Business case
A 20-year Delivery Ex-Ship LNG sale agreement gave rise to disputes over mitigation efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The claimant exercised its right to cancel several LNG cargoes and initiated an arbitration under the LCIA Rules to claim compensation for the incurred damages (c. €80m claim).
Our analysis revealed gaps between reported mitigation results and actual vessel use, showing that the respondent had optimised its position rather than mitigated penalties. This helped validate the claimant’s legal and factual position and served as basis for the damages assessment.
We were engaged by the Claimant as independent financial expert to review the economic impact of respondent’s actions and assess related damages. For this purpose, we analysed LNG and shipping market dynamics, tariff components, take-or-pay obligations, and upstream agreements. Using vessel chartering models, we compared actual vessel use against alternative legal interpretations of mitigation efforts, considering seasonality, spot prices and key geographies. We submitted two expert reports and our expert provided oral testimony in front of the arbitral tribunal during the hearings.