General Average in UK Law

But in my opinion the difficulty goes beyond mere technicality or legal logic. Under the terms of this Lloyd's Average Bond contract, things had to be done by the parties forthwith and disputes under the contract might well, as a matter of commercial reality, arise forthwith. For example, there might be an immediate dispute as to whether freight was payable, or, if so, how much freight.

It is also true that lives can be the subject of insurance, and that it is possible to insure against liability to pay life salvage. Those who are interested in ship and cargo do not usually, however, have insurable interests in the lives of crew or passengers. It must frequently be the case that, just as in the case of salvage and general average, sue and labour expenses are incurred, in part, for the benefit of lives which are also at risk as a result of the insured peril.

The same can be said of Owner's alternative formulation that MMO's breach was of an implied obligation to do all within its power to enable the Vessel to become an arrived ship. MMO did nothing to prevent the vessel becoming an arrived ship; it wanted to take delivery of the steel coils and was ready, willing and able to do so. What prevented the Vessel becoming an arrived ship was Owners' exercise of the lien.

It is not the task of the court to describe the use in the narrowest terms possible unless that is what the average consumer would do ( YouView TV v Total [2012] EWHC 3158 (Ch) per Floyd J). Thus, for example in Pan World Brands v Tripp [2008] RPC 2 ( Extreme) the Appointed Person (Richard Arnold QC as he then was) held that use in relation to holdalls justified a registration for luggage generally.

The ship insured is driven against another by stress of weather; the injury she thus sustains is admitted to be direct, and the insurers are liable for it. But the collision causes the ship insured to do some damage to the other vessel; and, whenever this effect is produced, both vessels being in fault, a positive rule of the Court of Admiralty requires the damage done to both ships to be added together, and the combined amount to be equally divided between the owners of the two.