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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions >> Technip Saudi Arabia Ltd v The Mediterranean & Gulf Insurance and Reinsurance Co. [2024] EWCA Civ 481 (09 May 2024) URL: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2024/481.html Cite as: 214 Con LR 53, [2024] EWCA Civ 481 |
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Appeal No: CA-2023-001683 |
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
THE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
COMMERCIAL COURT (KBD)
Stand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
LORD JUSTICE LEWISON
and
LORD JUSTICE ARNOLD
____________________
TECHNIP SAUDI ARABIA LIMITED |
Claimant/Appellant |
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| - and - |
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| THE MEDITERRANEAN & GULF INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE CO. |
Defendant/Respondent |
____________________
Technip")
James Brocklebank KC and Douglas Grant (instructed by Clyde & Co LLP) for the Defendant ("the insurer")
Hearing date: 2 May 2024
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
SIR GEOFFREY VOS, MASTER OF THE ROLLS:
Introduction
Technip
contracted with an unincorporated joint venture, the Al-Khafji Joint Operation (KJO), to perform construction works to offshore assets in the Khafji Field in
Saudi
Arabia
owned by KJO (the contract).
Technip
was one of the insureds under the policy.
Technip
chartered a vessel (the vessel) to perform work under the contract. The vessel allided (or collided in more well-known language) with an unmanned well head platform, NR-09 (the platform), causing significant damage to the platform.
Technip
paid some US$25 million (plus other sums) to KJO in respect of that damage on the ground that it had a liability in law to do so.
Technip
claimed an indemnity in these proceedings from the insurer in respect of those sums under the liability section II of the policy.
Technip,
the joint venturers in KJO and their affiliated companies and others. The judge decided that, if endorsement 2 had not been applicable,
Technip
would have been entitled to claim US$10,377,059 in respect of its liability to KJO for the damage caused to the platform by the allision. In the event,
Technip's
claim failed. We have to decide if the judge correctly interpreted endorsement 2 which provided as follows:
EXISTING PROPERTY Endorsement
Cover for damage to existing property is subject to the following Existing Property Contractual Exclusion and Buyback:
Existing Property Contractual Exclusion
The coverage provided under Section II of this policy shall not apply to any claim for damage to or loss of use of any property for which the Principal Assured:
1) owns that is not otherwise provided for in this policy;
2) has use of, custody, physical control, access, right of way or an easement to by operation of a contract or agreement, or
3) is liable or claimed to be liable by operation of any indemnification, hold harmless or similar provision contained within any contract or agreement.
All other insuring agreements, terms, conditions, definitions, exclusions, notice requirements, schedules and endorsements of the policy remain unchanged.
Existing Property Contractual Exclusion Buy-Back
Notwithstanding the Existing Property Contractual Exclusion above, it shall not apply to any claim for:
Physical loss of and/or physical damage to existing property as per Schedule of Existing Property below and extends to anything reasonably ancillary thereto.
All other insuring agreements, terms, conditions, definitions, exclusions, notice requirements, schedules and endorsements of the policy remain unchanged.
Schedule of Existing Property:
Offshore
Gas lift structure (GLS)
Riser platform (RP)
Production platform (PP)
Operational Control Platform (OCP)
Living quarter platform (LQP)
Utility platform (UTP)
Integrated Well Jackets (IWJ) (12 units)
Pipelines, flowlines and cables
Onshore
Main Oil Line (MOL)
Substations
Technip
submitted that the words "any property which the Principal Assured
owns", read in context, only excluded coverage for any property owned by the particular Principal Assured making the claim under the policy. The insurer argued that the words excluded coverage for any property owned by any of the many Principal Assureds. Since the platform was owned by KJO, the insurer argued and the judge held that endorsement 2 meant that
Technip
had no claim. Without doing justice to the judge's extensive careful reasoning, his central point was, perhaps, at [152]-[153] where he alluded to the three-part structure of endorsement 2, against the background of
Technip
having been asked in advance to identify third-party property which was in the vicinity of the contract works. The judge said that the structure of endorsement 2 was: (i) to identify all existing property as being subject to it; (ii) to specify property which the Principal Assured owned (or had custody etc) as being excluded; but (iii) then expressly to provide "Buy-Back" cover in respect of certain identified property, all of which was owned by KJO.
