Magellan Spirit ApS v Vitol SA;

Conflict of laws – Jurisdiction. The Commercial Court refused the claimant owner of a vessel's application for an anti-suit injunction to restrain the defendant purchaser of cargo shipped on the vessel from suing it in Nigeria in respect of losses it allegedly sustained after the vessel became grounded in Nigeria, causing delay in the delivery of the cargo. It held that the relevant time charter had been made between the owner and the charterer and the charterer had not entered into that agreement as an agent of the defendant. Accordingly, the defendant was not bound by the terms of the time charter to submit disputes to the jurisdiction of the English court. Further, there was no free-standing agreement between the owner and the defendant to refer disputes arising out of the carriage of the cargo to the jurisdiction of the English court.