i-law

Maritime & Commercial

Nigerian admiralty law and the risk to foreign maritime arbitration recognition

New article now available

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By Ooreoluwa O Agbede, Partner, Smith & Partners Law Practice, Lagos, Nigeria

The Nigerian Federal High Court's decision in PS Offshore Nigeria Ltd v Miden Systems Nigeria Ltd and Another could impose significant enforcement risks on parties relying on foreign-seated arbitration clauses in maritime contracts connected with Nigeria.

In this new article, Ooreoluwa O Agbede examines the High Court’s decision, its implications for owners, charterers, S&P parties and ship financiers, and the practical steps stakeholders can take pending the Court of Appeal’s decision.

https://www.i-law.com/ilaw/doc/view.htm?id=453845

A practical guide to laytime and demurrage

Part 1: commencement of laytime

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By Jean-Paul Dezutter

This is the first article in a new series aimed at exploring recurring laytime and demurrage problems in a clear and practical format. This series will draw on English law principles and relevant case law, and link those principles back to practical documents, evidence and decisions made by owners, charterers, traders, brokers, operators, claims handlers and in-house counsel. This Part begins by analysing the often-complex question of when laytime can be said to have started.

Access this article here

When Ships Don't Sink Straight

Passenger Vessel Evacuation and the Reality of Capsize

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By Selina Wai-Ming Robinson

Passenger ship evacuation procedures may meet regulatory requirements, but how well do they withstand the conditions of a real maritime emergency? Selina Wai-Ming Robinson examines the case for moving from compliance-based to resilience-based evacuation standards.

Access the article here

Coming soon - new edition of Marine Cargo Insurance

Marine Cargo Insurance, 3rd edition

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New 3rd edition of the British Insurance Law Association (BILA)-award winning text publishing 24 November 2026.
 

Revised to state the law on duty of fair presentation, warranties. and exclusions in terms of the Insurance Act 2015 and including new sections on cyber risks and  the Joint Cargo Committee Communicable Disease Exclusion Clauses introduced by the JCC following the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

New London arbitration content

Lloyd's Maritime Law Newsletter

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Lloyd’s Maritime Law Newsletter (LMLN) provides concise summaries of maritime law decisions and London arbitrations, helping lawyers and industry professionals stay informed of important legal developments and their practical implications.

The latest summary, London Arbitration 18/26, is now available. It considers an LMAA arbitration arising from an amended GENCON voyage charter, focusing on jurisdiction and whether a non-practising former lawyer could be appointed under a “commercial men and no lawyers” provision.

Chinese maritime law in review 2025

New edition now available

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Dr Liang Zhao FCIArb Zhao examines the key provisions of the new Chinese Maritime Code, alongside important second instance and retrial judgments on maritime and admiralty matters published by Chinese courts in 2025. The review also highlights notable maritime arbitration awards published by the China Maritime Arbitration Commission during the year.

Read the full article now

Available now in Maritime Risk International

Bulk cargo liquefaction: the gap between regulation and reality

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How can bulk cargo liquefaction still be causing casualties more than 60 years after it was first recognised by the IMO?

In the latest issue of Maritime Risk International, Karolina Cirjak examines why bulk cargo liquefaction remains a persistent threat at sea. While the regulatory framework is well established, casualty investigations continue to point to a different challenge: inconsistent enforcement.

What happens when the gap between regulation and operational reality remains unresolved? 

The latest issue of Maritime Risk International is available here.

Hague-Visby Rules: Interpretation of "suit" and the deck cargo exception

New article now available

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By Chris Metcalf, Partner at HFW

In this new article, HFW examines the Court of Appeal’s guidance on two important questions concerning time-bars and deck cargo under the Hague-Visby Rules. The decision confirms that obtaining security is no substitute for commencing substantive proceedings in time, and underscores the importance of clearly identifying cargo said to be carried on deck if carriers wish to rely on the Article I(c) exception.

https://www.i-law.com/ilaw/doc/view.htm?id=453627

Lloyd's Shipping Law Library books available

Time Charters, 8th edition

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Acclaimed as the standard reference work on the law relating to time charters, the new 8th edition provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject, accessible and useful both to shipping lawyers and to shipowners, charterers, P&I Clubs and other insurers. Time Charters provides full coverage of both English and US law, now updated with all the important decisions since the previous edition.

Bareboat Charters, 1st edition

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Providing a clause-by-clause analysis commentary on all the provisions of the BIMCO BARECON, and all decisions relevant to those clauses, Bareboat Charters addresses important topics such as termination, repossession and damages from an English law standpoint, adding useful guidance for practitioners. It considers general issues of contract and/or maritime law so far as they relate to bareboat charters, and extracts or summarises key passages of important case law.

Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice, 6th edition

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Admiralty Jurisdiction and Practice is the definitive work on litigation in the Admiralty Court. It provides unrivalled commentary and analysis of admiralty law as well as the jurisdiction and procedure of the Admiralty Court.

Now in its sixth edition, it has been fully updated to include new case law and important changes in practice and procedure since 2017. It covers the implications of Brexit as well as changes to CPR Part 61 and its accompanying Practice Direction in particular in relation to limitation claims and the new rules for pleading collision claims.

The Law of Tug and Tow, 5th edition

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The Law of Tug and Tow and Offshore Contracts has established itself as a leading text and is written by Simon Rainey KC, one of the foremost shipping practitioners with unrivalled experience in the field. It is the only modern work on the law of towage and offshore vessel services, providing a comprehensive and extensively researched account of the general law coupled with a detailed clause-by-clause commentary and analysis of all the major standard contracts used in the international offshore, towage and heavylift sectors.