In the light of this contractual scheme, I consider that a reasonable person, with all the background knowledge which would reasonably have been available to the parties when they entered into the contract, would have understood the language of the policy to mean simply as follows: if damage was caused to the existing property owned by any Principal Assured, then the only property where there was coverage was that identified in the Schedule of Existing Property in the endorsement. If, therefore, the property was identified, there was coverage for that property. If it was not identified, then the exclusion operated.
Technip
argued before us that the judge had failed to pay proper regard to the language of endorsement 2. "[A]ny property which the Principal Assured" owned did not mean "any property which [a or any] Principal Assured" owned. Once that was understood, the only Principal Assured that endorsement 2 can have been referring to was "the Principal Assured" claiming the indemnity under section II of the policy. That was consistent with other usages in the policy and commercial common sense, and was undoubtedly the meaning of the same words under the third limb of the same clause. The policy was a composite policy that was expressly "deemed to be a separate insurance in respect of each Principal Insured" (the words Insured and Assured being used interchangeably in the policy). Reading the policy as a separate insurance for
Technip,
it was obvious that the Principal Assured whose property was referred to in the first limb of endorsement 2 was
Technip,
not KJO or any other Principal Assured. That approach was supported by all analogous authorities including Arab Bank plc v. Zurich Insurance [1999] 1 Lloyd's Rep 262 at 273 and 276-7 (Arab Bank), Alstom Ltd v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (No 2) [2013] FCA 116 at [143]-[159] (Alstom), and Corbin & King Ltd v. Axa Insurance UK plc [2022] EWHC 409 (Comm); [2022] Lloyd's Rep IR 299 at [230] (Corbin & King). There were multiple reasons why the judge had been wrong about the commercial rationale of endorsement 2.
Technip
and/or (in effect) KJO and/or associated companies. It was not permissible to exclude any of the Principal Insureds to which the words "the Principal Assured" referred. Even if endorsement 2 admitted of more than one possible meaning, the policy could not be rewritten on the grounds of commercial common sense. Moreover, the policy actually made no sense as
Technip
interpreted it, because it could not sensibly be applied to the separate insurances for each of the "Other Insureds" who were not included in the meaning of the "Principal Assured". In those separate insurances for each of the "Other Insureds", endorsement 2 had to be excluding liability for claims in respect of property owned by
Technip
and/or KJO and/or associated companies (see [166]-[168] of the judgment).
Technip's
three grounds of appeal namely, the proper meaning of endorsement 2, the relevance of the policy being a composite policy, and the commercial rationale.
Further essential background
Technip
completed a broker's "Offshore Builders Risk Questionnaire" that showed the value of the existing "third party property" in respect of which cover was bought back at US$1.78 billion. The platform was not included in that questionnaire or in the buy-back schedule.
Other relevant terms of the policy
Technip
says in its skeleton argument, the provisions of the policy are quoted at length at [47]-[49] of the judge's judgment. Reference should once again be made to those paragraphs for the detail. The most relevant clauses, in addition to endorsement 2 that is set out at [3] above, are as follows.
Underwriters agree, subject to the limitations terms, conditions and exclusions herein, to indemnify the Insured(s) for Ultimate Net Loss which the Insured(s) shall be obligated to pay by reason of:
i. liability imposed upon the Insured(s) by law. and/or
ii. Express Contractual Liability.
for Bodily Injury or Property Damage caused by an Occurrence. provided always that the Occurrence takes place during the Project Period and arises out of the activities described in the Scope of Insurance section herein.
Subject to the insuring agreements, applicable terms, conditions and exclusions, this insurance covers the following activities undertaken in the course of the project identified in Item 2 of the Declarations (hereinafter, the Project), provided such activities are within the insured values. Covered activities include but not limited to: design, engineering, management, procurement and supply of all materials, fabrication, construction, load-out, transit/tows, installation and existence during hook-up, testing and commissioning and all works associated with the Project, being platform modifications all as more fully described in the Project Information.
The Policy shall be deemed to be a separate insurance in respect of each Principal Insured hereunder without increasing Underwriters limits of liability.
INSURED:
PRINCIPAL INSUREDS:
i.Technip
![]()
Saudi
![]()
Arabia
and/or Aramco Gulf Operations Company (AGOC) and/or Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) and/or associated and/or subsidiary companies and/or Joint Venturers and/or co-venturers as they may now or subsequently exist.
ii. Parent and/or subsidiary and/or affiliated and/or associated and/or inter-related companies of the above as they are now or may hereafter be constituted and their directors, officers and employees while acting in their capacities as such.
