Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised the Eurazeo Sustainable Maritime Infrastructure (“ESMI”) fund on the sale and leaseback of the jack-up wind farm support vessel ‘Thor’ for German shipping and logistics group Harren & Partner (“Harren”). Built in 2010, Thor is a dynamic positioning (DP2) jack-up crane vessel ideal for maintenance projects at offshore wind plants and for wind turbine installations. The vessel, which sails under the Madeiran flag, has a 500-t capacity, high-outreach offshore crane and a fully equipped accommodation block for up to 56 people. The vessel ...

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), the shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, announced on April 15 that it has recently signed a contract with Liberian and Middle East shipping companies to build six 7,900 TEU container ships and two pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) . Each of the container ships measures 272 meters in length, 42.8 meters in width and 24.8 meters in height. They will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and sequentially delivered to the clients in the first half of 2025. Each of ...

Charterparty –Applicable version of Interclub Agreement (“ICA”) – Whether shipowners’ claim was a “Cargo Claim” – Whether claim was “properly settled” –Whether “clear and irrefutable evidence” that alleged damage was attributable to the act or neglect of either party This arbitration concerns the interpretation of the ICA clause incorporated in a charterparty in the context of a cargo claim. Cargo of soyabeans was loaded in Uruguay and Argentina for China. During discharge, the cargo receivers claimed that the cargo was damaged and a cargo claim was brought against the owners ...

General average – Piracy – Owners seeking to recover ransom payment from bill of lading holders This is a Court of Appeal decision following the cargo interests’ appeal of the Commercial Court decision that was issued in 2020 in favour of the owners. The main question was whether the cargo interests were liable to contribute towards general average (GA). On appeal, the cargo interests argued that: 1. the owners’ agreement in the charterparty to claim exclusively under their insurance for the costs incurred following a seizure by the pirates was ...

Arbitration – Practice – Costs The London Arbitration decision 24/21 determined the costs that were recoverable by the owners following the London Arbitration 21/21 decision that had found in their favour awarding them approximately US$ 73,000. The parties were unable to agree on the quantum of the costs recoverable by the owners and the matter was therefore referred to arbitration. The arbitrator found that the owners were entitled to recover their total recoverable costs of approximately US$ 45,000 plus the costs incurred in relation to the cost award (totalling a ...

This is a Court of Appeal decision following charterers’ appeal of the Commercial Court decision issued in 2020 in favour of the owners. The main question was whether the charterers had affirmed the contract through their conduct. The club’s full summary on the Commercial Court decision can be found here. Court of Appeal decision The Court of Appeal upheld the Commercial Court’s decision and accordingly dismissed the appeal. In particular, it was decided that: 1. although a reservation of rights will often have the effect of preventing subsequent conduct from ...

Russian Maritime Law Association and its members are against the war and for the peace between Ukraine and Russia. We call for immediate termination of all military actions! In the morning of 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin announced his decision to carry out the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russian Maritime Law Association (RUMLA) opposes all military actions. We believe that there is no legal or political justification that would allow troops to enter the territory of another state. Any military actions result in the loss of lives. We ...

The Clydebank Declaration was launched at COP26 in November 2021 with initial supporters including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US. The governments of Morocco, Italy and Spain have since signed the pledge, taking the total number of signatories to 22, with more expected to join them in the near future. WHAT IS THE CLYDEBANK DECLARATION? Building on the Zero-Emissions Shipping Mission created in July 2021 by ...

In the fourth sector article of our Net Zero series, our team looks at what the UK’s Net Zero Strategy (“the Strategy”) means for industry stakeholders in the transport sector. WHAT DOES THE STRATEGY MEAN FOR YOUR SECTOR? The Strategy outlines a hefty raft of commitments for the transport sector. Unsurprisingly, the majority of these are for electric vehicle uptake and infrastructure, though a few also relate to maritime and aviation. Further policy clarity will be needed to help stakeholders understand the potential impact of these commitments, but consultations are ...

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Norway-headquartered MPC Container Ships ASA (“MPCC”) on its US$144.4m order for the construction of two eco-design 5,500-teu container ships at South Korean shipyard HJ Shipbuilding and Construction (“HJSC”, formerly Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Group). The vessels, which will be on seven-year long term charters to Israeli line operator Zim following delivery scheduled in early 2024, represent MPCC’s first ever newbuild order, the company having traditionally focussed on second-hand tonnage since it was founded in 2017. MPCC, a market-leading container ship company specialising ...

New research has found that where cyberattacks in the maritime industry lead to a ransom payment, shipowners pay more than $3 million on average to the perpetrators. The report, which was produced by maritime cyber security company CyberOwl and global, sector-focused law firm HFW, also reveals significant gaps in cyber risk management that exist across shipping organisations and the wider supply chain, despite progress made by IMO 2021. It is based on a survey of more than more than 200 industry professionals, including C-suite leaders, cyber security experts, seafarers, shoreside ...

Global law firm Reed Smith announces today that it is advising North P&I and Standard Club in their discussions for a proposed merger to create a new global marine insurer and one of the largest providers of mutual cover in the maritime industries. With 300 years of shared P&I heritage, the combined mutual insurer would provide cover for vessels equivalent to 400M gross tonnage. This announcement follows the approval of the proposal by the boards of both clubs and notification to principal regulatory authorities of their intention to merge. The ...

On March 2, 2022, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reported favorably H.R. 6865, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022, including the Graves/Garamendi offshore manning legislation, a required Coast Guard report on Jones Act enforcement, and a required report on the foreign oceanographic research vessels in U.S. waters. The Committee rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) to exempt the movement of liquefied natural gas from Jones Act U.S.-build requirements. The Graves/Garamendi legislation was introduced on February 15, 2022, and would restrict the citizenship of personnel ...

Law firm Hill Dickinson has boosted its international team of master mariners with the hire of Helene Peter-Davies to its London office. She joins an industry-leading legal team of master mariner/casualty specialists who together have more than 100 years of practical seagoing experience spanning most vessel types. Helene Peter-Davies is a solicitor and master mariner with 30 years’ experience in the shipping industry. She entered the maritime legal profession in 2009 and qualified as a solicitor in 2012. She specialises in wet and dry shipping matters which have a technical ...

Global, sector-focused law firm HFW advised on a new Geneva Declaration designed to define and defend the human rights of the global maritime population and those crossing the world’s oceans and seas. HFW carried out a review of the Declaration on behalf of UK-based NGO Human Rights at Sea (HRAS), which produced the proposed international convention following three years of research and drafting by a team of experts in public, international, humanitarian and refugee law. The firm’s team was led by Alex Kemp in London and also included Sarah Chua ...