Contract analysis

1. Nature of the Hearing This note records the attendance at the hearing on 11 October 2024 of the application by Korinthian Maritime Holdings Ltd. ("KMH" or the "Applicant") to set aside LCIA Award No. 224718 dated 28 June 2024 (the "Award"). The application was dated 19 August 2024 and was brought under sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the "Act"). The Award was rendered by the tribunal comprising Sir

2. Parties' Representation The parties were represented at the hearing as follows: For the Applicant (KMH): Catherine Whitford, Partner, Harkness Whitford & Co. (SRA No. 614823), 12 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1JP. Ms. Whitford attended with James Thornbury, Associate at the same firm. Ms. Whitford conducted all of the advocacy on behalf of KMH. It should be noted that Richard Harkness, Senior Partner of Harkness Whitfo

3. Pre-Hearing Matters The hearing had been listed for 10:30 a.m. in Court 8 of the Rolls Building and was estimated for one full day. The hearing commenced promptly at approximately 10:35 a.m., following a brief delay while the usher confirmed the readiness of both parties. At the outset of the hearing, Mr. Justice Ashworth confirmed that he had pre-read the following materials: (a) the skeleton arguments filed by b

4. Summary of KMH's Submissions (Catherine Whitford for KMH) Ms. Whitford addressed the court for approximately one hour and forty minutes. Her submissions were divided into two parts: the section 68 challenge (serious irregularity) and the section 69 challenge (appeal on a point of law). 4.1 Section 68 — Serious Irregularity Ms. Whitford advanced three grounds of serious irregularity under section 68 of the Act. Gro

5. Summary of TSL's Submissions (Samuel Eklund for TSL) Mr. Eklund addressed the court for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. His submissions were structured to address each of KMH's grounds in turn, followed by submissions on costs. 5.1 Response to Section 68 Grounds On Ground 1 (failure to deal with issues — M/V *Volga Spirit* off-hire): Mr. Eklund submitted that the tribunal had addressed KMH's off-hire d

6. KMH's Brief Reply Ms. Whitford exercised KMH's right of brief reply. Her reply was short, lasting approximately ten minutes. On costs, Ms. Whitford submitted that the challenge had been brought in good faith and on the basis of considered legal advice. She argued that the grounds had been taken seriously by KMH and that it was not unreasonable for a party faced with an award of this magnitude to seek to exercise i

7. The Ruling 7.1 Judgment Summary Mr. Justice Ashworth delivered a short ex tempore judgment from the bench. The judgment lasted approximately 20 minutes and was delivered clearly and without hesitation. The judge's conclusions are summarised below. On section 68 — All three grounds dismissed: Ground 1 (failure to deal with issues — M/V *Volga Spirit* off-hire): The judge found that the tribunal had clearly addresse

8. Post-Hearing Discussion and Next Steps Following the conclusion of the hearing at approximately 2:45 p.m., Samuel Eklund, Hannah Brinkley, and Patrick Gallagher convened in the Rolls Building consultation room at approximately 3:00 p.m. to discuss the outcome and agree upon immediate next steps. The discussion lasted approximately 30 minutes, concluding at approximately 3:30 p.m. The following action items were id

9. Documents Referred to at the Hearing The following documents were referred to or relied upon by the parties during the course of the hearing:

1. LCIA Award No. 224718, dated 28 June 2024 (Tribunal: Sir Malcolm Fenton-Clarke (Presiding Arbitrator), Professor Athena Drakopoulos, and Dr. Henrik Dalmqvist; Tribunal Secretary: Fiona Beckett).

2. KMH's application notice dated 19 August 2024, seeking to set aside the Award under sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996.

3. Skeleton argument of Harkness Whitford & Co. on behalf of KMH in support of the set-aside application.

4. Calderwood & Harkness LLP skeleton argument on behalf of TSL opposing the set-aside application.

5. First witness statement of Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TSL, filed in support of the section 66 application and the Worldwide Freezing Order.

6. TSL's Request for Arbitration dated 14 November 2022 in LCIA No. 224718.

7. TSL's Statement of Case in LCIA Arbitration No. 224718.

8. The three charter-party agreements: (a) Charter-party for the M/V Aegean Fortuna, signed 15 March 2019; (b) Charter-party for the M/V Crimson Horizon, signed 22 January 2020; and (c) Charter-party for the M/V Volga Spirit, signed 10 June 2021.

9. Procedural orders of the tribunal in LCIA Arbitration No. 224718.

10. Correspondence between counsel during the evidentiary hearing week (11–22 September 2023) regarding the tribunal's adjournment offer and KMH's declination thereof.

11. Hartwell Pemberton LLP asset tracing report, referenced in connection with the evidence of post-award dissipation supporting the Worldwide Freezing Order.

10. Attendance Details Hearing duration: Approximately 10:35 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The hearing included a short mid-morning break of approximately 10 minutes (taken at approximately 11:50 a.m.) and a 45-minute lunch adjournment (approximately 12:55 p.m. to 1:40 p.m.). Post-hearing conference: Approximately 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Rolls Building consultation room. Time recording: Entries to be posted separately unde

11. Signature / Approval Prepared by: ________________________________________ Hannah Brinkley Lead Associate, Litigation (General) Calderwood & Harkness LLP Date: 11 October 2024 Reviewed and Approved by: ________________________________________ Samuel Eklund Responsible Partner Calderwood & Harkness LLP Date: 11 October 2024 File Reference: C&H/TSL-KMH/Enforcement/CL-2024-000487/Attendance Notes This attendance not