Pyrene Co Ltd v Scindia Steam Navigation Co Ltd
The Hague Rules apply to a contract of carriage covered by a bill of lading from the time loading begins, even before the bill is issued, and an FOB seller can take the benefit of the limitation of liability.
Facts
Pyrene sold fire tenders to the Indian government on FOB terms. The buyer arranged the shipment with the carrier. While one tender was being loaded, it was dropped and damaged by the negligence of the carrier's servants, before it crossed the ship's rail. At that point, the property and risk had not passed to the buyer, so Pyrene, the seller, bore the loss. A bill of lading was later issued for the other tenders, which did not include the damaged one. Pyrene sued the carrier, who relied on the limitation of liability in the Hague Rules.
Legal principle
Devlin J held that the carrier was entitled to limit its liability under the Hague Rules. He said that the contract of carriage, which was covered by a bill of lading, came into existence when the shipment was arranged, even though the bill had not yet been issued, and that the Rules applied to the whole operation of loading, which was a single operation covered by the contract. The seller, although not a party to the contract of carriage made by the buyer, had participated in the contract, and could not sue the carrier in tort without being bound by the limitation. The case is an important authority on the scope of the Hague Rules and FOB contracts.
Related cases on bills of lading and carriage of goods by sea
- Alize 1954 v Allianz Elementar Versicherungs AG (The CMA CGM Libra) [2021] UKSC 51
- Comptoir d'Achat et de Vente du Boerenbond Belge SA v Luis de Ridder Limitada (The Julia) [1949] AC 293
- Grant v Norway (1851) 10 CB 665
- Homburg Houtimport BV v Agrosin Private Ltd (The Starsin) [2003] UKHL 12, [2004] 1 AC 715
- JI MacWilliam Co Inc v Mediterranean Shipping Co SA (The Rafaela S) [2005] UKHL 11, [2005] 2 AC 423
- Maxine Footwear Co Ltd v Canadian Government Merchant Marine Ltd [1959] AC 589
- New Zealand Shipping Co Ltd v AM Satterthwaite & Co Ltd (The Eurymedon) [1975] AC 154
- Riverstone Meat Co Pty Ltd v Lancashire Shipping Co Ltd (The Muncaster Castle) [1961] AC 807
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