[2025] EWHC 2089 (Comm)

Middle Volga is a Russian company and as the registered owner or bareboat charterer of the Vessels employs the crew on the Vessels and, until February 2022, chartered the Vessels in its own name. However, following the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, because of a reluctance by some charterers to contract with Russian companies, Middle Volga and North Global (both of whose owners are business partners) agreed that North Global would act as an intermediate charterer and not as an agent for Middle Volga.

Before the Charterparty was concluded on 25th March 2022, it was intended that there would be a separate head charter for each of the Vessels.

On 21st March 2022, four head charterparties were concluded between Middle Volga as owner and North Global as head charterer, one for each of the Vessels. These head charterparties had their own English law and jurisdiction clauses. The hire payable thereunder was US$5,000 per vessel per day.

The head charters are “rather briefer than the standard form time charters between parties contracting at arms’ length”, because “both companies were business related”. I note that each of the head charterparties comprises only two pages.

In September 2022, the four head time charters were varied and restructured into a single time charter so that they were back-to-back with the Charterparty.