In Louis Dreyfus Commodities Suisse SA v MT Maritime Management BV ("MTM Hong Kong") [2015] UKSC 43, the High Court awarded the shipowner damages for positional loss. As the shipping market is aware, the ability of a vessel to earn freight will depend on a number of factors, including the vessel being positioned in a favourable location to lift cargo. This would result in a shipowner maximising earnings. In the above referenced case, Mr Justice Males held that the loss a shipowner suffered as a result of having its vessel in an unfavourable positon as a result of the Charterers' repudiatory breach is recoverable. Has Mr Justice Males opened the floodgates? The authors do not think so.
