Publications for Maritime and Transport Law Committee

Maritime and Transport Law Committee – From the Editors – September 2023

A note from the Editors of the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee, Bruce Paulsen and Jim Bercaw.

Released on Sep 7, 2023

Maritime and Transport Law Committee – From the Co-Chairs – September 2023

A note from the Co-Chairs of the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee, Ulla von Weissenberg and Henrik Hagberg.

Released on Sep 7, 2023

Meet the officer: Patrick Holloway, Co-Vice Chair

An interview with Patrick Holloway, Co-Vice Chair of the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee and partner at Webber Wentzel, Cape Town.

Released on Sep 7, 2023

Challenges and opportunities in applying EU competition law to the maritime industry

This article examines the intersection of EU competition law and maritime law with a focus on shipping alliances. It outlines many instances of shipping alliances that the European Commission has looked into for possible violations of EU competition legislation as well as the serious repercussions of such violations in the shipping sector.

Released on Sep 7, 2023

Green shipping and the new BIMCO CII Clause

With the increased focus on climate change, a series of initiatives have been introduced by the IMO and the EU to reduce greenhouse gas emission in the shipping industry. One measure, the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), may have a significant impact on valuation of vessels. BIMCO has released a CII Clause, which allocates the contractual responsibility for compliance under time char-ters – but questions may validly be raised about it.

Released on Sep 7, 2023

Making the most of the mediation opportunity

The overriding message is to listen rather than advocate. Advocate is what the lawyer does in litigation or arbitration – to present the client’s case in the best light. But in mediation it’s all about underlying interests.

Released on Sep 7, 2023

The Poseidon Principles: developments and updates

The Poseidon Principles are certain principles introduced by a group of leading banks operating in the shipping finance field worldwide. They have also created an association with the same name: the Poseidon Principles Association.

Released on Sep 7, 2023

From the Editors – Maritime and Transport Law Committee – October 2022

A note from the Editors of the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee, Tom Belknap and Bruce Paulsen.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

From the Co-Chairs – Maritime and Transport Law Committee – October 2022

A note from the Chairs of the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee, Corina Song and Johannes Grove Nielsen.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

Meet the Officer: Henrik Hagberg

An interview with Henrik Hagberg, Senior Vice-Chair, Maritime and Transport Law Committee

Released on Oct 18, 2022

Legal recognition of electronic trade documents: UK joins global initiative to digitalise trade

On 16 March 2022, following a consultation with key stakeholders in the shipping, trade, finance and legal industries, the UK Law Commission published its detailed report on the proposed reform of English law to allow for the legal recognition of electronic trade documents (ETDs).

Released on Oct 18, 2022

MARPOL at 50 – our commitment goes on: IMO releases the world maritime theme for 2023

This article discloses the global maritime theme for 2023 and establishes a critical analysis of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) considering technological development and the need to preserve the environment.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

Who is responsible when a ship grounds in a channel – the port or the ship?

A recent Irish Admiralty Court judgment analysed the responsibilities of a port and a ship following a grounding in an entrance channel, by balancing with the duties of the port with those navigating the ship, including the pilot. The judgment includes a detailed consideration of English case law and may resonate in other common law jurisdictions.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

An overview of the recent ESG-related developments in the maritime sector, with particular focus on South Africa

There is a growing acceptance and integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles among South African corporates, who recognise that this is not only essential to attract investment, but there is a requirement for them to align themselves with the global expectations of corporate responsibility and its sustainable impact relating to basic needs, empowerment, climate change, natural capital and governance.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

First maritime cross-border insolvency proceeding is recognised by a Brazilian Court after the recent adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law

On 23 January 2021, Law no. 14,112/2020 came into force in Brazil, bringing forth important amendments to the Brazilian Insolvency Act (Law No. 11,101/2005). Top among them is the adoption of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, following the example of more than 50 other jurisdictions.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

Product liability claims in Canadian maritime law

Canadian maritime law operates within a distinct legal sphere developed and shaped by common law, statute, and the Canadian Constitution. Unlike other areas of Canadian law, maritime law presents unique challenges to those unfamiliar with its highly specialised nature.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee‘s 50th birthday mediation panel

A report on the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee‘s 50th birthday mediation panel by Jonathan Lux and Bruce Paulsen.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

Draft convention on the effect of judicial sales of vessels approved by UNCITRAL

On 30 June 2022, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) approved a draft convention (the Draft Convention) on the effects of judicial sales.

