Insights

The Club recently provided an update in respect of liens on cargo in China pursuant to the PRC Supreme Court Memorandum on Trials for Foreign-related Commercial and Maritime Cases (the “Memo”).  This further update follows a significant ruling by the Shanghai Maritime Court which, for the first time in the PRC, recognised English court judgments under the principle of reciprocity and the policy reflected in the Memo.

On 8th April, 2022 the EU implemented a fifth package of sanctions on Russia by way of Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/578, Council Regulation 2022/576,and Council Regulation 2022/581.

The Club is receiving an increasing number of claims relating to recent bunker deliveries in Singapore where the quality of some bunker fuel has been questioned.  Although initial testing may indicate the bunkers supplied meet the ISO 8217 Table 2 specifications, it is reported that in practice these fuels tend to display severe operating problems such as excessive sludge formation in the purification/filtering process, wax formation at usual storage temperatures, wear and seizure of fuel pumps, corrosion and engine blackouts. 

In the recent case of DHL Project & Chartering Ltd v Gemini Ocean Shipping Co Ltd [2022] EWHC 181 the Commercial Court held that the parties had not concluded a binding contract after conditions to which the charterparty fixture was subject had not been ‘lifted’.  As a result, the arbitration agreement contained in the charter party did not apply and the arbitration award was set aside on the basis that the arbitrator did not have jurisdiction.

On 5th March, 2022, Singapore became the first South East Asian country to impose sanctions against the Russian regime in response to the invasion of Ukraine. This is the first time Singapore has imposed unilateral sanctions of its own since the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978.