Sanctions have been tied to the world of shipping and international trade since at least the time of Ancient Greece. In recent years, however, sanctions have been brought back to the forefront of the shipping industry with the imposition of new sanctions regimes by the US, UK and EU, among others, which are complicated, overlapping, possibly conflicting, and especially punishing if one is found to be in breach.

CML is pleased to announce the publication of Carver on Charterparties (3rd edn), edited by Howard Bennett, Stephen Girvin et al. The 3rd edition builds upon the thematic synthesis and analysis in this fundamental area of shipping law, covering a number of major cases since the second edition, including: The Sienna (2023), The CMA CGM Librar (2021), The C Challenger ( 2020), The Polar (2024) and more.

Co-insurance is common in the construction industry. However, as the case law illuminates clearly, it has caused significant complexities and perhaps surprising outcomes for the defendant co-insureds. Whilst the law appears by no means to be clear and certain, it is suggested that the balance is shifting towards the underlying contract in which the parties' intention and authority would be found firstly as to the identity of the parties to be co-insured and secondly the scope of the cover to be obtained under the co-insurance policy.

CML was pleased to have Dr Michiel Spanjaart, Partner & Founder of Trains & Co, give a seminar on the topic of Bills of Lading and Ship’s Delivery Orders on 18 September 2024. Dr Spanjaart specializes in transport, insurance, and commercial law.

The 1952 and 1999 Arrest Conventions provide for the arrest ships owned by the person who would be liable for the claim in personam. The widespread use of one-ship companies effectively circumvented these provisions. It allowed shipowners to limit or avoid their liability by distributing their fleet between one-ship companies.

The Centre for Maritime Law (CML) is pleased to announced that the CML CMI Database, Judicial Decisions on International Conventions, now contains over 2,500 maritime law decisions. According to Google Analytics, the database has helped just over 118,000 users from all around the world, in well over 160,000 individual sessions. We are pleased to share that our reach is truly international, with readers from every continent.

Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly has published CML Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Richard Kilpatrick Jr’s article, ‘Sanctions-Based Impossibility’ where he discussed the US federal appellate court decision in Siemens Energy Inc v Petróleos de Venezuela SA.

The right of shipowners to global limitation has been in place for centuries. The persons entitled to limit have expanded from the shipowner to include the salvor, charterer, manager, and operator of a seagoing ship and any person for whose act, neglect, or default the shipowner or salvor is responsible. Claims brought against these persons can be limited (with some exceptions), with the limits calculated per distinct occasion.

CML congratulates Liwen Leung on the publication of his article, “Should There Be a Negligence Exception to the Autonomy Principle for Letters of Credit?“, in Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly. Fraud is the only widely accepted exception to the autonomy principle applicable to letters of credit. However, a recent decision of the Singapore High Court, Bank of China v BP Singapore, appears to support the possibility of a further exception: the negligence exception.

The market for smart and autonomous ships – vessels propelled by highly innovative technologies such as blockchain, the internet of things, robotics, simulation and modelling, big data and business analytics – is estimated to reach US$165.61 billion by 2030. The potential benefits that smart and autonomous ships offer to international trade have captured the attention of major industry players and governments in various parts of the world.

On 2 May 2024, the Centre for Maritime Law (CML) at the National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law, hosted the CML Short Course on Shipping Law Update: Cases in 2023 at the M Hotel. Professor Stephen Girvin, MPA Professor of Maritime Law and Director of CML, delivered the seminar, attended by 50 legal practitioners and shipping professionals.

Time flies! CML held our final Port Side activity for AY23-24 with an end-of-term dinner for our maritime law students and alumni members. Held at CML office on 26 April 2024, guests included undergraduates, LLM as well as the Graduate Diploma in Maritime Law & Arbitration (GDMLA) students. The Centre had also invited advisory board members as well as recent alumni members to dinner and would like to express our thanks to Mr Leon Alexander, Partner at Clyde & Co, Mr Dedi Affandi, Partner of Rajah Tann for joining us his evening.