'ANNA BO' - Court Considers Anti-Suit Injunction Against Chinese Proceedings

In the "ANNA BO", where Clyde & Co acted for the successful claimant, the Court found that an arbitration clause in a time charterparty had been validly incorporated by reference in a bill of lading. The Court also clarified the nature of its power to grant an injunction restraining foreign proceedings in breach of an arbitration agreement.

Facts and Claims

The claimant was the owner of the "ANNA BO", which had required salvage services after its cargo of nickel ore liquefied during a voyage from Indonesia to China. The defendant was the notify party identified in the bill of lading.

The bill of lading stated on its face "Freight payable as per CHARTER-PARTY dated 11/04/13" and stated on its reverse "All terms and conditions, liberties and exceptions of the Charter Party, dated as overleaf, including the Law and Arbitration Clause, are herewith incorporated."

The charterparty referred to on the face of the bill of lading was a time charterparty entered into between the claimant and charterers, and contained an arbitration clause stating that any dispute arising under it or any bill of lading issued under it was to be resolved by London arbitration with English law to apply.

The claimant commenced English arbitration proceedings against the defendant under the bill of lading, seeking an indemnity due to the loading of a dangerous cargo. The defendant commenced Chinese court proceedings seeking to recover expenses incurred in transhipping the cargo as well as the defendant's proportion of salvage and general average contributions. The claimant therefore sought an anti-suit injunction from the English High Court restraining the defendant from pursuing proceedings other than by arbitration in London.

Issues

The defendant opposed the anti-suit injunction on three grounds, namely that:

It was unclear whether the time charterparty and its arbitration clause had been incorporated into the bill of lading as it was arguable that the charterparty referred to on the face of the bill of lading was not the time charterparty but rather a voyage charterparty dated 28 November 2013. The Court's power to grant the anti-suit injunction was subject to the requirements of s.44 of the Arbitration Act 1996, which governed situations such as this where arbitration had been commenced or was being contemplated. These requirements included a requirement as to urgency, which was not satisfied in this instance. There were other strong reasons not to grant the...