In the recent English High Court case of Sang Stone Hamoon Jonoub Co Ltd v. Baoyue Shipping Co. Ltd. ([2015] EWHC 2288 Comm), Mr Justice Males provided direction on the potential liability of a cargo owner to the shipowner where the first does not take delivery of the cargo and the recompense such shipowner may expect in return. In this case, the unpaid FOB seller of the goods, who held the bill of lading (BL), was found liable to the shipowner for storage charges greater than the value of the unpaid cargo. The shipowner successfully defended a claim for unlawful conversion following storage of cargo that had not been collected within a reasonable time. Under English law, in brief terms, conversion of cargo is an act of dealing with that cargo in a way that is inconsistent with the cargo owner’s rights, such that the cargo owner is deprived of the use or possession of the cargo.
Officer of the Watch 