Case update: English Commercial Court recognises constructive total loss insurance claim of a vessel under a war risks policy for detainment resulting from “illegal parking”

The Commercial Court held that a vessel owner should be entitled to make a claim of constructive total loss under its war risks insurance policy (American Institute Hull War Risks and Strikes Clauses dated 1 December 1977 and the Addendum thereto dated 1 April 1984) as losses arising from the vessel’s detention were fortuitous. The Commercial Court determined that the vessel’s detention was not “an inevitable or even ordinary consequence in the circumstances” as the vessel’s anchorage area “had for many years been used as an anchorage by hundreds if not thousands of vessels without problem” and there had been no known instances of detention until February 2019 when the vessel was detained.

Importance

This case is relevant for understanding what an English court would constitute as “fortuitous” loss in an insurance claim.

Further Reading

Delos Shipholding SA & Ors v Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty SE & Ors [2024] EWHC 719 (Comm). The full judgment can be found here.