VM有限公司 (Valentine Maritime Ltd.) v. 江苏中汇进出口有限公司 & 南京天舜船舶有限公司

At a glance

Parties

Valentine Maritime Ltd. (VM有限公司, Liberia) v. Jiangsu Zhonghui Import & Export Co., Ltd. (江苏中汇进出口有限公司) and Nanjing Tianshun Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (南京天舜船舶有限公司)

Case no.

(2018)鄂72协外认1号之一

Court

Wuhan Maritime Court (武汉海事法院), People's Republic of China

Forum and rules

Application to recognise a foreign arbitral award under the New York Convention. The underlying ad hoc arbitration was held in London under English law and the LMAA Terms (2012).

Treaty

New York Convention 1958 (Articles III, IV, V(1)(b), V(2))

Court

Xu Zemin (presiding judge), Wan Yi (judge), Li Suqing (people's assessor)

Underlying award(s)

Award of 12 May 2017, memorandum of correction and clarification of 5 June 2017, and award on the amount of costs of 13 October 2017, made in London by a tribunal of Dennis Fry (presiding), Ian Gaunt and Clive Aston

Sector

Shipbuilding

Outcome

Awards recognised (15 May 2019). The court did not review the interest claimed because only recognition, not enforcement, was sought.

Amount

Court application fee of RMB 500, borne by the respondents.

The dispute

On 21 September 2007 Valentine Maritime Ltd. (VM), as buyer, signed shipbuilding contract No. 07SINOWAY-S208 with Jiangsu Zhonghui and Nanjing Tianshun, as joint and several sellers. The contract was for a 120-metre pipe-laying barge (hull TS0717) to be built at Tianshun's yard. Clause 13 of the contract provided for arbitration in London under English law. After delivery, a dispute arose over the quality of the vessel. VM started arbitration and obtained awards in London in 2017. It then applied to the Wuhan Maritime Court to have the awards recognised under the New York Convention. Zhonghui objected first to the court's jurisdiction. On the merits it argued under Article V(1)(b) that Tianshun had not known about the arbitration. It also disputed the interest that VM had calculated in its application. Tianshun made no submissions.

Key holdings

1. The court has jurisdiction. Under Article 11 of the Special Maritime Procedure Law, an application to recognise a foreign maritime arbitral award goes to the maritime court for the place where the respondent is domiciled. Both respondents are domiciled in Nanjing, which is within the court's area. Zhonghui's earlier objection to jurisdiction had been dismissed, and the dismissal was upheld on appeal. pp. 4–5
2. The New York Convention applies. The awards were made in the United Kingdom under English law. Both China and the United Kingdom are Contracting States, the Convention has been in force for China since 22 April 1987, and none of China's reservations is engaged. The documents VM submitted meet the formal requirements of Article IV. p. 5
3. The Article V(1)(b) defence fails. VM's lawyers sent the notice of arbitration by email to both respondents. The respondents' lawyers replied on behalf of both of them, appointed an arbitrator and took part in the arbitration. Tianshun therefore had notice. No ground for refusal under Article V(1)(b) or Article V(2) exists, and the awards are recognised. p. 5
4. The court did not review the interest rates and amounts set out in VM's application. VM had applied only for recognition of the awards, not for their enforcement. p. 5
5. The award of 12 May 2017 (including the memorandum of 5 June 2017) and the costs award of 13 October 2017 are recognised. The application fee of RMB 500 is borne by the two respondents. pp. 5–6

Procedural history

1. 21 September 2007Shipbuilding contract No. 07SINOWAY-S208 signed.
2. 21 July 2014VM's lawyers serve notice of arbitration by email. VM appoints Ian Gaunt as arbitrator and proposes the LMAA Terms (2012).
3. 12 August 2014The respondents' lawyers appoint Clive Aston and agree to the LMAA Terms. The two arbitrators then appoint Dennis Fry as presiding arbitrator.
4. 6–9 March 2017Hearing in London, attended by representatives of both sides.
5. 12 May 2017Final award (except for the amount of costs). A memorandum of correction and clarification follows on 5 June 2017.
6. 13 October 2017Award on the amount of costs.
7. 23 March 2018The Wuhan Maritime Court registers VM's application for recognition.
8. 21 June 2018The court dismisses Zhonghui's objection to jurisdiction. The Hubei High People's Court dismisses Zhonghui's appeal on 4 December 2018 ((2018)鄂民辖终363号).
9. 15 May 2019The Wuhan Maritime Court recognises the awards.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

For the claimant

北京市中伦（上海）律师事务所

For the respondent

北京观韬中茂（南京）律师事务所 (Guantao, Nanjing)

Run a conflict check on these names →

Keywords

• recognition of foreign arbitral award
• New York Convention
• Article V(1)(b)
• proper notice
• Article IV
• shipbuilding contract
• pipe-laying barge
• LMAA Terms 2012
• London arbitration
• ad hoc arbitration
• maritime arbitration
• Wuhan Maritime Court
• Special Maritime Procedure Law
• jurisdiction objection
• interest
• recognition without enforcement
• China

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.