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Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the Charterers shall be liable
to the Owners for all damage to the vessel caused by Stevedores (Stevedore
Damages) and for losses, damages and expenses suffered by the Owners as a
consequence of Stevedore Damage provided that the Master has notified the Charterers
and/or their agents in writing within 24 hours following discovery
Such notice to specify Stevedore Damage in detail and to invite Charterers to appoint a
surveyor to assess the extent of the Stevedore Damage
The owners of the ship complained to the disponent owners that damage has been
caused to the vessel when it had loaded and discharged a cargo of logs, which were
carried from New Zealand to China. The owners of the ship brought a claim against their
disponent owners who in turn sought to pass it to the sub charterers.
The charterers relied upon clause 64 of the charter party. They argued that under it the
owners were obliged to notify them within 24 hours of loading or discharging, of a
stevedore damage incident. In addition, the notification notice was required to be
detailed and to contain details of the alleged damage. The charterers claimed no such
notice had been received or if notice had been given, it did not contain enough
information.
The tribunal decided that the charterers were taking clause 64 at face value and had
given no effect in their views to the fact that the Protective Clause had specifically
referred to logs. That clause had to take precedence over the time limit and other
obligations in clause 64. Under that clause, they had agreed to be liable for any
consequences due to stevedores rough operation and were obliged to repair or
reimburse The tribunals view was based on a particular set of clauses and facts but,
the decision might be an indicator of the way these issues will be handled where there
are competing clauses.