Crescendo Maritime Co and Another v Bank of Communications Company Ltd and Others – QBD (Comm Ct) (Teare J) [2015] EWHC 3364 (Comm) – 25 November 2015

Practice – Anti-suit injunction – Shipbuilding contract – Buyer bringing London arbitration against Chinese bank to enforce refund guarantees – Arbitrators finding in favour of buyer – Chinese bank bringing proceedings against buyer and others in China – Whether buyer entitled to anti-suit injunction

In August 2007 a Chinese company (the builder) agreed to construct a vessel and sell it to the claimant buyer. The agreement was to be governed by English law and to contain a London arbitration clause. The written contract was backdated to 2 December 2006 so as to circumvent the application of certain amendments to the SOLAS Convention concerning tank coatings, which amendments applied to vessels built pursuant to shipbuilding contracts signed after 8 December 2006.