Tor Line A.B. v. Alltrans Groups of Canada Ltd. (The TFL Prosperity) - House of Lords (Lord Diplock, Lord Fraser, Lord Keith, Lord Roskill and Lord Brandon) - 15 December 1983

Baltime exclusion clause considered by House of Lords

The House of Lords has now confirmed that clause 13 of the Baltime charter does not give shipowners the very wide protection that it might have appeared to do. The appellants had time-chartered the vessel TFL Prosperity from the respondent disponent owners (“the owners”) on the Baltime form. The TFL Prosperity was a ro-ro vessel and the charterers required her for their ro-ro liner service between Europe and the Middle East. Typed clause 26 of the charterparty specified in detail the description of certain fixed structural aspects of the vessel. One of the main provisions of clause 26 under the heading “Free Heights” was “Main Deck 6.10 m”. In fact the free height of the main deck at one critical point was only 6.05 metres. As a result, a Mafi trailer double stacked with 40ft containers could not be loaded into the main deck. The charterers claimed damages for loss of freight and for delay. The owners relied on clause 13 of the printed Baltime form.