ABSTRACT
The degree to which the buyer is actually affected by the builder’s breach of contract depends, however, upon a large number of factors, including the vessel’s expected working life, the terms of trade in the markets for which she has been built and her potential for alternative employment. Liquidated damages clauses are employed in a wide range of commercial contracts and English law has as a result developed a substantial body of case law to regulate their use; certain generally applicable principles are of particular relevance to shipbuilding projects. The required capacity was not provided but it was accepted that the configuration of the vessels’ lorry decks could be altered easily and cheaply to meet the contract requirements. The completion of the works was in part held up by the shipowners’ decision not to permit the repairer to deliver the vessel’s crankshaft to a subcontractor for grinding and polishing.
