English law offers three grounds to appeal against or challenge an arbitration award. The most frequently seen is an appeal based on error of law under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (as amended by the Arbitration Act 2025, the “Act”). But there are two other routes under section 67 of the Act (challenge
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Judicial sale of superyacht Stefania: An opportunity to look into French ship arrest procedures
On 27 March 2025, the yacht “Stefania” was sold at a public auction in France for 10 million euros. This sale was a result of the shipowners’ conviction for money laundering. The auction highlights the effectiveness of seizing and selling ships in criminal cases, where vessels are often high-value assets. However, it is crucial to
“SAGAR RATAN”: Useful guidance on the BIMCO Infectious Diseases Clause
The recent case of Bunge S.A. v. Pan Ocean Co., Ltd. [2025] EWHC 193 (the “Sagar Ratan”) sheds helpful light on the interpretation of the BIMCO Infectious or Contagious Diseases Clause for Time Charter Parties 2015 (“BIMCO Clause”) and in particular, the definition of an “Affected Area”.
Paris shipping update #2
This article was originally published on Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly and is republished with permission.
In this bulletin, we once again draw on our annual reports on French shipping law published by Andrew Tetley and Antoine Guillemot in the Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly Yearbook.
In this bulletin, Andrew Tetley and Antoine
Damages for late redelivery – a lost opportunity (literally)?
Hapag-Lloyd AG v. Skyros Maritime Corporation and Agios Minas Shipping Company [2024] EWHC 3139 (Comm)
In a significant new case, the UK Commercial Court assessed damages following late redelivery of two vessels under time charterparties where, pursuant to the terms of MOAs signed with third party buyers for their sale, Owners could not charter the
One event, two legal realities! Successful outcome for Reed Smith’s Paris shipping team in major cargo claim dispute
This case illustrates the complex relationship that can exist between proceedings brought against two different sea carriers arising out of the same event. French Courts addressed the following question: how can judgments issued in one of the proceedings be used in the other proceedings? Ultimately, the handling of circular recourses between cargo interests, sea carriers
Paris shipping update #1
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 have collated and reported on developments in French shipping law.
Sea carriers can be sued
Keeping Risk at Arm’s Length – The Xing Zhi Hai [2024] EWHC 2371 (Comm)
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 enforceable only against the entity which had issued it, and not against a connected entity
The importance of email sign offs: the formalities of executing a parent company guarantee under the Statute of Frauds 1677
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 have recently reaffirmed that this is not the case.
SFL Ace 2 Co Inc v
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 new Russian LNG projects such as the Arctic LNG 2 project, existing LNG infrastructure in