Legal News

A global operational alliance between two of the world’s largest container shipping companies will not go into effect next week as planned following a move by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to study the potential competitive impacts of the arrangement.The FMC said on Friday it is seeking more information to determine the potential competitive impacts of the proposed Gemini Cooperation Agreement, which would allow ocean carriers Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to share vessels in the trades between the United States and Asia…

A Chevron-chartered oil tanker that was seized by Iran more than a year ago was heading for international waters on Thursday, LSEG ship tracking data showed.The Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet was boarded by Iran's military in the Gulf of Oman in April 2023 after an alleged collision with an Iranian boat.There was no immediate comment from Chevron or Iranian officials on Thursday on whether the vessel had been released or what discussions may have been involved.The movement…

Ukraine seized a foreign cargo ship in the Black Sea off its Odesa region and detained the captain on suspicion of helping Moscow export Ukrainian grain from Russian-occupied Crimea, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Thursday.The vessel, which it did not identify, was travelling under the flag of a central African country and repeatedly docked at the Crimean sea port of Sevastopol to pick up "looted" agricultural products in 2023-24, the SBU said.Russian forces occupied…

Vessels in the passenger/cruise, container, RoPax, bulker and tanker segments will have significant cost exposure from the FuelEU Maritime regulation due to be implemented from January 1 next year, despite a relatively modest initial target of a 2% cut in GHG intensity, according to OceanScore.The Hamburg-based maritime technology firm’s data analytics team has calculated that shipping will rack up total FuelEU penalties of €1.345 billion in 2025 through analysis of the 13,000 vessels over 5,000gt trading within and into the EU/EEA that are subject to the regulation.

The skipper of a U.K. fishing trawler has been been fined and given an eight-month prison sentence after falling asleep during his watch, causing the vessel to collide with another and injuring two crew membersOn January 15, 2022, Maurice Reid of Fraserburgh, Scotland was in charge of the fishing vessel Margaret Anne’s journey when he started to fall asleep. Moments later the vessel collided with anchored fishing vessel Blackbird in the Shoreham area, off the south coast of Sussex…

A strike planned for Monday by ship and dock foremen at west Canadian ports has been called off after the country's industrial relations board found the union's strike notice was in violation of the labor code, the board said in an order."The Board directs the union to rescind its strike notice," Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) said in the order, adding that the strike violated the Canada Labour Code.It said that the union - International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship and Dock Foremen Local 514 - failed to bargain in good faith.The union did not immediately respond to a request f

The United States added six companies to its trade restriction list on Tuesday, including four for their links to the training of China's military forces, according to a government posting.Two of the companies are in China, one in South Africa, two in the United Arab Emirates and one in Britain.Global Training Solutions Limited and Smartech Future Limited, both in China, as well as Grace Air (Pty) Ltd and Livingston Aerospace Limited of the United Kingdom, were added over their…

Hornblower Group has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy under new ownership following the completion of its court-approved financial restructuring plan, the marine transportation and experiences company announced on Friday.Under the plan approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, majority ownership of San Francisco-based Hornblower has transitioned to funds managed by investment firm Strategic Value Partners (SVP), while private equity firm Crestview…

A rescue ship funded by British street artist Banksy has been grounded at port for 20 days for ignoring migrant disembarkation orders from Italian authorities, the charity running the vessel said on Wednesday.The Louise Michel ship had been told to take 37 people rescued at sea to Pozzallo in Sicily, but instead took them to the island of Lampedusa, saying the sea was too rough to reach its prescribed destination."Our rescue ship MV Louise Michel has been detained for 20 days in the port of Lampedusa," the Louise Michel charity wrote on X.

The Paris MoU has published its 2023 Annual Report, highlighting that the overall detention rate for 2023 (3.81%) is lower than that for 2022 (4.25%).However, the detention rate has not returned to pre-pandemic levels of 2.98% during 2019.Analysis of the deficiencies indicates that, compared to previous years, there is no specific convention or part of a convention that is indicating more areas of non-compliance. Instead, there are recurring areas of concern:• SOLAS Chapter II-2 (Construction-Fire Protection…

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to federal regulatory power on Friday by overturning a 1984 precedent that had given deference to government agencies in interpreting laws they administer, handing a defeat to President Joe Biden's administration.The justices ruled 6-3 to set aside lower court decisions against fishing companies that challenged a government-run program partly funded by industry that monitored overfishing of herring off New England's coast. It marked the…

