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Showing posts from October, 2008

Link between Refund Guarantees and Common Law

In an earlier post [October 21, 2008 ], - Seller had contracted to construct three bulk carriers for the Buyer but failed to deliver the same by its delivery date or within 150 days or by the drop-dead date as stipulated under the shipbuilding contracts. The Buyer recovered monies plus interest from the Refund Guarantor (which has issued refund guarantee to secure instalment payments on behalf of the Seller) in accordance with the provisions of the contracts and further claimed damages at common law. On appeal from an Arbitration award, the questions before Commercial Court were: (i) Whether Article 10 is a contractual code which excludes all rights of termination in respect of the events that occurred here (“the first issue”); (ii) Whether the exclusion clause in Article 10 of the contract excludes any claim for damages in respect of what has occurred (“the second issue”) and (iii) Whether the termination of the contracts pursuant to and in reliance upon the contractual termin

Does recovery of monies under refund guarantee preclude buyer from claiming damages at common law?

Stocznia Gdynia SA v Gearbulk Holdings Ltd [2008] EWHC 944 (Comm),  ([2009] EWCA Civ 75. Seller agreed to construct three bulk carriers for the Buyer but failed to deliver the same by its delivery date or within 150 days or by the drop-dead date as stipulated under the shipbuilding contracts. The Buyer recovered monies plus interest from the Refund Guarantor (which has issued refund guarantee to secure instalment payments on behalf of the Seller) in accordance with the provisions of the contracts and further claimed damages at common law.  Clause 10 of the shipbuilding contracts provides that t he Buyer shall not be entitled to claim any other compensation and the Seller shall not be liable for any other compensation for damages sustained by reason of events set out in this Article and/or direct consequences of such events other than liquidated damages specified in this Article. Clause 10.7 provides that  “Upon termination of this Contract by the [Buyer] in accordance

Prequalification of Shipyard

The following is a list of basic questions for pre-qualifying shipyards bidding for new project. It could also serve as a draft which could be expanded (when necessary) to provide specific information for financiers and for developing investor’s package and marketing strategy. Corporate Information – History, kind of entity, nationality, prior corporate names, parent company, subsidiaries, affiliated companies and yard locations. Experience and qualifications of Management Team and Key Personnel. Financial Data – Audited Financial Report for at least the previous three years, plus unaudited quarterly reports since the last audited report. Performance Bonds – Recent ability to acquire Performance Bonds, amount of coverage, and any cases in which bond issued on behalf of company was drawn down. Liens, (if any) – Number of liens filed against the company during the past three years, and the average and maximum values for those liens. Litigation, (if any) – Information on all