FIMBank plc v KCH Shipping Co Ltd – [2022] EWHC 2400 (Comm), King’s Bench Division, Commercial Court (Sir William Blair, sitting as a High Court Judge) – 28 September 2022

Carriage of goods by sea – Alleged misdelivery after discharge – Time bar – Whether one-year limitation period under Hague-Visby Rules applied to misdelivery after discharge – Implied term

The vessel Giant Ace was bareboat-chartered from owners Mirae Wise SA (a Panamanian company) by KCH (a Korean company) for the carriage of about 85,510 mt of coal in bulk. Thirteen sets of bills of lading on the Congenbill form and dated 4 and 14 March 2018 were issued “to order” by the master of Giant Ace. The bills of lading incorporated the terms of the charterparty, including the Hague-Visby Rules.