Guangzhou Dockyards Co Ltd (formerly known as Guangzhou CSSC-Oceanline-GSW Marine Engineering Co Ltd) v ENE Aegiali I (’The Aegiali’) [2010] EWHC 2826 (Comm)

Arbitration - Party autonomy - No appeal from arbitral award on question of fact In the judgment of The Aegiali which was handed down by the English Commercial Court on 5 November 2010, Blair J dismissed an appeal against an arbitral award made on a question of fact.

Fact

By a contract dated 7 November 2007 (the ‘contract’), ENE Aegiali I (the shipowners) agreed with Guangzhou Dockyards Co, Ltd (the ‘dockyard’) to convert a single hull Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) MT Aegiali into a double hull Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) (the ‘vessel’). Article 22 of the contract stated that the contract was subject to English law and contained an arbitration clause agreeing to London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) arbitration. The arbitration clause notably provided as follows: