This paper examines the implications of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) for carrier liability under existing international cargo regimes. As uncrewed and remotely operated cargo vessels become increasingly likely, it assesses whether the existing international sea cargo regimes can accommodate operations in which onboard crews are replaced by shore-based Remote Operations Centres (ROCs).

CML was delighted to have Mr Leong Kah Wah '90, Partner and Head of Shipping and International Trade at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, give a guest lecture on arbitration and mediation in the context of shipping to the Admiralty Law & Practice class on 9 April 2026.

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 organised its second Port Side event for 2026 in collaboration with the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) and the International Group (IG) of Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs.

CML Doctoral Researcher Bulat Karimov’s article examines the law and practice of arresting associated ships in South Africa, the US, England, Singapore and Australia. Particular focus is paid to the impropriety criterion, which is part of piercing the corporate veil but is irrelevant to the South African approach – the only country with separate associated ship provisions. It is concluded that the primary function of impropriety is to prevent overreaching, thereby subverting the idea of the separate legal personality of a shipowning company. The ‘objective’ and ‘reasonableness’ approaches are suggested as a middle ground to the problem discussed.

This paper argues that the current scope of English anti-suit injunctions risks illegitimate exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction and should be recalibrated through two underused lenses: (i) lessons from worldwide freezing injunctions and (ii) philosophical accounts of private international law. It distinguishes the anti-suit injunction’s ‘substantive scope’ (whether an equitable ground exists) from its ‘international scope’ (whether England has legitimate regulatory authority in the light of competing foreign interests).

CML was pleased to welcome more than 40 people to its Opening Reception on 23 January 2026 at University Town, Kent Ridge Campus. This included practitioners from the Singapore maritime bar, recent graduates who had completed maritime law studies at NUS, and current NUS students enrolled in maritime law courses.

CML Research Associate Leung Liwen focuses on the debate concerning the determination of the proper law of the contract in confirmed letters of credit. Sinopec International (Singapore) Pte Ltd v Bank of Communications Co Ltd [2021] SGHC 245 applied the place of contemplated presentation as the relevant connecting factor, rather than the place of actual presentation. But Kuvera Resources Pte Ltd v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA [2022] SGHC 213 accepted that formation occurs upon a complying presentation. As the latter formulation has not been applied in any jurisdiction beside Singapore, the paper discusses the proper law problems present prior to Kuvera.

This paper shows how the duty to make a fair presentation of the risk has been judicially developed not because of statutory reforms but in spite of them. It suggests that the brutal, simple version of pre-contractual disclosure under the Marine Insurance Act 1906 which Singapore still adopts is likely to be replaced by a more nuanced and 'open-textured' mode of commercial contracting.

On 30 October 2025, the Centre for Maritime Law (CML) hosted a CML Seminar at the Ocean Financial Centre. As part of the event, Ms Lucy Carey, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Maritime Law at NUS Law and Lecturer in Commercial Law at the University of Aberdeen, delivered a presentation on Jurisdictional Challenges for Remote Operation Centres and Uncrewed Ships.

This paper deals with the tension between the compensatory role of damages and an approach to damages (the market approach) that calculates damages pragmatically with an eye to ease of assessment. The market damages approach, as it applies, for example, to a buyer’s damages for non-delivery, closes out the contract according to the difference between the contract price and the market price at the due date of performance. It does not require the buyer to purchase substitute goods.

On the evening of 23 October 2025, the Centre for Maritime Law (CML) held its 8th Singapore Shipping Law Forum. Professor Michael Bridge Hon KC FBA was the keynote speaker. Over 120 participants from Singapore’s maritime and legal community attended the event. Professor Stephen Girvin, MPA Professor of Maritime Law and Director of CML, gave the opening address and outlined Professor Bridge’s extensive academic journey, beginning in Blackpool and progressing through institutions such as the London School of Economics and the National University of Singapore.