Contract analysis

1. Introduction We write on behalf of our client, Thalassa Shipping & Logistics SA ("TSL"), the award creditor, in response to your letter dated 8 August 2024, written on behalf of your client, Korinthian Maritime Holdings Ltd., a company registered in Cyprus under Registration No. HE 387421, with its registered office at 28 Themistokli Dervi Avenue, Suite 601, Nicosia 1066, Cyprus ("KMH"). In your letter, you indica

2. Background to the Award We set out below a brief summary of the relevant background, which is well known to your client and to you. The Award was rendered on 28 June 2024 by a tribunal comprising: (a) Sir Malcolm Fenton-Clarke (Presiding Arbitrator, appointed by the LCIA Court); (b) Professor Athena Drakopoulos (co-arbitrator, nominated by the Claimant, TSL); and (c) Dr. Henrik Dalmqvist (co-arbitrator, nominated

3. Response to the Threatened Section 68 Challenge (Serious Irregularity) Your letter identifies certain alleged "serious irregularities" under section 68 of the Act as the basis for an application to set aside the Award. We address each of the grounds identified in turn. TSL's position is that none of them comes close to meeting the high threshold established by the courts for a successful section 68 challenge. As y

4. Response to the Threatened Section 69 Challenge (Appeal on Point of Law) Your letter also threatens a challenge to the Award under section 69 of the Act, on the basis that the Tribunal is said to have erred on one or more questions of English law. We make the following preliminary observations. First, section 69 of the Act requires either the agreement of all other parties to the reference, or leave of the court,

5. Enforcement Proceedings Will Continue We confirm the following: (a) Permission to enforce the Award as a judgment of the High Court was granted by Mr. Justice Ashworth on 2 August 2024, pursuant to section 66 of the Act, in Commercial Court proceedings Claim No. CL-2024-000487. The order was duly served on KMH. (b) A Worldwide Freezing Order (the "WFO") was granted by Mr. Justice Ashworth on 16 July 2024, on a wit

6. Costs Consequences We put you and your client on clear notice as to the costs consequences of pursuing the threatened application. If KMH proceeds with a set-aside or challenge application on the grounds outlined in your letter of 8 August 2024, TSL will oppose it in the strongest terms and will seek its costs of resisting the application on the indemnity basis. TSL's position is that the pursuit of a meritless ch

7. Compliance with the Worldwide Freezing Order We take this opportunity to remind you that the WFO made by Mr. Justice Ashworth on 16 July 2024 and continued by Mrs. Justice Goldsmith on 30 July 2024 remains in full force and effect. The WFO requires KMH to disclose all of its assets worldwide with a value exceeding £25,000 within seven days of service of the order. TSL reserves all of its rights in the event of any

8. Demand for Payment We reiterate the demand first made in our letter of 8 July 2024 for immediate payment by KMH of the full amount of the Award and costs, being £108,600,000, together with post-award interest accruing at the rate of 5.25% per annum (simple) on the sum of £96,450,000 from 29 June 2024 until the date of payment. As at the date of this letter, post-award interest has accrued in the approximate sum of

9. Conclusion In light of the matters set out above, we invite you and your client to reconsider seriously the threatened application. The grounds identified in your letter do not, in TSL's view, disclose any basis for a successful challenge under either section 68 or section 69 of the Act. The pursuit of such an application will result in significant further costs liability for your client, which TSL will seek to re