Spliethoff Transport BV v Leisure Freight and Import Pty Ltd

Spliethoff Transport BV (the applicant) sought to set aside an arbitration award made in favour of Leisure Freight and Import Pty Ltd (the respondent). The dispute concerned a claim for demurrage charges arising from the charter of a vessel. The arbitration was conducted in Sydney, and the award was made in Sydney.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the arbitration award should be set aside pursuant to section 8(1) of the *Commercial Arbitration Act 2010* (NSW) (the Act). Specifically, the applicant contended that the arbitrator had exceeded their powers by making findings on issues that were not within the scope of the arbitration agreement. The applicant argued that the arbitrator had determined a claim for demurrage that had not been validly submitted to arbitration.

Judge Raphael found that the arbitration agreement, as evidenced by the charterparty, clearly encompassed disputes relating to demurrage. The court examined the correspondence between the parties and concluded that the respondent had indeed submitted the demurrage claim to arbitration, and the arbitrator had acted within the scope of the agreed submission. The court applied the principle that an arbitrator's powers are defined by the arbitration agreement and that an award will only be set aside if the arbitrator has acted outside those powers.

The application to set aside the arbitration award was dismissed.