5 F. 209 | D. Maryland | 1881
The owners of the British ship Naval Reserve, 1,831 tons, on February 4, 1880, chartered her to the libellants for a voyage from Liverpool, where she then was, to Baltimore, for the lump sum of £1,212 10s.
The charter-party shows that it was contemplated that the libellants, who were ship-brokers of Liverpool, might not load the vessel themselves, but might procure a cargo to be put on board by other freighters, at a rate which would yield them a profit, and that the consignee of the vessel, in that casé, was to collect the whole freight, and they were to receive through him the excess. Accordingly, the charter-party contains these stipulations: “The freight, [that is, the lump sum] to be due and payable, on true delivery of the cargo, in cash, at current rate of exchange for bankers’ 60-days’ sight bills on London, on date of vessel’s entry at custom-house; captain to give his draft on his" consignees, at the port of discharge, in charterer’s favor, payable' 10 days after ship’s arrival, for any excess of freight as per bills of lading and this charter. Any deficiency between freight and charter to be paid here in cash, less three months’ interest and cost of insurance thereon. The charterers áre not to be held liable for any loss of freight arising from breakage, leakage, drainage, or any other cause beyond their control.”
The charterers, who are the libellants, did procure for the ship a full cargo of 1,800 tons of iron ore, known as “purple ore,” at the rate of 14s. 3d. per ton on weight delivered. If 1,800 tons had been delivered the freight thereon would have amounted to about £70 in excess of the lump sum, and it is to recover this alleged excess of £70 that this suit is instituted. It appears, however, that when the cargo was delivered in Baltimore there was a loss of weight of about 120 tons, so that, instead of an excess, the freight actually received by the ship was some £20 less than the lump sum mentioned in the charter. The ship encountered on the voyage exceedingly rough weather, and was
The contention of the libellants is that, as by the terms of the charter-party “the charterers were not to he held liable for any loss of freight arising from breakage, leakage, drainage, or any cause beyond their control,” they were to be paid the excess of freight called for by the hills of lading over the lump sum mentioned in the charier, notwithstanding no excess of freight was collected by reason of loss of weight in the ore from drainage or evaporation or other loss, and they claim that the"true interpretation of the charter entitled them to have a draft in their favor, drawn by the captain, before the vessel sailed from Liverpool; the draft to be for the amount of this excess, drawn on the consignees of the vessel at the port of discharge, payable 10 days after the vessel’s
Libel dismissed.