Other Insureds:
iii. Project managers.
iv. Any other company, firm, person or party (including contractors and/or sub-contractors and/or manufacturers and/or suppliers) with whom the Insured(s) named in i, ii, iii and iv have entered into written contract(s) directly in connection with the Project.
The appropriate approach to the interpretation of the policy
21. The language used by the parties will often have more than one potential meaning. I would accept the submission made on behalf of the appellants that the exercise of construction is essentially one unitary exercise in which the court must consider the language used and ascertain what a reasonable person, that is a person who has all the background knowledge which would reasonably have been available to the parties in the situation in which they were at the time of the contract, would have understood the parties to have meant. In doing so, the court must have regard to all the relevant surrounding circumstances. If there are two possible constructions, the court is entitled to prefer the construction which is consistent with business common sense and to reject the other.
23. Where the parties have used unambiguous language, the court must apply it.
15. When interpreting a written contract, the court is concerned to identify the intention of the parties by reference to what a reasonable person having all the background knowledge which would have been available to the parties would have understood them to be using the language in the contract to mean And it does so by focussing on the meaning of the relevant words in their documentary, factual and commercial context. That meaning has to be assessed in the light of (i) the natural and ordinary meaning of the clause, (ii) any other relevant provisions of the lease, (iii) the overall purpose of the clause and the lease, (iv) the facts and circumstances known or assumed by the parties at the time that the document was executed, and (v) commercial common sense, but (vi) disregarding subjective evidence of any party's intentions
16. For present purposes, I think it is important to emphasise seven factors.
17. First, the reliance placed in some cases on commercial common sense and surrounding circumstances should not be invoked to undervalue the importance of the language of the provision which is to be construed. The exercise of interpreting a provision involves identifying what the parties meant through the eyes of a reasonable reader, and, save perhaps in a very unusual case, that meaning is most obviously to be gleaned from the language of the provision. Unlike commercial common sense and the surrounding circumstances, the parties have control over the language they use in a contract
18. Secondly, when it comes to considering the centrally relevant words to be interpreted, I accept that the less clear they are, or, to put it another way, the worse their drafting, the more ready the court can properly be to depart from their natural meaning. That is simply the obverse of the sensible proposition that the clearer the natural meaning the more difficult it is to justify departing from it.
19. The third point I should mention is that commercial common sense is not to be invoked retrospectively.
20. Fourthly, while commercial common sense is a very important factor to take into account when interpreting a contract, a court should be very slow to reject the natural meaning of a provision as correct simply because it appears to be a very imprudent term for one of the parties to have agreed, even ignoring the benefit of wisdom of hindsight.
21. The fifth point it cannot be right to take into account a fact or circumstance known only to one of the parties.
There is no doubt or dispute about the principles of English law that apply in interpreting the policies. They were most recently authoritatively discussed by this court in Wood v. Capita Insurance Services Ltd [2017] UKSC 24; [2017] AC 1173 in the judgment of Lord Hodge The core principle is that an insurance policy, like any other contract, must be interpreted objectively by asking what a reasonable person, with all the background knowledge which would reasonably have been available to the parties when they entered into the contract, would have understood the language of the contract to mean. Evidence about what the parties subjectively intended or understood the contract to mean is not relevant to the court's task.
The proper meaning of endorsement 2
The coverage provided under Section II of this policy shall not apply to any claim for damage to or loss of use of any property for which [i.Technip
and/or AGOC and/or KGOC and/or associated and/or subsidiary companies and/or Joint Venturers and/or co-venturers ii. Parent and/or subsidiary and/or affiliated and/or associated and/or inter-related companies of the above and their directors, officers and employees ]
1) owns that is not otherwise provided for in this policy;
2) has use of, custody, physical control, access, right of way or an easement to by operation of a contract or agreement, or
3) is liable or claimed to be liable by operation of any indemnification, hold harmless or similar provision contained within any contract or agreement.
Technip,
which advocates this second meaning, contends that the first meaning involves reading the words of endorsement 2 as if they excluded "any claim for damage to
any property [for] which [any] Principal Assured: 1) owns that is not otherwise provided for in this policy" (emphasis added).
Technip's
submissions, the second meaning does far more violence to the natural meaning of the words used in endorsement 2. It involves reading endorsement 2 as if it included the highlighted words as follows: "any claim for damage to
any property [for] which the Principal Assured [which is making the particular claim concerned]: 1) owns that is not otherwise provided for in this policy". Those words are entirely absent from endorsement 2.