Released on Oct 18, 2022

From the Editors – Maritime and Transport Law Committee – June 2022

A note from the Editors of the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

From the Chairs – Maritime and Transport Law Committee – June 2022

A note from the Chairs of the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee

Released on Jun 14, 2022

Breaches of international maritime laws in Russia’s war against Ukraine

In March 2014 Russia annexed Crimea and part of the Donetsk and Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. Fighting has continued in this part of Ukraine since then. From the first days of the invasion, Russia declared the northwestern area of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov a zone of hostilities.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

Ukrainian inland waterway reform: stakeholders brace as new opportunities arise

Praised for centuries as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine ended a pre-pandemic 2019 having exported an astonishing €5.9bn in agricultural products, exceeding even China as the EU’s third biggest partner for agricultural imports. As the country’s production increases so does demand for faster and more reliable carriage.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

Starboard: Shipping law and the protection of coral reefs

The Singapore High Court in The ‘Sevilla Knutsen’ [2022] SGHC 20 decided for the first time on damages to be awarded for damage by a vessel to coral reefs. The crux of the dispute related to the parties’ significant divergence on the appropriate level of damages to which the plaintiffs were entitled.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

DIAC Arbitration Rules 2022 – a paradigm shift for Dubai becoming a global arbitration hub

The Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) published its new arbitration rules (the ‘Rules’) on 2 March 2022. The New Rules replace the DIAC Arbitration Rules of 2007 and are applicable to all arbitrations commenced after 21 March 2022, regardless of when the arbitration agreement was entered into.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

Deposit of money as an interim measure in aid of arbitration

Indian courts have adopted a novel and commercially pragmatic approach in ordering recalcitrant debtors to deposit money as security in aid of a claim in arbitration where there are clear admissions of liability or their defence is moonshine.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

Brazil inaugurates new regime of port authority privatisation

On 30 March 2022, the Brazilian government successfully auctioned the privatisation of the state-owned port authority Companhia Docas do Espírito Santo (Codesa) and, simultaneously, the concession of the management of the Ports of Vitória and Barra do Riacho, both located in the state of Espírito Santo, for a 35-year period.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

Sulphur content in bunker fuel: case analysis

A client of Bech-Bruun, a large shipping company, was recently acquitted in a criminal case in which the client was charged with a violation of the EU Sulphur Directive concerning the limits on the sulphur content in bunker fuel. The prosecution had claimed a fine of more than DKK 200,000.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

The fall of Hanjin Shipping in South Korea – after five years

Hanjin Shipping, at the time the number one ocean carrier of South Korea, went bankrupt in February 2017 after struggling for a few months in court protection that was instituted in the year before. Initially, the bankruptcy procedure was a Chapter 11 reorganisation. However, it was found by the court-appointed investigator that the shipping company utterly lacked financial resources, and its business had collapsed irrevocably.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

Legal framework for maritime law in Nigeria

The sea is a crucial medium through which human trade and commerce is conducted; it is also a means of voyage, a valuable source for mineral extraction and power generation and an essential source of the blue economy. It is of vital importance for Nigeria, as a coastal state located strategically on the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, to have an effective maritime legal regime for the regulation and protection of sea activities.

Released on Jun 14, 2022

UK government commences open consultation on signing and ratifying the Singapore Convention on Mediation

Since UNCITRAL opened the Singapore Convention on Mediation (the ‘Convention’) for signature on 7 August 2019, there have been 55 signatories and nine countries have ratified the Convention. The Convention, which came into force on 12 September 2020, aims to make the enforcement of mediated settlements in international commercial business-to-business disputes quicker and easier.

Released on Jun 14, 2022