[2025] EWHC 2941 (Comm)

The claim in this action is brought by the Claimant shipowners (and assignees) against the Defendants in respect of claimed contributions to general average pursuant to a general average bond dated 19 March 2018 and a general average guarantee dated 20 March 2018. By a general average adjustment dated 05 April 2019, the general average adjusters determined that the Defendants’ contribution to general average was a total sum of US$892,381.46 plus interest, which is the sum claimed by the Claimants from the First Defendant under the general average bond and from the Second Defendant under the general average guarantee. The Defendants are cargo owners and their insurers, both being Brazilian. The claim for general average arises out of the grounding of the vessel M/V “KONA TRADER” (“the Vessel”) at Paranagua following a main engine failure in March 2018.

The Claim Form was issued on 11 September 2023. In order to effect service of the Claim Form on the Defendants in Brazil, and in light of advice from the Foreign Process Section (“the FPS”) in June 2023 that service would take up to 12 months, the Claimants applied for an extension of time for service of the Claim Form for 15 months (i.e. up to 15 November 2024). The application was made on the basis that it: