This article was originally published on Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly and is republished with permission.In the latest of our series, which is annually published in the Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly Yearbook, Andrew Tetley and Antoine Guillemot
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Keeping Risk at Arm’s Length – The Xing Zhi Hai [2024] EWHC 2371 (Comm)
By Nick Austin & Monty Birley
Trading companies that seek to insulate their shipping risk by allocating their chartering activities to a separate entity will be reassured by a recent judgment of the English Court, in which it was decided that a letter of indemnity was…
The importance of email sign offs: the formalities of executing a parent company guarantee under the Statute of Frauds 1677
By Monty Birley
Despite living in an age of instantaneous correspondence and fast contractual negotiations, parties may still assume that promises as important as parent company guarantees, require detailed written documents, wet-ink, or e-signature signatures in order to be enforceable. The English Courts…
LNG sanctions on Russia – A fluid landscape
The U.S. and the UK moved quickly to prohibit the import of Russian LNG into their territories, but did not pass sanctions against the transportation of Russian LNG to other territories. Similarly, while the U.S. placed asset freeze sanctions on…
Recovering rockets at sea: the intersection of space law and maritime law
By Han Deng & Julia Norsetter
This article provides an overview of the legal issues related to the maritime recovery of reusable rockets, which is an emerging practice in the commercial space industry. It summarizes the current state of the space economy, the sources of space…
French Tonnage Tax Regime: a prime target in the midst of legislative elections
Following the recent dissolution of the French National Assembly, the country is preparing for early legislative elections. The political climate is tense for shipping companies with the two leading political parties in the polls considering abolishing the French tonnage tax…
The Ever Given Court of Appeal decision unveils contractual complexities in salvage agreements
By Richard Gunn
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Smit Salvage BV & Ors v Luster Maritime SA & Anr (The ‘Ever Given’), illustrates the challenges of negotiating contracts in rapidly changing environments, particularly within the maritime domain.…
Offshore wind farms: Climate commitments and challenges in the U.S.
International obligations: climate change
At a United Nations climate conference in late 2023, participants championed the successes of climate commitments in previous years. Nevertheless, there was consensus that not enough action has occurred to enable participants to meet the goals…
New U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing enforceability of choice-of-law clauses in maritime contracts, subject to narrow exceptions
The Supreme Court’s decision promotes uniformity and predictability in the interpretation and implementation of maritime contracts.…
Big waves: global autonomous ships market on the rise
International shipping has the potential to undergo an evolution with developments in autonomy—these developments present opportunities to both increase safety and reduce risk to vessel operations. Zulu Associates, a Belgian company which describes itself as an innovator in marine logistics…