Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
PIRACY, NEGOTIATION PERIOD EXPENSES AND ALLOWANCE IN GENERAL AVERAGE
Samuel Walpole* and Aaron Moss†
The Longchamp
Over the past decade, the impact of piracy off the coast of Somalia upon maritime commerce and, indeed, maritime law has been keenly felt. In Mitsui & Co Ltd v Beteiligungsgesellschaft LPG Tankerflotte mbH & Co KG (The Longchamp),1 the UK Supreme Court answered the commercially important question whether operating expenses incurred whilst negotiating a lower ransom for the release of a hijacked vessel are allowable in general average, so that they are shared proportionately amongst all involved in the maritime adventure. In so doing, the Court was presented with a rare opportunity to clarify the rules of general average. By majority, the Supreme Court held that such expenses are allowable in general average under Rule F of the York-Antwerp Rules (“YAR”). Marking the Court’s first exegesis of Rule F, The Longchamp is a clear
* University of Queensland.
† Clayton Utz; University of Tasmania.
â©The views expressed in this Comment reflect solely the personal views of the authors. We should like to thank Jaamae Hafeez-Baig for his comments on an earlier draft.
1. [2017] UKSC 68; [2018] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 1.
CASE AND COMMENT
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