Sunly Petroleum Co Ltd v The Owners of The Ship or Vessel "Lok Maheshwari"

• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Judge: Choo Han Teck JC
• Judgment Date: 19 September 1996
• Neutral Citation: [1996] SGHC 212
• Citation: [1996] SGHC 212
• Published date: 29 January 2013
• Plaintiff Counsel: Kenny Yap [Allen & Gledhill]
• Defendant Counsel: R Srivathsan [Haridass Ho & Partners]

Judgment:

GROUNDS OF DECISION

1. On 12 January 1996 the Plaintiffs supplied bunkers and marine fuels to a vessel called the Lok Maheswari . The price of these supplies was US$37,755.97. An invoice was issued to the Defendants who were at all material times the owners of the vessel. The Defendants did not pay so the Plaintiffs sued and arrested the vessel in an action in rem. The vessel was subsequently released upon the Defendants providing security.

2. The owners then applied to strike out the Writ of Summons and proceedings in this action. The application was made on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction over the Defendants because the Plaintiff's case did not fall within s 4(4) of the High Court (Admiralty Jurisdiction) Act, Cap 123.

3. The events that led to the supply of the bunkers and marine fuel are straightforward. On 10 January 1996 the Plaintiffs received a telefax request stating the buyer to be the master and/or owner and/or operator and Portserv Limited . The telefax was sent by Capt Keith Rasquinha the master of the vessel. On the same day, the Plaintiffs received a telex from Portserv Limited , a company in Canada, stating that the vessel would arrive in Singapore on 12 January 1996. The next day, 11 January 1996, the master of the vessel sent a telex to the Plaintiffs stating, ... Understand u stemming IFO 200mt n MDO 50mt outside Singapore Port limits as advised by Transmar Shipping... . The vessel was at the material time on a Time Charter to Halla Merchant Marine Co Ltd of Seoul, Korea who sub-chartered the vessel to Transmar Shipping referred to in the master's telex of 11 January 1996.

4. On the same day, 11 January 1996, the Plaintiffs sent a telefax to Master and/or owner and/or operator and Portserv Ltd, care of Capt Rasquinha confirming the supply of the bunker fuel on the Plaintiffs' terms and conditions of sale. In this telefax which the Plaintiffs' counsel relied on, it was stated in the last sentence of the fourth paragraph as follows:

Sales of Marine fuels are made on the credit of the receiving vessel n owners as well as the Buyer's promise to pay n amount due shall give rise to a claim personally against the buyer n owners n in rem against the vessel n sistervessels, if any .

5. Also on 11 January 1996 the Plaintiffs sent a telefax to the Defendants' local agents Far Eastern Service Pte Ltd to request that Far Eastern give the Plaintiffs at least 24 hours notice of the location of the vessel and time at which delivery is required. They received a telefax from Far Eastern Service Pte Ltd stating that bunkers will be received within port limits. This was written on the same telex received from the master of the vessel at 2.02 hours on the same day in which the master stated clearly that the charterers had advised the vessel to receive the bunkers outside port limits. Transmar Shipping, the sub-charterers also sent a telefax on the same day to the Plaintiffs requesting that the bunkers be supplied outside port limits and if the owners of the vessels wanted to bring the vessel within port limits they must do so at their own expense.

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