Russian Court Accepted Dispute Arising From a Salvage Agreement Containing Arbitration Clause in London
On 27 June 2023, the Arbitrazh Court of the Rostov Region considered the claim of the Marine Rescue Service Federal State Budgetary Institution against Palmali LLC for the recovery of 38.2 million Roubles of debt arising from the salvage agreement and legal costs.
PJSC Sberbank participated in the case as a third party. The bank referred to the fact that the dispute should be considered in London by way of arbitration.
Clause I of the Salvage Agreement provided that the place of dispute settlement is arbitration in London, and the dispute is considered according to the rules of LLOYD'S SALVAGE ARBITRATION CLAUSES 2020.
The Russian court accepted the case for its consideration, referring to the fact that this claim has a close connection with Russian jurisdiction: in the case under consideration, the parties to the dispute are two legal entities registered in the Russian Federation. The ship's home port at the time of the accident was a Russian port. The rescue operation was carried out on the territory of the Russian Federation. In addition, sanctions were introduced against the claimant.
The court granted the claim of the rescue service. The case also presents arguments on how the amount of remuneration for salvage services should be assessed.