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Cargo Carriers, whose cargo ship travels between Niger and Spain, contracts with Industrial Bulk for port services. A dispute arose concerning sums incurred and paid by Industrial for services rendered while Cargo's ship was moored in Bilbao. Cargo opposed the enforcement of the arbitral award rendered in Industrial's favour for two reasons.

First, the award was said to order payment by Cargo of a sum greater than that expended by Industrial. The court rejected this argument on the grounds that it was equivalent to an application for the setting aside of the award and that this was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal under article 34 MAL.

Second, Cargo argued that the award provided for reimbursement of a bribe paid by Industrial to the port authority in Bilbao and that it would be contrary to Canadian public policy for Quebec courts to enforce such an award. The court rejected this argument, accepting the arbitrator's interpretation of the nature of the payment in question. The court further stated that the payment was in the nature of a ransom as opposed to a bribe because Industrial had no other choice but to pay the escalating demurrage charges to enable the ship to leave the port. The court distinguished between a bribe, which it defined as intrinsically immoral for both the offeror and the receiver, and a ransom, which involves immorality only on the part of the blackmailer. An arbitral award imposing the reimbursement of a sum paid as ransom does not violate Canadian public policy and therefore Cargo could not resist recognition and execution of the award on the basis of article 36(b)(ii) MAL.

A motion for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was denied.

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