ABSTRACT
The common law origin of the provision goes back to Shelbourne v Law where it was held that loss of earnings due to detention and delay of a vessel during repairs necessitated by a collision are not recoverable under a hull and machinery policy. In other words, loss of earnings can be considered as a consequence of loss of time occasioned by damage to hull and therefore excluded from the scope of hull and machinery policies. Damage to the hull of the vessel which involves an element of loss of time may occur essentially in two cases; namely first where the vessel deteriorates pending repairs to average damage and second, where the event causing delay does not damage the hull of the vessel yet results in an excessively lengthy delay that accordingly produces deterioration of the hull of the vessel.
