Misdelivery Of Cargo After Discharge Does the 12-month Hague-Visby Rules time bar apply? On 24 May 2023 the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in FIMBANK PLC and KCH SHIPPING CO LTD dealing with the issue of whether the 12-month time bar under the Hague-Visby Rules applies to claims for misdelivery of cargo after discharge. Articles Ioannis Avgoustis Published: October 17, 2023 Contact author Download article pdf The Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decisions of the tribunal and the High Court in favour of the carrier that the 12-month time bar indeed applies to misdelivery claims after discharge. An earlier English case - The Alhani [2018] EWHC 1495 Comm.  -  had decided that the 12-month time bar in Article III rule 6 of the Hague Visby Rules applied to misdelivery claims but in this case the misdelivery was simultaneous with discharge during a ship-to-ship transfer.  Whether the 12-month time bar applies to a misdelivery after the cargo had been discharged was addressed in the Fimbank case, with the Court of Appeal upholding earlier decisions of an arbitral tribunal and the High Court in favour of the carrier that the time bar applies to misdelivery claims after discharge. Factual background A cargo of approximately 85,510 metric tons of steam (non-coking) coal was shipped in bulk on board the vessel “GIANT ACE” in Indonesia and 13 bills of lading dated either 4 or 14 March 2018 were issued. The appellant, FIMBANK PLC (“FIMBANK”), was the holder of all 13 bills of lading and the respondent, KCH Shipping Co Ltd was the demise charterer of the vessel and the carrier under the bills of lading.  The bills of lading were on the Congenbill (1994) form and incorporated the terms of a voyage charterparty dated 20 February 2018. The voyage charterparty was governed by English law and provided, in clause 13.10, the following: “Thus Charterparty shall have effect subject to the Hague-Visby Rules, which shall apply to any bill of lading issued und