charterparty, cargo, negligence, master, charterers Home Publications Articles Errors in the Management of the Ship, or the Management of the Cargo? Errors in the Management of the Ship, or the Management of the Cargo? Articles Steamship Mutual Published: January 02, 2019 Contact author Download article pdf     Image In Clearlake Shipping Pte Ltd v Privocean Shipping Ltd the English High Court held that, since US COGSA applied to the charterparty, the Owners were entitled to rely on the exception “negligence in the management of the ship” for the Master’s negligent decision to require additional cargo strapping in one of the cargo holds of the ship. The facts A dispute arose between Owners and Charterers with respect to the stowage of a consignment of soya beans to be carried from New Orleans to China. The Master refused to accept any stowage plan other than one where holds number 2 and 6 were partially loaded and which required the strapping of the cargo in hold number 2. Charterers incurred additional costs in the region of US$410,000 as a result of the strapping required by the Master. The Charterparty The relevant clauses of the governing Time Charterparty (NYPE 1946 Form) were: Clause 2 imposed on Charterers the burden of providing “necessary dunnage and shifting boards, also any extra fittings requisite for a special trade or unusual cargo” . Charterers were, as per clause 8, responsible for loading and stowing the cargo. The Charterparty incorporated the United States Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1936 ("US COGSA"). The Arbitration Owners commenced arbitration proceedings in London for about US$400,000 of unpaid hire and Charterers counterclaimed for about US$410,000 of additional costs incurred in strapping the cargo. The arbitrators found, based on the expert evidence, that the strapping costs were unnecessarily incurred as adequate stability could have been achieved without strapping the cargo. Further, the plan could have been derived from the so