From the Editors – Maritime & Transport Law – December 2021

It is hard to imagine that yet another International Bar Association (IBA) annual meeting will pass this year without the actual 'meeting' part. Who among us is not exhausted from the loss and uncertainty that seems to stretch indefinitely on – a little good news here, more bad news there? When will we ever actually get through this pandemic?

We obviously don't have the answer to that question. All we can do is plan and adapt. Everyone is at least a little tired of videoconferences and remote working, but how lucky are we to have these tools? Imagine this happening even only ten years ago. And yet, as always, adversity has necessitated, and even accelerated, changes that were already coming. And nowhere are the 'benefits' of this change more evident than in our industry and our legal practice.

We maritime lawyers are international by nature. We live and work on different continents and in different time zones. International travel is a key part of our work, and some of us probably miss it quite a lot; others, perhaps, not so much! But these tools for remote working allow us to stay in touch with our distant friends and colleagues in ways we never used to do. It's obviously not quite the same as being able to tip a glass or three at the end of a hard day, but on the other hand, it allows us to contact and communicate with people that we might not otherwise ever actually get to see. This group does a particularly admirable job of staying in contact electronically, whether by video or chat room or old-fashioned email, and we hope that will continue going forward, even after this pandemic has passed.

Another way we stay in contact is through this publication. Like our other work tools, the IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee newsletter has evolved over time from a print issue to an electronic journal. Our peers have dedicated time and effort to producing articles that are both interesting and informative, and we are very happy to be able to make them available to IBA members. We hope you will enjoy this issue, and we hope you will be inspired to submit your own article for our next publication in May 2022.

In the meantime, be well and stay safe.

Patrick M Holloway
Newsletter Officer, IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee
Webber Wentzel, Cape Town
patrick.holloway@webberwentzel.com

Thomas H Belknap Jr
Newsletter Officer, IBA Maritime and Transport Law Committee
Blank Rome, New York
​​​​​​​tbelknap@blankrome.com