In Skyros Maritime Corporation & Agios Minas Shipping Co v Hapag-Lloyd AG (The “Skyros” and The “Agios Minas”) [2025] EWCA Civ 1529, the Court of Appeal has restored what most shipping practitioners would have regarded as the orthodox measure of damages for late redelivery — market less charter rate for the period of the overrun — and has done so in circumstances that would, at first blush, have made it tempting to say that the owners had suffered no real loss at all. The cas

Anti-suit injunctions in support of London arbitration agreements are now well-trodden territory. Even so, every so often a case throws up a useful variation on the perennial incorporation question. The Commercial Court’s recent decision in G2 Ocean AS v Tokio Marine Brasil Seguradora SA (The Tanchou Arrow) [2026] EWHC 997 (Comm) is one such case. HHJ Pelling KC granted an interim injunction restraining a subrogated cargo insurer from continuing proceedings in Brazil, on the

A personal commentary on Unity Ship Group SA v Euroins Insurance JSC (The Happy Aras) [2026] EWHC 7 (Admlty). A. Introduction 1. The Admiralty Court's decision in The Happy Aras [2026] EWHC 7 (Admlty), handed down by Admiralty Registrar Master Davison on 12 January 2026, is the first general average decision of any consequence in 2026 and the first one in some years that owners and cargo insurers should be reading carefully. The Admiralty Court dismissed a US$1

2 April 2026 The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal in Monford Management Ltd v Afina Navigation Ltd (The Kiveli and The Afina I) [2026] EWCA Civ , unanimously upholding the Admiralty Court’s judgment in [2025] EWHC 1185 (Admlty) that the collision between the bulk carriers Kiveli and Afina I off the south coast of Greece was a head-on situation governed by Rule 14 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (the “ColRegs”), and that liabilit

5 April 2026 The shipping industry has long identified the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as its most catastrophic risk scenario. That scenario is no longer hypothetical. Following the commencement of joint US-Israeli military operations against Iran on 28 February 2026, and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait, the world’s most important maritime energy chokepoint has been effectively shut to normal traffic. The consequences for global trade, ener

20 January 2026 The Supreme Court’s judgment in MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA v Conti 11 Container Schiffahrts-GmbH & Co KG MS “MSC Flaminia” [2025] UKSC 14 addresses a question of fundamental importance to the law of limitation of liability in maritime claims: whether a charterer can invoke the right to limit its liability under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (the “1976 Convention”) in respect of claims brought by the shipowner. T

1 December 2025 The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in King Crude Carriers SA v Ridgebury November LLC [2025] UKSC 39 has resolved a question of considerable commercial importance to the shipping industry: the status of deposits under the Norwegian Saleform (NSF), and the availability of the doctrine of “deemed fulfilment” in English law. The Background The case arises from three separate memoranda of agreement (MoAs) for the sale and purchase of oil tankers, all on the i

1 April 2025 MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is cementing its position as the world’s largest container line by a widening margin. Over the course of this year, MSC is expanding faster than any other major carrier, contributing 831,400 TEU and accounting for 39 per cent of capacity growth among the major operators. The rise of MSC—and the broader consolidation of the liner sector—raises important questions for shippers, regulators, and the industry at large. The MSC Growth

1 October 2024 The global container fleet is in the midst of its most aggressive expansion in a generation. A record 530 new container ships are entering service in 2024, following 350 deliveries in 2023. The orderbook-to-fleet ratio remains elevated, and the implications for freight rates, vessel values, and market dynamics are far-reaching. Origins of the Ordering Boom The ordering surge can be traced to the extraordinary profits generated during the pandemic-era freight bo

15 March 2024 Three months into 2024, the Red Sea crisis has evolved from an emerging threat into a full-blown disruption of global trade. The rerouting of commercial shipping around the Cape of Good Hope is now the norm rather than the exception, with consequences that are reshaping freight markets, straining supply chains, and reviving difficult questions about the security of maritime chokepoints. The Scale of Diversion The numbers are stark. Transit volumes through the Ba

10 February 2023 On 1 January 2023, two of the most significant regulatory measures in the history of international shipping entered into force. The Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) now apply to the vast majority of the world’s commercial fleet, marking the beginning of a new chapter in shipping’s long road towards decarbonisation. What the Regulations Require The EEXI is, in essence, a one-time technical assessment of a ve

20 September 2022 After two extraordinary years in which container freight rates reached historic highs, the shipping market is experiencing a correction of remarkable speed and severity. The era of $20,000-per-TEU spot rates from Shanghai to Europe appears to be over, and the industry is now grappling with what the return to normality looks like. From Boom to Bust The pandemic-driven boom was fuelled by a perfect storm of factors: surging consumer demand for goods, port cong

10 May 2022 The Supreme Court’s decision in Nautical Challenge Ltd v Evergreen Marine (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 6 —the first collision case to reach the Supreme Court—has brought long-awaited clarity to the relationship between the crossing rules and the narrow channel rule under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (the “ColRegs”). The subsequent remittal to the Admiralty Court, determined earlier this year in [2022] EWHC 206 (Admlty) , has now conc

The Russia-Ukraine Conflict and the Black Sea: A New Era of Shipping Risk 15 March 2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has plunged the Black Sea shipping corridor into crisis. The consequences for global maritime trade are already profound, touching everything from grain shipments and energy logistics to insurance premiums and crew welfare. The industry is now confronting a level of geopolitical disruption not seen in decades. Immediate Disruption Within hou

This blog post considers practical issues concerning running fraud claims in international arbitration, in light of the recent case...

Determining what law governs an arbitration agreement is a question that has been plagued, in England & Wales, by contradictory...

A huge volume of shipping disputes are arbitrated. Accordingly, shipping lawyers are often as acquainted with international arbitration...

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation announced that the novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) was being treated as a world pandemic....

If a buyer has recovered from their seller already, can they also sue the carrier for full damages? The rule of "res inter alios acta" in...

What happens to the cargo interest's rights when a carrier deviates? The recent case, Dera Commercial Estate v Derya Inc (“Dera”)...