01 May 2015
Spliethoff’s Bevrachtingskantoor BV v Bank of China Ltd [2015] EWHC 999 (Comm), [2015] All ER (D) 123 (Apr)
The claimant company, SBV, contracted for the construction of two ships. The ships were not built on time and it obtained awards against the shipbuilders. Via two guarantees, SBV sought repayment from the defendant Chinese bank, which had helped to finance the venture. The question was whether judgments obtained in China against SBV would prevent the bank from being liable. The Commercial Court held that the Chinese judgments did not prevent the bank from being liable and that the bank’s application for a stay would be dismissed.
