Globalia Business Travel S.A.U (formerly TravelPlan S.A.U) of Spain (Respondent) v Fulton Shipping Inc of Panama (Appellant)

This case involved an appeal by the charterers, Fulton Shipping Inc, against a decision of the High Court which had allowed an appeal by the shipowners, Globalia Business Travel S.A.U., against an award of an arbitrator. The dispute arose out of the repudiation by the charterers of a charterparty for the hire of a cruise ship, the New Flamenco. The shipowners had accepted the repudiation and resold the vessel. The charterers claimed credit for the resale price against the damages claimed by the shipowners for the loss of the hire under the charterparty. The appeal concerned the question whether the charterers were entitled to such credit. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal by the shipowners and held that the charterers were not entitled to the credit they claimed. The Court held that the change in the market value of the vessel during the period between the resale and the date when the charterparty would have expired was not caused by the charterers’ breach and was therefore irrelevant for the purposes of assessing damages for the loss of hire. The Court held that the shipowners had not been obliged to sell the vessel and that, if they had decided to sell, they were exercising their proprietary rights independently of the charterparty and its termination.