Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
HAGUE RULES IN AUSTRALIA
P.S. Chellaram & Co. Ltd. v. China Ocean Shipping Company In P.S. Chellaram & Co. Ltd. v. China Ocean Shipping Co.,1 the plaintiff cargo owner sued China Ocean Shipping Co. (“COSCO”) and its Sydney agent, Five Star Shipping Agency (“Five Star”), for failure to deliver a container containing 900 cartons of cassette tapes shipped from Hong Kong to Sydney. The container had been released to the consignee, G.E. Gemson Imports Australia Pty. Ltd., without presentation of the bill of lading, and without the plaintiff’s consent to the release of the goods without presentation of the bill of lading. Proceedings were not commenced within the time limitation period, which in this case was 12 months from the date upon which goods should have been delivered.
In the Admiralty Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Carruthers, J., held that the defendants were estopped from relying upon Art. III,
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