 further excludes any liability for consequential
damages, including “loss of use, loss of profits, Sub-clause (c) is particularly relevant in connection
shut-in or loss of production”. with the “Ever Given” incident, as it states that
“should the transit of the canal be made impossible
The HEAVYLIFTVOY, to the contrary, gives the for reasons beyond the Owners’ control, the
parties the option to fix in Box 21 a transit time and Charterers shall pay for all extra time by which the
a daily damage rate or, in Box 22, a date of arrival at voyage is thereby prolonged” at the demurrage rate.
the discharge port and the related daily damage Sub-clause (d) further gives the Owners the option
rate. Box 21 and 22 then refer respectively to cl. 2.d “at their sole discretion” to discharge the cargo at
or 2.e, stating that if the agreed transit time is the nearest port, with such discharge to be “deemed
exceeded, or the discharge date is missed, “for any due fulfilment of the charterparty”.
reason within the Carrier’s control”, liability will be
limited to the agreed daily rate. In the circumstances Once the obstruction of the Suez Canal created by
the blockage of the Suez Canal because of the “Ever the grounding of the “Ever Given” has been removed,

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