Collision causes a loss of commission

Shipbrokers fixed a bulk carrier for a time charter of 90 days.  The first voyage was via a port in Thailand where cargo was loaded for discharge at an African port.  Unfortunately, during the outward passage, the ship collided with a tanker.  There was no serious damage other than that, as a result of the collision, the tanker hit a dolphin (part of the port structure) which was damaged.  As a result, the bulk carrier was arrested by the local authorities and was not released until two months later.

In the charterparty, there was a clause giving the charterers the option to cancel if the ship had been off hire for 30 consecutive days, and they decided to exercise this option and cancelled the remainder of the charterparty. 

The shipbrokers had purchased ITIC’s optional loss of commission cover and made a claim for their lost commission.

The duration of the voyage until the collision and arrest was 43.1875 days, leaving 46.8125 days remaining of the minimum period.  In addition, at the time of the arrest, the ship was nominated to perform a further voyage with another cargo.