Introduction and overview

9.1 The topic of this chapter is marine insurance cover for the detainment of vessels by a foreign state, as illustrated by a recent Norwegian arbitration case – the Team Tango case.1 It is well known that vessels entering foreign ports may be detained by the governing state, with or without an accepted legal basis for making such intervention. This may prevent the vessel from leaving the port and so lead to delay, resulting in loss of income under the vessel's freight contract. Detainment may also lead to damage to the vessel, and, if the vessel is not freed from the detainment, may result in the vessel being lost. The question will then be whether such delay, damage and total loss are covered under the vessel's hull and loss of hire insurance. Unfortunately, this issue has gained importance in recent years, because states have arrested foreign vessels in their ports on dubious legal bases and then detained them for lengthy periods, even ending up confiscating the vessel. The question of insurance cover for this peril is therefore an important issue for both the ship owners and the insurance community.