Dispute can be referred for arbitration
An English court has ruled that a vessel owner who had a unilateral option in a charterparty to refer disputes to arbitration could exercise that option even though the charterer had already started court action against it.
The ruling, reports The Business Times, affirms the current position under English law that there is no need for both parties to a charterparty to each have an option to refer any dispute to arbitration for them to have a binding arbitration agreement. The charterparty was on an amended Baltic and International Maritime Council Standard Bareboat Charter (Barecon 89). Full report in The Business Times