Maritime Law Search

Why should upstream and downstream contracts be aligned at all?

New article now available

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Beyond Matching Incoterms: Managing Contractual Risk in Commodity Trading

By Alina Butrim, Maritime Legal Researcher

Traders, as intermediaries within a chain of transactions, are uniquely exposed to both upstream and downstream risks. In this new article, Alina Butrim examines why traders and their counsel must properly align contracts for protection before problems arise.

https://www.i-law.com/ilaw/doc/view.htm?id=453773

Lloyd’s Shipping & Trade Law: latest content available

Green shipping in an age of economic security: why port access now matters

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Port access has become a pressure point of maritime economic security. Recent developments show how access to ports is increasingly being used to pursue wider economic and strategic objectives. This article states that port access is becoming the legal interface at which maritime decarbonisation, industrial policy and economic security meet. Green shipping cannot be understood only as a matter of emissions regulation. It also depends on industrial capacity, finance, fuels, and stable access to ports and trade lanes. For practitioners, the point is commercial as much as jurisdictional.

The whole issue is now available to view here.

Singapore Arbitration content now available in LMLN

New summary and award text now available

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The latest award summary included in Lloyd's Maritime Law Newsletter is Singapore Arbitration 2/26. This important award clarifies the test for repudiatory breach and confirms that the risk of delays under an intervening charterparty falls on the shipowner. It also confirms that the Monroe Obligation applies even where no ETA or ERTL has been provided. Published with thanks to the SCMA.

Charterparty - Laycan - Inability of vessel to arrive within laycan - Breach of charterparty - Damages

https://www.i-law.com/ilaw/doc/view.htm?id=452900

Lloyd's Law Reporter

GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA V OPORTO
Extradition – Flag state jurisdiction – Double criminality – Offence specified in the extradition request an "extradition offence" – Extradition to category 2 territory – Meaning of "territory" – Extradition Act 2003, sections 78(4)(b), 137(4) – Merchant Shipping Act 1995, section 282(1) – Extradition Act 2003 (Overseas Territories) Order 2016
Online Published Date:  09 Nov 2026
THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN V THE LONDON STEAM-SHIP OWNERS' MUTUAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION LTD
Arbitration – Error of law – Third party rights – Conditional benefit principle – Tribunals awarded equitable damages for breach of obligation to arbitrate disputes – Common law basis of action – Measure of damages – Arbitration Act 1996, section 69
Online Published Date:  03 Nov 2026
ITHACA PROSPECT LLC V LLOYD'S INSURANCE COMPANY SA
Marine insurance – Detention of vessel due to Russia-Ukraine War – Institute War Clauses 1983 – Insured peril – Constructive total loss – Suing and labouring – Abandonment – Marine Insurance Act 1906, sections 63, 78 and 79
Online Published Date:  26 Oct 2026

Lloyd's Law Reports

TULLOW GHANA LTD v VALLOUREC OIL AND GAS FRANCE SAS
[2026] 2 Lloyd's Rep 384
Contracts – Breach – Contract for supply of tubing to oil wells – Formation of contract – Incorporation of terms – Battle of the forms – Last shot – Construction – Implied terms – Satisfactory quality – Sale of Goods Act 1979, section 14.
SONGA PRODUCT AND CHEMICAL TANKERS IV AS v GARDSEA SHIPPING INC
[2026] 2 Lloyd's Rep 375
Ship sale – Time of payment into seller's account – Time zones – Calendar days – Contractual definition of Banking Days – Computation of time – Saleform 2012.
VALENCY INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD v JSW INTERNATIONAL TRADECORP PTE LTD AND OTHERS AND ANOTHER APPEAL
[2026] 2 Lloyd's Rep 409
Bills of lading – Tort – Conversion – Delivery orders instructing release of bill of lading cargo – Whether an act of conversion – Financier pledging bills of lading to issuing bank as security for loan – Bank returning bills of lading to financier under trust receipt arrangement – Whether pledge extinguished by redelivery of bills to the financier.

Chinese Maritime and Commercial Law Reports

Volume 2 2026 now available

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Lloyd’s List Intelligence is the only publisher of the English language edition of Chinese Maritime and Commercial Law Reports. We are pleased to announce the publication of Volume 2 2026 on i-law.com.

 

New four-part series available

Going dark: legal risks of GPS jamming and AIS spoofing

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Explore HFW’s four-part series on the legal risks of GPS jamming and AIS spoofing. Covering collisions and groundings, charterparty disputes, sanctions and cargo risks and insurance implications, the series examines how the manipulation of vessel identity and location data is creating new challenges for the shipping industry.

Part 1 Collisions and groundings 
Part 2 Charterparties     
Part 3 Sanctions and cargo  
Part 4 Insurance

Lloyd's Law Reports on i-law.com

Expert law reporting since 1919

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Lloyd’s Law Reports is the unrivalled source of authoritative content, edited by Professor Robert Merkin KC and Dr Johanna Hjalmarsson, both experts in the maritime and commercial sector. Legal professionals around the globe regard Lloyd’s Law Reports as the leader in providing them with the latest case law and approved judgments.

Access Lloyd's Law Reports on i-law.com for the full archive of carefully selected, fully headnoted judgments.

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