Southbridge Compañía de Seguros SA (the plaintiff), an insurance company acting under an assignment of rights, claimed for damage to a cargo of 2,280 boxes of fresh plums carried from San Antonio, Chile, to Hong Kong, China, in a reefer container onboard the MV Lloyd Don Giovanni. The plums arrived with damage due to temperature fluctuations. The plaintiff applied to the Court to summon Evergreen, the shipowner, through its representative in Chile, Ultramar Agencia Marítima Ltd, for a hearing to appoint an arbitrator.

The plaintiff alleged that the cargo was received by the carrier in good condition. Hence, the damage resulted from lack of compliance of the duty of care, conservation and proper delivery of the cargo. As the claim related to multimodal carriage of goods, it must be submitted to mandatory arbitration, according to art 1203 of the Code of Commerce (CCom) and art 21 of the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea 1978 (the Hamburg Rules). Article 1203 of the CCom establishes that conflicts resulting from acts or contracts related to the maritime commerce or the navigation, including marine insurance, shall be submitted to arbitration. The plaintiff petitioned for the appointment of an arbitrator, selected by the parties or by the Court, to decide liability and quantum of compensation. The parties attended the hearing and selected an arbitrator.

Held: The Court admitted the petition and ratified the appointment of the arbitrator selected by the parties.