Demurrage waiver claims under modified public notice must be reconsidered on merits; limitation cannot be revived later.

A claim for waiver of demurrage charges had to be reconsidered because the earlier rejection rested on an incorrect reading of the governing public notice. The revised notice covered detention caused by bona fide customs formalities, and the detention certificate could not be rejected on a mere technical objection where the authorities had acted without proper awareness of the applicable guidelines. The claim was therefore required to be re-examined under the modified public notice and the relevant Port Trust resolution. Limitation was not available as a fresh objection at that stage, because the application had already been dealt with on merits and the substituted certificate was filed in place of the earlier one.

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Issues: Whether the claim for waiver of demurrage charges had to be reconsidered under the modified public notice and whether the Port Trust could raise the plea of limitation at that stage.

Analysis: The initial rejection of the claim was founded on an incorrect understanding of the governing public notice. The revised public notice expressly covered detention due to bona fide customs formalities, and the detention certificate could not be disbelieved merely on a technical objection when the authorities themselves had acted without proper awareness of the applicable guidelines. In these circumstances, the claim was required to be re-examined in accordance with the modified public notice and the relevant Port Trust resolution. Since the application had already been treated on merits earlier, the Port Trust was not permitted to resurrect a limitation objection when a fresh certificate was to be filed in substitution of the earlier one.

Conclusion: The claim for waiver of demurrage charges was directed to be reconsidered on merits, and the plea of limitation was held not open to the Port Trust.

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