Section 9 has previously been held to override the effect of a London arbitration clause in a bill of lading for carriage of goods into Australia,2 and a London arbitration clause in a voyage charterparty for carriage of goods out of Australia that specifically incorporated the Act by virtue of a Clause Paramount.3 In The Blooming Orchard (No. 2), Carruthers, J., in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, has taken the further step of holding that s. 9 applies to a voyage charterparty for carriage of goods out of Australia, even in the absence of a Clause Paramount specifically incorporating the provisions of the Act. The plaintiff was a Turkish importer of coal from Australia. It had chartered the ship Blooming Orchard, a very large bulk carrier, as part of a long-term contract of affreightment for carriage of coal from Port Kembla, New South Wales, to Iskenderun in Turkey. On arrival at Port Kembla, the Blooming Orchard was found to be unseaworthy: the Commonwealth Department of Transport issued a notice of unseaworthiness under the Commonwealth Navigation Act 1912, s. 210(1). The charterer then instituted proceedings in rem for breach of the charterparty and had the ship arrested. By notice of motion, the shipowner applied for the proceedings to be stayed, and the ship released from arrest, because the charterparty contained a clause whereby the