Highlights
[Case Commentary] MV Tai Harmony v Sure Success Steamship SA
In MV Tai Harmony v Sure Success Steamship SA, the South African Court of Appeal upheld an order increasing security for a maritime claim pursued in foreign arbitration. The decision reinforces the protective purpose of security arrests, clarifies the burden for topping-up applications, and confirms that challenges to the validity of the arrest must be dealt with separately.
The CML Case Commentaries aim to make complex maritime disputes easier to follow, offering concise analysis of key decisions in commercial maritime cases. Each commentary highlights the legal issues, judicial reasoning, and practical significance of the case.
Book Publication: Geopolitical Disruption in Shipping: Sanctions, War, and Force Majeure
CML congratulates our Academic Fellow, Richard L Kilpatrick, Jr, on the publication of his book, Geopolitical Disruption in Shipping: Sanctions, War, and Force Majeure by Hart Publishing. The book examines how the shipping industry is responding to the commercial challenges caused by geopolitical risk. It highlights geopolitical and regulatory context, assesses industry adaptations, and analyses cross-jurisdictional case law to gather insight into the contractual rights and responsibilities impacted by these scenarios.
Professor Stephen Girvin presents at ICMA XXIII Singapore
CML Director, MPA Professor of Law Stephen Girvin delivered a presentation titled, ‘Implied Indemnities in charterparties: certainty at last?’ on 24 March 2026 at the International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA) XXIII Singapore Conference. The paper was part of the plenary session on Electronic Bills and Misdelivery Claims.
CML Working Paper: Can a Cyber-Attack on a Mobilised Vessel Qualify as Capture and Seizure under English Marine Insurance Law?
Dr Fatıma Özcan's working paper, 'Can a Cyber-Attack on a Mobilised Vessel Qualify as Capture and Seizure under English Marine Insurance Law?', is now online. This paper explores whether a cyber-attack on a mobilised vessel, autonomous or otherwise, could be classified as a capture and seizure peril. Through doctrinal analysis, key case law, and market practice, it argues that cyber-attacks, notwithstanding their catastrophic consequences, fail to satisfy the physicality requirement inherent to capture and seizure in its current legal formulation.
Journal Article: Law and Practice of Ship Arrest in Russia
CML Doctoral Researcher Bulat Karimov’s article presents and analyses the statistics of ship arrest proceedings in Russia from 2020 to 2024. The author questions whether ship arrest has a legal nature distinct from other preliminary remedies and whether these peculiarities deserve special regulation in Russian law. The article concludes that only the maritime lien is unique and that the main issue with ship arrest in Russia lies in its unpredictability and uncertainty.
