Maersk A/S v Sree Rayalaseema Hi-Strength Hypo Limited

Facts

The claimant, Maersk A/S, a Danish shipping line, was the disponent owner of the container vessel Maersk Seoul, which it held under a chain of time charters descending from the registered owners. In July 2015 the defendant, Sree Rayalaseema Hi-Strength Hypo Limited, an Indian bulk chemical manufacturer, shipped five containers of calcium hypochlorite — a Class 5.1 Dangerous Good under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code — from Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Three containers were shipped on board the vessel; on 19 July 2015 there was an explosion and fire on board, which Maersk attributed to the violent decomposition of galets stuffed in containers MSKU7134795 and/or MSKU2820576. Two further containers shipped on the Maersk Indus were discharged at Jebel Ali as a precaution and cross-stuffed into reefer containers; on 23 July 2015 a further violent decomposition and fire ashore destroyed one container and its cargo. Maersk claimed over US$13 million for payments to the head owners, salvors, cargo interests and other losses, together with damages and a final anti-suit injunction in respect of successive suits brought by Sree before the Kurnool Court and the Andhra Pradesh High Court in breach of an exclusive English jurisdiction agreement. Sree, though served, did not participate in the trial.