AGA Partners successfully represented a Swiss trader in the London arbitration against the Ukrainian shipowner in a dispute arising from the detection of hazardous admixtures, including glass, in the cargo at discharge.

The buyer claimed damages, caused by the spoilage of the cargo, in the amount of around USD 180,000 from the shipowner. The shipowner, admitting the buyer’s claim in part, claimed the reimbursement of the sum paid to the buyer and commenced LMAA arbitration against the Client to collect it.

During the subsequent negotiation, AGA Partners’ lawyers proved that the shipowner’s claim had not been supported by proper evidence that the contamination of the cargo with hazardous admixtures occurred due to the Client’s fault, since there was evidence that the Client had loaded the vessel with cargo of contractual quality. As a result, a settlement agreement was reached, under the terms of which the Client paid an amount that was 10 times lower than the shipowner’s claim.

Senior associate Ievhen Boiarskyi and associate Viktor Pasichnyk worked on this project.