Technip
is wrong to say that the first meaning involves doing any violence to the language. All it does is to read in the thrice-repeated meaning of the "Principal Insureds" in place of "the Principal Assured".
Technip,
as I have said, took no point on the differences between the singular and the plural, nor on the difference between "insured" and "assured".
Technip
and/or KJO and/or associated companies".
Technip's
meaning gives inadequate importance to the fact that endorsement 2 is an existing property exclusion, and to the buy-back that was an integral part of the coverage (for which the property was listed by
Technip
itself in its broker's questionnaire). The fortuity (if that is what it was) that the platform was not listed either in the questionnaire or the schedule to endorsement 2 cannot affect the proper meaning of the clause, as Lord Neuberger's second and third points at [20] above in Arnold v. Britton emphasise.
Technip
was wrong to contend that the judge failed to give adequate weight to the primacy of the policy language. Indeed, I would say that the first meaning gives far greater weight to the language of the policy than the second meaning advanced by
Technip.
I would dismiss the first ground of appeal.
The relevance of the policy being a composite policy
Technip
submitted that the authorities demonstrate that composite policies are always interpreted in the way for which it contends. I do not agree. I did not find anything in Arab Bank, Alstom, or Corbin & King that assisted in any way with the proper interpretation of endorsement 2. Arab Bank was a case where a professional indemnity insurance was construed so as not to exclude coverage for all the insureds where one of them was fraudulent. That is a quite different situation. In Alstom, the Federal Court of Australia interpreted an exclusion in a marine cargo insurance as referring to the particular insured responsible for the inadequate packaging, not the (different) insured making the claim. I cannot extract a general principal from that judgment applicable to the quite different wording in this case. Likewise, there is nothing in Cockerill J's judgment in Corbin & King that gainsays the interpretation explained above.
Technip,
Technip
argued that it was obvious that "the Principal Assured" whose property was referred to in the first limb of endorsement 2 was
Technip,
not KJO or any other Principal Assured. There is, however, a fatal flaw in that argument. It is true that the policy is a composite policy that is expressly "deemed to be a separate insurance in respect of each Principal Insured". But in reading endorsement 2 in
Technip's
deemed separate insurance, the words "the Principal Assured" cannot have any different meaning than they have in the other imagined separate insurances for each of the other insureds. Accordingly, if the words "the Principal Assured" mean "
Technip
and/or KJO and/or associated companies", they must have that same meaning in each separate insurance including
Technip's
separate insurance. I have already explained at [26]-[31] why the words "the Principal Assured" in endorsement 2 do indeed import the entire definition of the words "Principal Insureds" in the policy what I have described above as the first meaning of endorsement 2.
Technip
was wrong to contend that judge failed to give effect to the composite nature of the policy. As he explained at [159]-[161]: "treating the cover as applying separately to
Technip
does not change what is meant by "property [for] which the Principal Assured owns"". I agree. I would dismiss
Technip's
second ground of appeal.
The commercial rationale of the policy
Technip's
skeleton gave 9 reasons why it said that the judge had paid excessive regard to the supposed commercial rationale of endorsement 2. These reasons were, however, covered only briefly in oral argument, and I do not propose to go through them again in this judgment.
Technip's
interpretation makes no sense as regards "Other Insureds"; it is no answer to point to exclusion 21 as being applicable to them instead of endorsement 2. There is nothing in endorsement 2 that says that it is inapplicable to "Other Insureds". The language of the policy points strongly to the correctness of what I have described as the first meaning. Moreover, the structure of endorsement 2 points also towards a wide exclusion of the Principal Insureds' property with the opportunity for buy-back of cover for specified scheduled property. Finally, the composite policy analysis points also in the same direction.
Technip
and the insurer when they entered into the policy, would have understood endorsement 2 to bear the first meaning.
Technip
was wrong to submit that the judge paid excessive regard to its supposed commercial rationale. He interpreted it correctly, having appropriate regard to the language and to admissible factual matrix including the commercial rationale of endorsement 2. I would dismiss the third ground of appeal too.
Conclusions
Technip's
claims for damage to the platform, which was not scheduled in the buy-back schedule in endorsement 2.
Technip's appeal and uphold the judge's comprehensive decision.
LORD JUSTICE LEWISON:
LORD JUSTICE ARNOLD: