Mobil Shipping & Transportation Co. v. Wonsild Liquid Carriers Ltd.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
190 F.3d 64, 1999 AMC 2705 (1999)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Mobil Shipping & Transportation Co. (Mosat) (plaintiff) chartered the Alsterstern, a double-hulled freighter, from Wonsild Liquid Carriers Ltd. (Wonsild) (defendant). Mosat entered into the charter to transport lubricating oil from Europe to Singapore and then to Hong Kong. Under the terms of the charter, Wonsild warranted that the ship would be seaworthy and fit for its cargo throughout the voyage. The Alsterstern voyaged to Singapore and discharged part of the oil but suddenly lost power when en route to another berth in the harbor. The ship crashed into the berth and was damaged, with two substantial areas of damage on its outer hull. The ship’s crew attempted to fix what they believed was the cause of the power loss by jury-rigging a connection from the electrical system to the emergency generator. A surveyor hired by Wonsild inspected the ship and determined that it was fit in its damaged state to continue its voyage to Hong Kong if it sailed at the safest possible speed during favorable weather and if the hull damage was monitored throughout the voyage. Mosat believed that the ship was not seaworthy to continue the voyage. Wonsild refused to repair the ship, insisting it was seaworthy. Mosat refused to allow the ship to continue to Hong Kong and directed Wonsild to offload the remaining oil in Singapore. Mosat later filed a breach-of-contract action against Wonsild in federal district court for failing to maintain the ship in seaworthy condition throughout the voyage. The district court held that that the Alsterstern had not been seaworthy to continue the voyage to Hong Kong given that the cargo of lubricating oil warranted a heightened standard of seaworthiness. The court held that Wonsild had therefore breached the contract and awarded damages to Mosat. Wonsild appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McLaughlin, J.)
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