Interferry Director of Regulatory Affairs Johan Roos has announced that the organization has drafted an alternative compliance mechanism to the CII that will be submitted to MEPC 82, to be held September 30 - October 4.CII is a shipping industry-specific operational efficiency requirement that dictates how much fuel is allowed to be burned per nautical mile in relation to ship type and ship size. “It follows the same illogical statistical approach as IMO’s Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships and the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI)…

Greek coastguard officers will testify as suspects as part of a disciplinary investigation into their role in a deadly migrant shipwreck off Greece, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.Hundreds are feared to have died when a vessel, monitored by the Greek coastguard for several hours, capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek coastal town of Pylos on June 14, 2023.Up to 700 people were in the trawler which left Libya heading for Italy. Some 104 survivors were rescued but only 82 bodies were recovered.

The crew members of a yacht accused of starting a forest fire last week on the Greek island of Hydra are expected to deny arson charges when they appear before a judge on Wednesday, a legal source said.Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country but they have become more frequent and devastating due to hotter, drier and windier weather, which scientists link to climate change. Greece has in recent years beefed up penalties for arson.The fire, which is believed to have been sparked by fireworks…

Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has begun using tankers that navigate off radar to supply its closest political ally, Cuba, as a fleet of state-owned vessels that have historically covered the route dwindles, according to documents and ship monitoring services.Cuba and its main oil supplier, Venezuela, for over a decade had exclusively used their own tankers to navigate between the two countries.Delayed maintenance, however, has taken some ships out of service and the emergence…

Sanctions on shipping companies are undermining safety at sea and pose dangers for trade as ship standards are impacted, the chief executive of sanctioned Russian shipping group Sovcomflot said.The European Union imposed sanctions on Russia's state-owned and top tanker company Sovcomflot (SCF) and its CEO Igor Tonkovidov, according to the measures published in the EU's Official Journal on Monday.Earlier this year, the U.S.

New research from SRI, the international pan-industry body researching maritime and seafarers’ law, concludes that the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) is not being strictly and evenly enforced on a global basis. The findings identify substantial achievements in the enforcement of the MLC but also identify significant gaps - very approximately estimated to indicate that implementation and enforcement of the MLC is achieving a success rate of around 65%.Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of SRI…

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday it is inspecting key electrical components that were removed from the cargo ship Dali that crashed into a Maryland bridge in March, killing six people and destroying the Patapsco River crossing.In May, the NTSB said the Dali lost electrical power several times before the crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, including experiencing a blackout during in-port maintenance and shortly before the crash.The NTSB said it is continuing…

The European Union will add 27 vessels, including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers, to its list of entities under sanctions as part of its latest measures against Russia, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.EU countries adopted the 14th package of sanctions against Russia earlier on Monday. These included a ban on trans-shipments of Russian LNG off EU ports that will take effect after 9-month transition period. The full details will be published later in the EU's Official Journal.The latest list…

European Union countries agreed on a 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, diplomats said on Thursday, including their first restrictions on Russian gas.The package bans re-exports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in EU waters but stops short of banning imports as the bloc did in 2022 for Russian seaborne oil. Some EU countries still import pipeline gas from Russia via Ukraine.However, gas market experts say the measure will have little impact…

Singapore will seek compensation for the costs incurred in an oil spill last week from the owners of the stationary vessel that discharged the oil, local media CNA reported on Thursday.The Maritime and Port Authority told CNA that the shipowner of Singapore-flagged Marine Honour - which was hit by Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima - is liable for costs incurred in containing and cleaning the oil spill and damage to infrastructure.Reuters has reached out to the port authority for comment.Earlier…

Managers of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship on Tuesday renewed calls for the release of the vessel's 25 crew being held by Yemen's Houthi militants for seven months.The militants used helicopters to attack the Bahamas-flagged ship on Nov. 19. They captured the Bulgarian ship master and chief officer, along with 17 Filipinos and other sailors from Ukraine, Mexico and Romania, the ship managers said."There is nothing to be gained by the Houthis in keeping the 25 crew members," said the ship managers…

The IMO's Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR) met from June 3 to 14 at IMO headquarters in London, covering a range of issues including maritime pilot safety, improving the security and integrity of AIS, and the dissemination of information over multiple recognized mobile satellite services under the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).Pilot transfer arrangements and amendments to SOLAS regulation V/23 agreedTo improve compliance and address inconsistencies and ambiguities in existing regulations…