Arbitration – failed ETA notices and statement of facts recorded shore loader breakdown Oct 5, 2025 4 min read Summary prepared by Prokopios Krikris, FCIArb, Arbitrator Several issues were considered in this arbitration reference. The first concerned whether the Master had duly tendered the ETA notices to the Charterers, as failure to do so would entitle the Charterers to an additional 24 hours of laytime. The panel held that the Charterers had failed to demonstrate, by a preponderance of credible evidence, that the Master had failed in his duties, and that such failure was the sole cause of the resulting delays in berthing and loading. Therefore, the panel found that the Charterers' claim for 24 hours of extra laytime failed. The second issue concerned loading interruptions due to “shore loader breakdown”, which suspended the laytime. The owners stated that the alleged breakdowns of the shore equipment were, in fact, not caused by technical difficulties but rather due to the unavailability or shortage of cargo. The Master testified that the conveyor-belt system employed in loading the vessel would only run for short periods of time and then stop, whenever there was no cargo on the belt. The Master also testified that certain shore personnel informed him that the stoppages were caused by lack of steady cargo flow, but that he was prevented from further investigations by high barriers and sentries.   Charterers asserted that the stoppages were a result of mechanical breakdowns and that the Statement of Facts for Yuzhny, which was signed by the Master, clearly identified the stoppages as “shore loader breakdowns”. Neither the Master nor Owners ever, at any time protested these stoppages or their notation in the Statement of Facts, and therefore the signed Statement of Fact speaks for itself, and the time so lost does not count as Charterers' time, but qualifies as an exemption from laytime pursuant to Clause 5.   Charterers, cognizant of their burden to prov