Insights

The Supreme Court has clarified the law in relation to unsafe ports and has confirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision limiting a charterer’s potential liability for breach of safe port warranty.

The London Maritime Arbitrators Association (‘LMAA’) has published a new set of terms that will come into effect for appointments made after 1st May, 2017.

  Many Members will have experienced the consequences of a counterparty entering into creditor protection schemes that are in place in the vast majority of jurisdictions. The difficulties faced by Hanjin Shipping are the most recent example of this. The following provides a short summary of some of the issues that arise from Korean bankruptcy procedures.

For over 150 years, the common law has protected insurers against paying fraudulent claims. This position is founded on a clear public policy decision to deter fraud. Should the law take the same view, however, where the insured tells a lie to his insurer which bears no relevance to the underlying validity of the claim? This is the issue which came before the Supreme Court for the first time in the recent case of Versloot Dredging BV v HDI Gerling Industrie Versicherung AG [2016] UKSC 45.

The referendum decision in the UK to leave the EU sends the UK into unchartered waters and creates a period of uncertainty for those in the shipping industry. Although the exit date and precise terms of departure from the EU are not yet known, this briefing is intended to highlight some possible areas for change arising from that decision.