Archive

If a ship suffers damage, delay or exceptional expense at a port to which it was ordered by charterers, owners may have a claim against charterers for breach of the unsafe port warranty. This guide examines the legal principles governing unsafe port claims, issues arising in such claims and the defences that may be available. How do safety warranties arise? Some standard form charter parties, […]

ADM Industries Centers Ltd (trading as ADM Israel) v Inerco Trade SA [2026] EWHC 1873 (Comm) The High Court has overturned a GAFTA Board of Appeal decision, ruling that reliance on a force majeure clause under GAFTA Form 48 required timely service of the notice. Late service would deprive the party serving the notice from being able to rely on the force majeure clause, even […]

Over the last few years, tanker owners have reaped large profits from selling their older tonnage to (in many cases) newly established buyers who have set up in various jurisdictions ranging from Dubai to Hong Kong. But who are these buyers and what are their intentions for these tankers? It is a fact that many of these tankers have ended up in the dark fleet […]

Historically, the carriage by sea of Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) has not been subject to an in-force comprehensive international liability regime. Previously, liability for HNS related damage was governed by a fragmented patchwork of rules, drawing on general maritime conventions such as the Hague-Visby Rules, Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) and sector-specific regimes like the Civil Liability Convention (CLC)/Fund Convention […]

On 22 May 2026, at its 111th session (MSC 111) in London, the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted the long anticipated International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Ships (MASS Code). The MASS Code, which applies to cargo ships covered under SOLAS Chapter 1, is the first international framework to govern the safe operation of autonomous and remotely operated commercial […]

In this first instalment of HFW’s series of briefings on the legal risks to shipping from GPS jamming and AIS spoofing, we explain what jamming and spoofing involves, before considering the specific threat to vessels in the context of collisions and groundings. Vessels rely on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) for navigation, routing, and situational awareness. There are four major GNSS in operation; China’s Beidou, […]

The Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents (the Convention) is is the work of The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) over the last few years. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2025. It will open for signature in Ghana later this year and will be known as the Accra Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents. Purpose To date, only sea carriage has benefitted from […]

This research paper explores how to develop a Geopolitical Strategy in Maritime Cyber Security. The purpose is to give indications to shipowners whether national cyber security strategies can present a risk for their business in a context of geopolitical instability. The paper was written by Aude Chocard during her internship with BIMCO’s Regulatory Department. Her work was supervised by BIMCO’s Chief Safety & Security Officer […]

In Oceanus Capital SARL v Lloyd’s Insurance Company S.A. (M/V “Vyssos”) [2025] EWHC 3293 (Comm), the Commercial Court held that a mortgagee lender was entitled to claim under a Mortgagee’s Interest Insurance (commonly known as “MII”) policy where owners had forged additional insurance cover, leading to the non-payment under the existing insurance cover following the constructive total loss of a vessel.  The decision underscores the importance of […]

The release of SALEFORM 2025 represents a further step in the continued evolution of standard documentation for ship sale and purchase transactions. Developed jointly by the Norwegian Shipbrokers’ Association (NSA) and BIMCO, the 2025 edition reflects accumulated market experience, regulatory and legal developments and evolving transactional practices, while maintaining a structure familiar to users of previous editions. Scope of the Revision Rather than a complete […]