Armonikos Corp. v. Saskatchewan Wheat Pool

In Charters of Ships on (Updated )

The issue in this case was whether a charter party had been concluded between the brokers acting for the parties. The Defendant argued that no charter party had been agreed because there had not been a meeting of the minds regarding a significant term, notably, whether the vessel to be chartered was certified by the International Transport Workers Federation. The court held, however, that the broker for the Defendant had not been particularly attentive to this issue and had confirmed the charter party without the inclusion of an ITF clause. Further, the court held that the broker for the Defendant did not view the absence of an ITF clause as an impediment to the charter party and, once the issue was squarely raised, agreed to a charter party with a modified ITF clause. As a consequence of the court’s finding that there was a binding charter party, the court stayed the present action in favour of London arbitration pursuant to an arbitration clause in the charter party.