Nikolay Malakhov Shipping Co Limited v Seassapfor Limited

The Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal heard an appeal concerning a dispute between Nikolay Malakhov Shipping Co Limited (the appellant) and Seassapfor Limited (the respondent). The core of the disagreement related to the respondent's alleged breach of a charterparty agreement.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the respondent had repudiated the charterparty by failing to provide a vessel that was "ready to load" by the agreed-upon laydays. A further issue was whether the appellant had validly terminated the charterparty in response to this alleged breach.

The Court found that the respondent had not repudiated the charterparty. It reasoned that the term "ready to load" did not require the vessel to be in all respects ready to commence loading at the precise commencement of the laydays, but rather that it be presented at the agreed port within the laydays in a condition that allowed for the commencement of loading within a reasonable time thereafter. The Court applied principles of contractual interpretation, emphasizing the need to consider the commercial context and the ordinary meaning of the words used in the charterparty. As there was no repudiation, the appellant's purported termination of the charterparty was wrongful.

The appeal was dismissed.