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Addressing Air Pollution at United States Ports: U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General Report

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a September 21st report titled: The EPA Needs to Address Increasing Air Pollution at Ports (“Report”) See Report No. 23-E-0033. The stated purpose of this OIG evaluation was to: . . . determine what steps, if any, the EPA is taking to address the increase in air pollution from oceangoing vessels, or OGVs, U.S. maritime ports. OIG cites United States Department of Transportation data indicating that United States ports: . . . continue to handle unprecedented amounts ...

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Norton Rose Fulbright’s Christine Ezcutari awarded Commander of the Order for Maritime Merit

International law firm Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global Co-head of Transport and Head of the Paris Banking team, Christine Ezcutari, has been awarded the Commandeur de l’Ordre du Mérite Maritime (Commander of the Order for Maritime Merit). The Order for Maritime Merit, established in 1930, is awarded to those who have distinguished themselves in the maritime field. Christine, who is one of the youngest women to ever receive this prestigious award, was recognised for her career as a shipping and transport financing lawyer and in her capacity as President of the ...

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WFW raises funds for Ripple Africa in memory of Mehraab Nazir

In April 2022, Watson Farley & Williams’ (“WFW”) much-loved and greatly respected Singapore Partner Mehraab Nazir and his youngest son Zain tragically lost their lives in a landslide whilst trekking in the Blue Mountains in Australia. To honour his memory, WFW has been fundraising for Ripple Africa, a charity committed to promoting children’s education, a cause that Mehraab and his family were great supporters of. Founded in 2003, Ripple Africa is a small, UK registered charity focussed on conservation, education and healthcare in northern Malawi, Africa. Its mission is to ...

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WFW enhances Athens maritime offering with new partner and team hire

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is pleased to announce that maritime expert and asset finance lawyer Konstantinos (Dinos) Mexias has joined the firm as Partner in Athens. He was previously a Senior Associate at WFW before joining Ince & Co. as a Partner. He brings with him a team of five asset finance lawyers and one paralegal, including Counsel Anthi Kekatou and Senior Associate Ilias Tsigos. Dinos is qualified in England & Wales, New York, Greece and the Marshall Islands. He advises on all aspects of shipping finance including loan ...

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WFW enhances Athens maritime offering with new partner and team hire

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is pleased to announce that maritime expert and asset finance lawyer Konstantinos (Dinos) Mexias has joined the firm as Partner in Athens. He was previously a Senior Associate at WFW before joining Ince & Co. as a Partner. He brings with him a team of five asset finance lawyers and one paralegal, including Counsel Anthi Kekatou and Senior Associate Ilias Tsigos. Dinos is qualified in England & Wales, New York, Greece and the Marshall Islands. He advises on all aspects of shipping finance including loan ...

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HFW enters agreement with Emirates Shipping Association

Global, sector-focused law firm has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Emirates Shipping Association – the voice of the UAE’s private maritime sector and one of the leading maritime associations internationally. HFW assisted in establishing and registering the Association at a federal level and has been providing it with continuous legal and strategic support. The new agreement will see the firm continue that legal and strategic support, initially for a period of two years. HFW’s team advising the Association includes Yaman Alhawamdeh and Marc Ghammachi. Yaman Alhawamdeh, UAE Managing ...

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WFW advises TMG and Temeraire on sale of ship management companies to Grindrod Shipping

Watson Farley & Williams advised Taylor Maritime Group Limited (“TMG”) and Temeraire Holding (MI) Limited (“Temeraire”) on the c. US$13.5m sale of Taylor Maritime Management Limited and Tamar Ship Management Limited to a subsidiary of Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd. (“Grindrod Shipping”). The sale is subject to certain closing conditions and closing is expected before mid-October 2023, after which the two companies will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of Grindrod Shipping. Hong Kong-headquartered TMG is a private, family-owned ship management company founded in 2013 that provides the full range of commercial, corporate and ...

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In Support of Maritime Arbitration: The English Courts’ Role in Enforcing Peremptory Orders and Awards

We have previously discussed the English courts’ supportive powers in LMAA arbitrations through the use of anti-suit injunctions to enforce arbitration agreements and its powers to preserve evidence and property and order the attendance of witnesses. In this article, we consider the courts’ powers under the Arbitration Act 1996 (“AA 1996”) to enforce peremptory orders and awards issued by a tribunal. The tribunal in an LMAA arbitration seated in London has limited powers to enforce orders under section 41 of the AA 1996 and the LMAA Terms 2021 (“LMAA Rules”), ...

