ABSTRACT
Facts: The plaintiff ’s vessel Mennythorpe was chartered to load a cargo of iron at East Bute Dock, Cardiff . The charterers agreed to load in a fi xed time subject to frosts or unavoidable accidents. The charterers had intended that part of the cargo should be taken to the ship from the warehouse by canal. They were unable to load within the fi xed time because the canal was frozen. A referee found that while the canal was frozen, the iron could not be taken to the dock by any reasonable means.
