Reporting on two recent London arbitration awards. When is a claim “properly settled or compromised” and what is the time bar? Or: When is a claim “properly settled or compromised” and from what time does time start to run when a party asks to be indemnified under the Inter-Club Agreement? Many times C/Ps expressly incorporate the Inter-Club NYPE Agreement if the C/P is drawn up in the NYPE 1946 form. The newer 1993 version of the NYPE form already includes as a printed clause (clause 27) that cargo claims are to be settled between owners and charterers in accordance with the 1984 version of the Inter-Club Agreement or any subsequent modification replacement thereof. The most current version of the Inter-Club Agreement is dated 1996. The Inter-Club Agreement was drawn up and is intended to be a somewhat easier way of allocating liability for cargo claims between owners and charterers and, although there is still scope for disputes to arise, the Inter-Club Agreement does in fact to some extent make the allocation of liabilities for cargo claims easier. The Inter-Club Agreement includes (in its 1996) version a requirement that claims shall be notified in writing to the other party to the C/P within 24 months of the date of delivery of the cargo (or the date the cargo should have been delivered) or 36 months where Hamburg Rules apply. Depending on what has caused the claim to arise, claims may be allocated by 100% to either owners or charterers or a 50/50 percent allocation. One of the requirements for the agreement to apply is that the claim has been “properly settled or compromised”. In November 2004, two arbitration awards were published with one award dealing with the issue as to whether the claim had been properly settled or compromised and the second award dealing with the issue of whether the claim to be indemnified was time barred. The London Arbitration 29/04 LMLN [2004] 653 accepted that claims – in certain circumstances – must be indemnified under the I