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1. This is a petition filed under Section 14 and 17 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 seeking filing of the award and for making it a rule of the court. In pursuance of the same notices had been issued and objections have been filed by the respondent under Section 30 and 33 of the Arbitration Act, 1940 (for short the Act). It has been asserted that the arbitrator had committed an error in not awarding the claim of the objectors towards load port claims and acted contrary to the terms of the charter party relating to load port laytime calculations. By not accepting the load port laytime calculations of the objectors the arbitrators travelled beyond the scope of the charter party and acted against the terms of the contract between the parties. Similarly it is asserted that they committed an error apparent in not awarding the claim of the charterers towards discharge port claims relating to discharge port laytime calculations. They committed grave error in awarding the claim of the vessel owners for demurrage at discharge and thus acted beyond the terms of the contract. They made a miscalculation of the demurrage at the discharge port between their revised time-sheet and laytime calculation. Plea has also been raised that the arbitrators erroneously awarded interest from 29.5.1990 to the date of the award when the vessel owners have no right to claim the same in view the charter party terms. The arbitrator even failed to follow the principles laid down by the Supreme Court by not providing for exchange rate of conversion of the present award which is in a foreign currency.

"Clause 15(a) & (b) of the Charter Party provides that cargo " to be discharged by the stevedore free of risk and expenses to the vessel on an average rate of 1500 tonnes per day basis 5 or more available workable hatch ...vessel can deliver at this rate". The per day discharge rate indicated in the Charter Party is applicable to the entire Bill of Lading Quantities for calculation of allowable laytime. If the intention of the respondents was to calculate the laytime on the basis of minimum/maximum quantity of cargo stored in the holds/hatches, it would have been so incorporated unambiguously in the Charter Party agreement. Since it was not clearly specified in the Charter Party agreement, the calculation of allowable laytime with reference to minimum/maximum quantities stored in holdes/hatches is not in accordance with the terms of the Charter Party agreement. Therefore, the Respondents erred in calculations laytime by adopting AWH Principle at the discharge port."

4. It must further held that the shifting of the vessel i.e. 5.9.88 before the expiry of laytime will not count for laytime. However the objectors claim for deduction of 10 minutes on 14.9.1988 was disallowed. The vessel was recorded to have initially been nominated at the port of Mangalore. In order to avoid vessel being kept idle due to waiting the claimants had approached the objectors for diverting the vessel to Tuticorin port on certain conditions. There was no objection to divert the vessel to new Tuticorin port subject to the condition that waiting time at Mangalore suffered by the vessel was not to be counted up to the vessel sales from new Tuticorin Port. The arbitrators recorded that claimants without making any alterations or additions had accepted the terms of the respondents and the claim to that effect, therefore was not accepted. The objectors claim for overtime charges had also not been accepted. With these basic findings the claimants were held entitled to refund of a sum of US $ 37600.81 besides interest at the rate of 11% p.a. from 25th September, 1990 till the date of the award.

11. What is laytime has been explained by Michael Brymore Summerskill in his book "Laytime" Summerskill (fourth edition) in the following words:

"LAYTIME is the time during a shop is lying, for the purpose of loading or discharging, as distinct from moving, with the object of carrying her cargo from one place to another. Lord Esher M R once said:
"There must be a stipulation as to the time to be occupied in the loading and in the loading of the cargo. There must be a time, either expressly stipulated, or implied. If it is not expressly stipulated, then it is a reasonable time which is implied by law: but either the law or the parties fix a time, during which, although the ship is at t he disposal of the charter to load or to unload the cargo he does not pay for the use of ship. That is the meaning of lay days."