Law report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Law report - Essay Example Complicating matters for the yacht owners and the master, Rule C goes on to state that: †¦Demurrage, loss of market, and any loss or damage sustained or expense incurred by reason of delay, whether on the voyage or subsequently, and any indirect loss whatsoever, shall not be allowed as general average (York-Antwerp Rules, Rule C). It is therefore clear, that neither the master nor the yacht’s owners may claim as general average acts, the damages sustained upon the master’s discharge of the ship. However, this does not preclude general average acts. It only means that damages for delay and damages related to lost charters are exempted from general average acts. The damages sustained to the ship during the discharge are recoverable because, although those damages were sustained after the salvage operations were conducted they can still be regarded as direct consequence of the salvage operations under Rule A of the Antwerp Rules, 2004. ... foresees that it is possible, â€Å"then the subsequent accident does not break the chain of causation† (Australian Coastal Shipping Commission v Green and Others, 357). In such a case, the subsequent accident is a direct consequence of the general average act and is claimable as a general average act. In this regard, having intended to carry the ship to Southampton, the master must have contemplated that a change in those plans, following a fire would have incurred the risk of subsequent accidents. This is particularly so when the ship was placed on dry dock, which was not a part of the original plans and certainly not in contemplation of the master. Now faced with the necessity of having to place a ship on an unplanned dry dock following a fire, the master must have reasonably foreseen that subsequent accidents were possible. Moreover, the yacht was placed on dry dock as a direct consequence of the fire damages incurred while on the original journey. Therefore, the damages s ustained in the course of continuing the rescue of the distressed ship was a continuation of the salvage operations and therefore the general average acts continued at that particular point. The owners may therefore claim general average acts in respect of the damages sustained during the master’s discharge. The master however, is unable to claim special damages in respect of delay and loss of earnings as a result of the delay. This is because the concept of general average arises out of the imposed duty for all parties with an interest in a general average act to contribute to the cost of salvaging a distressed ship. The law of general average acts function together with the law of salvage and â€Å"sue and labour† and culminate to regulate the act of â€Å"saving (Mukherjee, 22). It is possible for