过去我们普遍认为，支付租金是中间性条款或者无名条款。船东只有在能够证明租家的违约足够严重，已构成根本违约的情况下，才能终止合同并索赔未执行期间的预期租金损失（例如，租方已经表明不受合同约束的意图，或者违约以致触动合同根基）。但是实践中，这很难得到证明。
本文的目的在于提醒客户关注英国高等法院上个月对于Kuwait Rocks Co v AMN Bulkcarriers Inc (The “Astra” ) [2013] EWHC 865 (Comm)一案的判决。The “Astra” 很有可能是近些年来最重要的航运案例之一。如果该判决之后得以被遵循，那么租家准时支付租金的义务和对租金进行抵扣的权力之间的平衡将被打破，转而倾向于保护船东的利益。
详细信息请参阅附件。
The “Astra” – Payment of hire is a “condition of the contract”
It was previously generally considered that the payment of hire was an intermediate or innominate term such that an owner could only terminate the charterparty and claim damages for future losses for the unexpired period of the charterparty if he could show that the charterer’s breach was sufficiently serious and therefore repudiatory (ie the charterer had evinced an intention not to be bound by the contract and/or the breach went to the root of the contract). In practice this was hard to evidence.
We want to draw your attention to the decision of the English High Court last month in Kuwait Rocks Co v AMN Bulkcarriers Inc (The “Astra” ) [2013] EWHC 865 (Comm). This is potentially one of the most important shipping cases of recent years and if the decision is followed it will shift the balance of power firmly in owners’ favour in terms of the prompt payment of hire and the ability of charterers to make deductions from hire.
See attached file: ALCO20130012 The Astra – Payment of hire is a condition of the contract.pdf
