Urania Shipping Company Ltd v Nordtrade SIA & Anor [2025] EWHC 1835 (Comm) (18 July 2025)

Owners of the “Ida” purportedly chartered her brokers via Nordtrade (D2) to BFT for a St Petersburg-Izmir wood pellet voyage. On arrival, freight was outstanding. Although later settled (via Nordtrade), Owners withheld discharge pending demurrage, prompting BFT to claim the C/P. Owners settled with BFT but claimed against D2 for breach of warranty of authority. D2 was served at its registered principal Turkish office (although they did not, in fact, notice the papers for some 4 months) and, in the absence of acknowledgment of service, had default judgment (in excess of USD1m) entered against them. D2 applied to set this aside. The Court granted the application, holding the delay was not unreasonable and D2 had a real prospect of establishing their co-defendant D1 was the broker and that BFT gave actual authority to them.

Read the full judgment here.