The Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry recently announced a new ‘Green Incentives Programme’, aiming to reward vessels which effectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These measures form part of the general efforts of the Shipping Deputy Ministry – in line also with the European Green Deal – for promoting sustainable shipping practices which will bring the industry one step closer to the green transformation. The European Commission’s Green Deal encompasses a series of policy initiatives aimed at achieving climate neutrality for the European Union by 2050. As from January 2024, shipowners ...

Global law firm Reed Smith hosted a Carbon Markets event on the European Union Emissions Trading System, in which a panel of regulatory, environmental, and shipping lawyers delved into compliance, emission allowances, the extension to maritime, and the next phase – ETS 2. A packed audience joined to hear the views of transportation partner Nick Austin, environment health and safety counsel Julie Vaughan, and energy partner Brett Hillis. Panel moderator and Reed Smith partner Simone Goligorsky introduced the first topic of the EU ETS and how it works. EU ETS ...

Two companies in the Alaska seafood shipping industry recently settled a lawsuit challenging penalties and fines levied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for violating the Jones Act, a law that requires merchandise be transported by U.S. flagged vessels between U.S. ports. An exception to the U.S. flagged vessel requirement allows seafood from Alaska to be transported to the mainland U.S. if it travels via Canadian rail. The companies challenged the penalties and fines in the U.S. District Court of Alaska, saying they did not violate the Jones Act ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised The Export-Import Bank of China (“CEXIM”) on a SINOSURE-backed term loan facility of up to US$192m granted to subsidiaries of Polska Żegluga Morska Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe (“Polsteam”), the Polish stated-owned cargo ship operator, for financing eight lake cargo vessels. The deal was closed within a tight time frame and involved coordinating cross-border legal advice from multiple jurisdictions including Bahamas, Cyprus, Liberia, Malta, Poland and China. Established in 1994, CEXIM is a state-funded and state-owned policy bank with the status of an independent legal entity ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) acted as maritime counsel to Euronav in its US$1.150bn share purchase agreement for the acquisition of cleantech maritime group CMB.TECH, the clean technology arm of its largest shareholder Compagnie Maritime Belge (“CMB”). The purchase is part of Euronav’s renewed diversification and decarbonisation strategy and the accelerated optimisation of its current crude oil tanker fleet. Euronav is a Belgian international shipping company which focusses on oil transport by sea. It is the largest NYSE listed independent crude oil tanker company in the world and is considered ...

Ship CII ratings will be released imminently for their performance in 2023. However, with the low take-up of Bimco’s CII Time Charter Clause and with many in the industry questioning whether CII is truly fit for purpose, Ian Short examines whether there will be any impact caused by low CII ratings and takes a look at the Bimco CII Clause for Voyage charter Parties published in October 2023. CII Issues It appears that much of the industry retains concern that CII does not do the job it set out to ...

Emission trading systems (ETS) are “cap and trade” schemes that permit the emission of greenhouse gases in exchange for allowances. They are just one part of the ever-expanding web of environmental measures that are impacting the shipping industry with the aim of ensuring greater efficiency and more environmentally friendly shipping, particularly in reducing emissions. IMO administrations are trying to do their bit with the introduction of EEXI and CII, on which we have written several articles, the latest one on CII here. However, whereas industry feedback on CII suggests that ...

Imagine a container vessel capable of more-than doubling the amount of work normally performed by a ship of its size, yet with zero emissions. Such a vessel would likely gain massive market share very quickly and have a drastic effect on market dynamics. This is the near reality as nuclear-powered vessels gain increasing interest, as they would not need to be refuelled for decades and could operate near-continuously for their entire lifespan. So, what’s the catch? In this briefing, we look at some of the possible issues surrounding the adoption ...

It is not particularly common for a dispute arising out of the 2012 version of the Norwegian Saleform (NSF 2012) to reach the English Court. Therefore, the Court’s findings in King Crude Carriers SA & others -v- Ridgebury November LLC & others (Re an Arbitration Claim) [2023] EWHC 3220 (Comm) on issues arising out of four ship sale contracts based on the NSF 2012 form provide useful guidance, particularly on whether the sellers could claim the deposits in debt or only in damages. The Court concluded that the deposits were ...

In a well-timed decision given the current situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the UK Supreme Court recently handed down judgment in Herculito Maritime Ltd v Gunvor International BV [2024] UKSC 2, a decision that arose from seizure of a ship by Somali pirates. Key facts The vessel MT Polar was chartered to carry a cargo of fuel oil from St Petersburg to Singapore. The most direct route would be via the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aden. The Gulf of Aden was within the “high risk ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised GEFO Shipping Group on its triple-digit million order for ten seagoing chemical tankers from China’s Xiangyu Shipyard based in Nantong. The state-of-the-art vessels, which are scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2028, have been designed to be adaptable to the use of alternative fuels and new propulsion systems in support of GEFO’s goal of having a carbon-neutral fleet by 2045. Founded in 1961, Hamburg-based GEFO Shipping Group is a medium-sized shipping company with a fleet of 150 maritime and inland tankers, operating primarily ...

In June 2023, rules for bringing the maritime sector into the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (the “EU ETS”) came into force. All Member States (except one) have failed to transpose this legislation by the December 2023 deadline, but the obligations on the maritime sector continue, nonetheless. The EU Emissions Trading Directive 2003/87/EC (amended by Directive (EU) 2023/958) (the “ETS Directive”) aims to strengthen the existing EU ETS rules and extend the ETS to the maritime sector.¹ Please refer to our previous article for our analysis of the implications of the ...

Global, sector-focused law firm HFW has continued to expand its Greek ship finance offering with the hire of a leading team in Piraeus, led by partners Robin Parry and Ronan Le Du. Robin and Ronan each have decades of experience on ship finance matters and join HFW alongside a team of six lawyers and three business services professionals from Ince, where Robin was head of the finance practice in Greece. This follows HFW’s recent recruitment in Piraeus of legal director and ship finance expert Antonella Karalis from Australian bank ANZ. ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) is delighted to announce the expansion of its maritime dispute resolution practice in Athens with the arrival of three new partners, Jamila Khan, Aris Moschopoulos, Dimitris Giomelakis. All join the firm from the former Piraeus office of Ince, along with a team comprising four senior associates, three associates, a trainee, a paralegal and a marine manager. Jamila has over 20 years’ experience practicing shipping law in both London and Athens. Her clients include leading ship owners, charterers, insurers and oil and gas traders. Her primary ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Global Ports Holding (“GPH”) on a €35.9m loan granted to it by Banco Santander, via its affiliate Global Ports Canary Islands owned by Global Ports Destination Services LTD and Servicios Portuarios Canarios, S.L. (“Sepcan”), to finance the construction and operation of the public cruise passenger terminals at the ports of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario in the Canary Islands. GPH is the world’s largest cruise port operator with an established presence in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Asia-Pacific. Established ...