The reaction of the Iranian government to the boarding of the Grace 1 off Gibraltar has been swift and direct reciprocal action has been threatened against “British” ships. Whether that is British flagged as opposed to British managed or operated ships, is unclear. But in the light of the recent attacks on tankers in the Straits of Hormuz and off Fujairah by Iranian forces that threat must be taken seriously. At the moment the threat…

Summary: On April 1, 2019, UK Parliament implemented the second phase of its ‘Indicative Votes’ process, which had been devised to find out if there was a UK Parliamentary majority for any one Brexit strategy, following Friday’s third UK Parliamentary defeat of the Withdrawal Agreement that was negotiated between the UK Government and EU. Chart available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-46393399 All four alternate Brexit strategies put forward were rejected by UK Parliament. The four proposals put forward…

  Over the last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued two updated advisories, as well as issued a series of new designations of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs), highlighting the sanctions-related risks for, and the focus on, the shipping community. Taken together, they provide important guidance for members of the shipping industry—including shipping companies, ship owners, insurance companies, and financial institutions with shipping practices, port operators, and…

Summary:   Following negotiations that went well into the night, the EU took control of the Brexit endgame, turning down the UK Prime Minister’s plea to postpone Brexit from 29 March to 30 June, and instead drawing up a “flextension” plan that officially delays Brexit to 12 April 2019 at the earliest. Under the terms of the plan, which was devised by the EU’s 27 heads of state and government and accepted by the UK…