Does a geographical deviation preclude the carrier from relying on the one year time bar limit? UK Court answered it in Dera Commercial Estate v. Derya Inc (MV Sur) [2018].
Background of the case: M.V.Sur’s cargo of Indian Maize was rejected by Jordanian authorities because of impurities, damaged kernels etc. Owners directed the vessel to Turkey without the consent of cargo interests. Cargo was ultimately sold pursuant to a judicial sale ordered by the Turkish court.
Just how serious a breach is ‘geographical deviation’ in terms of contracts of carriage by sea? It took nearly a century for the English courts to come to the conclusion that this is a fundamental breach that goes to the root of the contract thereby precluding the carrier (owners in this case) from relying on the one year time bar limit of Hague rules. Justice Carr was bound by Supreme Court’s decision in Hain Steamship v Tate (1936) but acknowledged that were he not so bound, he would have come to a different conclusion.
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