Marchand Navigation Company v Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd & Anor

Q: Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 339 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2023] SGHC 339 High Court (General Division) 29 November 2023 HC/OA 138/2023 28 min read

4 cases cited (3 SG, 1 foreign)

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	29 November 2023
Judge	Kwek Mean Luck
Charges / claim	Arbitration, Admiralty and Shipping
Counsel	August Law Corporation, DennisMathiew, Helmsman LLC, Deborah Koh Leng Hoon, Tan Hui Tsing, Tan Wen Cheng Adrian, Tan Yong Jin Jonathan, Teo Ke-Wei Ian

Source: [2023] SGHC 339, High Court (General Division), decided 29 November 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Arbitration — Stay of court proceedings — What constituted a dispute Admiralty and Shipping — Carriage of goods by sea — Liens over sub-freights, sub-hires and demurrages and time for detention

Practice Areas

Arbitration Admiralty and Shipping

Judges (1)

Kwek Mean Luck Delivered

Counsel (8)

August Law Corporation Firm DennisMathiew Firm Helmsman LLC Firm Deborah Koh Leng Hoon Counsel Plaintiff Tan Hui Tsing Counsel Plaintiff Tan Wen Cheng Adrian Counsel Defendant Tan Yong Jin Jonathan Counsel Defendant Teo Ke-Wei Ian Counsel Defendant

Parties (3)

Marchand Navigation Company Plaintiff Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd Defendant Sinco Shipping Pte Ltd Defendant

Case Significance

Marchand Navigation Company v Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd & Anor [2023] SGHC 339 is a decision of the General Division of the High Court delivered by Kwek Mean Luck J on 29 November 2023 in Originating Application No 138 of 2023. The case examines a shipowner's lien over sub-freights, sub-hires, demurrages and time for detention under clause 18 of the New York Produce Exchange 1946 time charter, an issue last considered by the Court of Appeal in Diablo Fortune Inc v Duncan, Cameron Lindsay [2018] 2 SLR 129, alongside a stay of court proceedings and what constituted a dispute. The claimant Marchand Navigation Company proceeded against Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd and Sinco Shipping Pte Ltd, with the matter citing four authorities under the Arbitration Act.

[2023] SGHC 339 explained

Marchand Navigation Company v Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd & Anor ([2023] SGHC 339) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 29 November 2023. It is categorised under Arbitration and Admiralty and Shipping. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHC 339 about?

Marchand Navigation Company v Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd & Anor ([2023] SGHC 339) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Arbitration — Stay of court proceedings — What constituted a dispute” and “Admiralty and Shipping — Carriage of goods by sea — Liens over sub-freights, sub-hires and demurrages and time for detention”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 339 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2023] SGHC 339 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2023] SGHC 151. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

Summary

Marchand Navigation Company, a shipowner, sought to exercise a lien under clause 18 of an NYPE 1946 time charter over demurrage of US$190,112 owed by sub-charterer Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd to charterer Sinco Shipping Pte Ltd. The issues were whether a dispute over amounts due under the charter, and the presence of an arbitration clause, affected the owner's right to exercise the lien. Kwek Mean Luck J held they did not, ruled Marchand entitled to exercise the lien, and ordered the sum paid into court be paid out to Marchand.

What was Marchand Navigation v Olam Global Agri [2023] SGHC 339 about?

It was a General Division of the High Court matter decided by Kwek Mean Luck J on 29 November 2023, addressing a shipowner's lien over sub-freights and demurrages under clause 18 of the NYPE 1946 time charter, and a stay for arbitration.

What lien issue did Marchand Navigation v Olam [2023] SGHC 339 consider?

The case considered the nature of a shipowner's lien over sub-freights, sub-hires, demurrages and time for detention under the NYPE 1946 charter, revisiting the Court of Appeal's analysis in Diablo Fortune Inc v Duncan [2018] 2 SLR 129.