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This year’s Africa Energy Forum presents a unique opportunity for African collaboration
In the rural village of Gwanda, Zimbabwe, a mother walks several kilometres each day to find firewood so she can cook for her children.
Global | Publication | March 2025
A fire on the container ship X-Press Pearl ultimately led to the sinking of the ship and her cargo. The ship was carrying containers that were subject to a variety of contractual arrangements (a connecting carrier agreement, a fixed slots contract and an agreement for transport services) on behalf of Maersk, Bengal Tiger Line and MSC. In Sea Consortium Pte Ltd (t/a X-Press Feeders) & Ors v Bengal Tiger Line Pte Ltd & Ors [2024] EWHC 3174 (Admlty), the Admiralty Court considered whether these parties constituted a “charterer” for the purposes of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims in order for a limitation of liability to apply.
The Admiralty Court considered the reasoning in MSC Napoli [2008] EWHC 3002 (Admlty), [2009] 1 Lloyd's Rep 246, and held that it will normally be sufficient for a party to be considered as an Article 1(2) 'charterer' if: (i) “its relevant contract obliges an owner or disponent owner to make part of the carrying capacity of a ship available to that party for the carriage of goods which that party will have contracted, or will be obliged to contract, to undertake as carrier”; or (ii) it is a party “to whom space on a ship is contracted for the performance by it, delegated to the ship, of its contractual obligations as carrier”.
Further reading on the case can be found here.
Publication
In the rural village of Gwanda, Zimbabwe, a mother walks several kilometres each day to find firewood so she can cook for her children.
Publication
Southern Africa is a key focus of attention at the present time, as it faces a perfect storm of an energy emergency due to hydropower generation being severely impacted by reduced water levels due to droughts whilst the demand of its regional miners for clean baseload power rapidly accelerates.
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