01 December 2011
Pacific Basin IHX Ltd v Bulkhandling Handymax AS [2011] EWHC 2862 (Comm), [2011] All ER (D) 154 (Nov)
The phrase “may be, or are likely to be exposed to war risks” was intended to express a single degree of possibility or probability. The natural construction of the phrase was that “may be” was to be understood as “likely to be”, the word “or” being used in the sense of “that is”. The phrase connoted a serious risk in the sense of a real likelihood or real danger that the vessel would be exposed to acts of piracy. The phrase required an assessment as to whether there was a real likelihood of the vessel being exposed to acts of piracy.
