SEAWORTHINESS AND (UN)SAFE PORTS IN LONDON ARBITRATION 2/23: ONE-OFF PILOT ERROR DID NOT AMOUNT TO INCOMPETENCE.
In London Arbitration 2/23 (2023) 1129 LMLN 2, an arbitral tribunal determined that a pilot’s one-off error which caused the grounding of the Vessel (negligent navigation) did not render a port unsafe. The tribunal also found the Vessel to be unseaworthy due to a defective passage plan that could not have considered the most detailed and appropriate paper chart for the disport, although this was not found to be causative of the grounding.
