Perils of the Seas and Inherent Vice in Marine Insurance Law

Book excerpt: The Supreme Court ruling in Global Process System Inc. v Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad (The Cendor MOPU) created a shock wave in the London marine insurance market, as the Supreme Court decision changed the boundaries of doctrine with respect to the meaning of ‘perils of the sea’ and ‘inherent vice’. Both phrases play an important role in the insurance market, affecting both assureds and insurers and their respective interests under all classes of marine insurance policies. This book reviews the origin of the clauses ‘perils of the sea’ and ‘inherent vice’ by tracing back through the early cases in order to understand the origin and noting how and why the changes occurred. It will examine how the law has been developed in the recent cases and discuss whether the Supreme Court case The Cendor MOPU has overruled the previous cases in terms of the clauses ‘inherent vice’ and ‘perils of the sea’. Considering the impact of The Cendor MOPU decision with respect to the Marine Insurance Act 1906, as well as the standard Institute Cargo Clauses, it evaluates whether the decision is consistent with these things and discusses the effect of the decision on recent cases and on the insurance market.