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EU ETS – Who is liable to the authorities: Shipowners or managers?

A hotly debated topic regarding the extension of the EU Emission Trading Scheme (“EU ETS”) to include maritime emissions, is who should be responsible for submitting emissions allowances on the relevant submission date (the “submission date”) to the relevant administering authority (“ETS obligations”), in particular in instances where a shipowner has delegated the responsibility to comply with the ISM Code to a manager. In such cases, should a shipowner and its manager decide in their bilateral management agreement which of them is responsible for ETS obligations (“Option 1”)? Or should ...

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Malaysia: Executing Ship Arrests In Malaysia

Ship arrest is a unique and powerful feature in admiralty practice, whereby claimants can arrest a ship before judgment is obtained in a suit as a security for the claimant’s claim. This feature follows the same position as in England by virtue of Section 24(b) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 which grants jurisdiction to the High Court of Malaya the same jurisdiction and authority in relation to admiralty matters as the High Court of Justice in England under the United Kingdom Supreme Court Act 1981 (now known as ...

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WFW advises SEACOR on Jones Act joint venture with Crowley

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) acted as special maritime counsel to SEACOR Holdings Inc. (“SEACOR”), through its subsidiary Seabulk Tankers, on the formation of a joint venture with Crowley. The joint venture will integrate SEACOR and Crowley’ liquid energy and chemical transportation vessels, operations and related services into a new, independent U.S. Jones Act service provider, Fairwater Holdings LLC (“Fairwater”). Fairwater will provide transportation solutions across the petroleum and chemical trades, as well as related third-party ship management services. It will include 20 ocean-going, articulated tug-barges and 11 tankers, many ...

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Navigating the turbulent waters of the global supply chain from geopolitical uncertainty, to evolving sanctions, and the adoption of decarbonization

A panel of industry experts delved into the pressing issues facing the global supply chain as part of Reed Smith’s London International Shipping Week (LISW) event. The speakers engaged in a discussion that focused on the biggest challenges facing the sector, including geopolitical uncertainty, the complexities of sanctions, and the adoption of decarbonisation. A packed audience from across the shipping industry joined to hear the views of Aimee Nolan, Cargo Line Underwriter at Hiscox London Market, Mark Jackson, Chief Executive Officer at The Baltic Exchange, Faye Thompson, Legal Counsel at ...

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WFW advises Global Ports Holding on Bremerhaven cruise terminal contract award

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Global Ports Holding Plc (“Global Ports Holding”) on its successful bid in a Europe-wide competition for the contract to manage bremenports GmbH & Co (“bremenports”), the operating company for the Bremerhaven cruise terminal in Bremen, Germany. WFW advised Global Ports Holding throughout the process on procurement, regulatory and contract law as well as on setting up a German operating company. The concession of current operator, Columbus Cruise Center Bremerhaven, expires end 2024. Istanbul-based Global Ports Holding is the world’s largest independent cruise port operator ...

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UK: Shipping – A Year In Review

The lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing geopolitical conflict, a challenging economic climate, and ever-growing environmental concerns have made 2023 a challenging year in the shipping industry. The legal landscape, much like the political one, has also seen many important changes since the end of 2022 including a commercial settlement in 2023, which permitted the Court of Appeal the last word in The Eternal Bliss litigation holding that demurrage liquidates the whole of the damages arising from a charterer’s failure to complete cargo operations within the laytime allowed. These ...

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WFW advises BPS on US$ 10m financing for Pimlico Shipping

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Banca Popolare di Sondrio (“BPS”) on a US$ 10m ship finance loan granted to Malta’s Pimlico Shipping Limited (“Pimlico Shipping”), which is owned by Italian shipping company Fratelli Cosulich S.p.A. (“Fratelli Cosulich”). Notably, the loan cancels all the outstanding debt owed to BPR by Fratelli Cosulich’s subsidiary Vulcania S.r.l. had relating to the purchase of the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Saturnia from Ocean Trader V LLC. The Saturnia is now registered to Pimlico Shipping and destined for time charter to Lauritzen Bulkers. It is ...

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