BlackStone & Gold on causation in misdelivery cases: “Maersk Katalin”
- Published
by Admin
Law firm BlackStone & Gold recently provided Singapore-based bunkering publication Manifold Times its analysis on misdelivery claims and whether the pendulum has swung back in favour of the banks after a recent spat of successes for shipowners defending against misdelivery claims:
By Baldev Bhinder, Managing Director, and Ramandeep Kaur, Director of BlackStone & Gold
The original bill of lading (“OBL”) represents the cornerstone of security for international trade finance. Lenders seek a right to the OBLs because it would give them a notional right to the cargo and in its absence, a claim for misdelivery against shipowners that released the cargo without presentation of OBLs.
A series of decisions from Singapore and UK between 2021 and 2024 however signalled a weakening of misdelivery claims, with shipowners successfully resisting such claims (in summary judgment applications or on merits).
These decisions have put the spotlight on the defence of causation of the loss, and in particular whether holders of OBLs like banks would have allowed discharge without presentation of the OBLs. This examination of the lender’s conduct in turn brings into focus the multiple layers of security in a trade finance structure and the lender’s knowledge of permitting cargo discharge without OBLs, thereby setting up a defence against misdelivery claims.
The “Maersk Katalin” [2024] SGHC 282, provided an occasion for the Singapore High Court to analyse the issue of causation at trial. This case makes clear the highly factual nature of the causation defence – a shipowner resisting a misdelivery claim would therefore have to lead evidence that the bank making the misdelivery claim would have been consulted and would have permitted discharge without OBLs.
From the bank’s perspective, this case underscores the need for banks to be alive to any conduct, which may undermine the value of the OBL as security – this is particularly so when straddling the different types of security interests that the bank takes.
Note: The full article by BlackStone & Gold can be read here.
Photo credit: BlackStone & Gold
Published: 24 April, 2025
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