The Sennar (No. 2) - Court of Appeal (Cumming-Bruce & Kerr L.JJ., and Sir Denys Buckley) - 24 May 1984

Dutch proceedings determining question of jurisdiction under bill of lading - Whether plaintiffs barred from suing in England

The plaintiff buyers agreed to buy a quantity of groundnut expellers C.I.F. Rotterdam. The cargo was to be shipped by end August 1973. The sellers arranged for the cargo to be shipped on board the vessel Sennar at Port Sudan. The vessel loaded the cargo at the end of August and the beginning of September 1973. The relevant bill of lading was dated 30 August 1973, but it was subsequently revealed that completion of the shipment did not in fact take place until 6 September 1973.