Background facts On Christmas Eve in 2010, the M/T VALLE DI CORDOBA was attacked by pirates in the territorial waters of Benin while awaiting discharge orders for Nigeria. About 16% of the B/L quantity (5,300 MT) of the cargo of premium motor oil was transferred onto a lightering vessel and stolen. Cargo interests presented a claim to the shipowner in the amount of USD 5.8 M, which represented the value of the stolen cargo, plus costs.  The underlying charter party was a Beepeevoy 3 (“BP3”) with additional Trafigura terms. The relevant clause reads as follows:  IN-TRANSIT LOSS CLAUSE: In addition to any other rights which Charterers may have, Owners will be responsible for the full amount of any in-transit loss if in-transit loss exceeds 0.5% and Charterers shall have the right to claim an amount equal to the FOB port of loading value of such lost cargo plus freight and insurance due with respect thereto.  In-transit loss is defined as the difference between net total calculated vessel volumes after loading at the loading port and before unloading at the discharge port. It is noteworthy that the clause had been amended through the recap to read “claim” instead of “deduct from freight”. The case was referred to the High Court of Justice in London pursuant to the jurisdiction clause in the charter party, and subsequently to the Court of Appeal. The main questions to be decided upon were whether cargo interests could rely on the In-Transit Loss (“ITL”) clause to claim the value of the cargo which was stolen by the pirates, and, if so whether this would exclude the application of the Hague-Visby Rules and the exceptions to owners’ liability therein. Line attached to a vessel (source: Skuld) Scope of the in-transit loss clause A literal reading of the clause might suggest that the owners have accepted strict liability for any loss in-transit in excess of 0.5%, including cargo lost as a result of theft.  The main argument was that the clause was drafte