Shipowner’s Implied Obligations
in a Charterparty Relating to Lien
on Cargo: English and Chinese Law
Perspectives
Shengnan Jia and Haiyang Yu
Abstract A shipowner’s lien on cargo is a built-in remedy in charterparties to counter
the charterer’s default. The so-called lien clause appears in all standard form
charterparties granting the shipowner in express terms, security on cargo in respect of
unpaid freight or hire and other amounts due. Whether this is an “absolute” contractual
right; or alternatively, an implied obligation requiring the shipowner to exercise his lien
reasonably, is the central theme of this chapter. Implied clauses requiring the shipowner
to act in a reasonable manner only provide “piecemeal” solutions. This chapter probes in
the legal notions of reasonableness and good faith in respect of their applications to lien
clauses, and also the phenomenon of contractual discretions to determine the present
state of English law. The corresponding legal issues are examined in the context of
Chinese law including relevant cases showing that reasonable responsibility is imposed
on the shipowner under Chinese law. The chapter is an exposé on the different
approaches to dealing with the same legal issue under the two legal regimes.
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Almost every standard form charterparty,
1 gives the shipowner an express security
on cargo, referred to as a lien on cargo or cargo lien, in respect of unpaid freight or
hire and other amounts due. At common law, a shipowner’s cargo lien may be a
S. Jia
The City Law School, City, University of London, London, UK
e-mail: Shengnan.Jia@city.ac.uk
H. Yu (*)
Institute for Transnational Legal Research (METRO), Faculty of Law, Maastricht University,
Maastricht, Netherlands
e-mail: haiyang.yu@maastrichtuniversity.nl
1 This chapter concerns a voyage or time charterparty only; not a bareboat charterparty because such
a charterparty, it is the charterer not the shipowner who has possession of the cargo.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. K. Mukherjee et al. (eds.), Maritime Law in Motion, WMU Studies in Maritime
Affairs 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31749-2_15
311
in a Charterparty Relating to Lien
on Cargo: English and Chinese Law
Perspectives
Shengnan Jia and Haiyang Yu
Abstract A shipowner’s lien on cargo is a built-in remedy in charterparties to counter
the charterer’s default. The so-called lien clause appears in all standard form
charterparties granting the shipowner in express terms, security on cargo in respect of
unpaid freight or hire and other amounts due. Whether this is an “absolute” contractual
right; or alternatively, an implied obligation requiring the shipowner to exercise his lien
reasonably, is the central theme of this chapter. Implied clauses requiring the shipowner
to act in a reasonable manner only provide “piecemeal” solutions. This chapter probes in
the legal notions of reasonableness and good faith in respect of their applications to lien
clauses, and also the phenomenon of contractual discretions to determine the present
state of English law. The corresponding legal issues are examined in the context of
Chinese law including relevant cases showing that reasonable responsibility is imposed
on the shipowner under Chinese law. The chapter is an exposé on the different
approaches to dealing with the same legal issue under the two legal regimes.
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Almost every standard form charterparty,
1 gives the shipowner an express security
on cargo, referred to as a lien on cargo or cargo lien, in respect of unpaid freight or
hire and other amounts due. At common law, a shipowner’s cargo lien may be a
S. Jia
The City Law School, City, University of London, London, UK
e-mail: Shengnan.Jia@city.ac.uk
H. Yu (*)
Institute for Transnational Legal Research (METRO), Faculty of Law, Maastricht University,
Maastricht, Netherlands
e-mail: haiyang.yu@maastrichtuniversity.nl
1 This chapter concerns a voyage or time charterparty only; not a bareboat charterparty because such
a charterparty, it is the charterer not the shipowner who has possession of the cargo.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. K. Mukherjee et al. (eds.), Maritime Law in Motion, WMU Studies in Maritime
Affairs 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31749-2_15
311