UK P&I Club NV and Another v República Bolivariana de Venezuela (The RCGS Resolute) – Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court [2022] EWHC 1655 (Comm), Sir Ross Cranston, sitting as a High Court Judge – 28 June 2022

Arbitration – Anti-suit injunction – Direct action against insurers by third-party state – Whether third-party state bound by arbitration clause – Whether anti-suit injunction could be granted against a state – State Immunity Act 1978, sections 1, 9 and 13 – European Convention on Human Rights, article 6

On 30 March 2020 the Venezuelan navy patrol vessel, BVL Naiguatá GC-23, was sent out to intercept the ice-classed cruise liner Resolute while engaged in a tourism cruise to Antarctica. There was an altercation between the two vessels and they collided. BVL Naiguatá GC-23 suffered serious damage to her hull, took on substantial amounts of water, and sank. There was no agreement as to how the casualty occurred or whether it was in territorial or international waters.