The Admiralty Newsletter - 16 June
A weekly briefing featuring insights from shipping's leading lawyers covering regulatory updates, emerging risks, and the practical implications of new case law.
This week’s selection ranges from European passenger vessel liability and Hong Kong’s tax incentives to Kenyan cargo insurance enforcement and a new hazard of being related to a billionaire.
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Case law
Sahara Energy: when ‘undisputed’ means undisputed (BDM Law)
Stadil family settles case ending years-long battle over bankrupt Thorco Shipping (Shipping Watch)
You can’t choose your family: sanctions upheld in Ismailov v Secretary of State (Stephenson Harwood)
Shipbuilding: court holds that failure to provide a refund guarantee is an innominate term, not a condition (BDM Law)
Flexport/Freightmate case tests ownership of AI freight data and workflows (The Loadstar)
Marine collision law in Ecuador (Villagrán Lara)
Between a dock and a hard place: sanctions clauses (A&O Shearman)
Court upholds validity of arbitration agreement governed by English law - Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd -v- Fertita Entertainment Inc & others [2026] (Hill Dickinson)
Pro Victor: renunciation, repudiation and anticipatory breach - SK Shipping -v- Petroexport (Pro Victor) [2009] (Hill Dickinson)
Agree to disagree: NSW Court of Appeal holds IATA arbitration clause not unilaterally binding (Kennedys)
Third Circuit affirms COGSA’s one-year time bar applies to fraud claims and joins majority in limiting deviation doctrine (Maritime Management Worldwide Review)
Kirby settles tug grounding spill dispute with Canadian Nation for $12m (TradeWinds)
Canadian appeals court rejects green group’s claim over $10bn Equinor oil project’s shipping impact (TradeWinds)
The Court of Justice rules on the liability of the organiser of a package travel for the latter’s proper performance (TransportWatch)
Court holds that failure to check AI is negligent (BDM Law)
Regulatory
OFAC unveils sweeping framework for Venezuela oil, gas and mineral exports (gCaptain)
Kuwait MOI enforces new maritime law to boost safety and regulate sea use (Kuwait Times)
Experts say bare-bones US laws are unfit to regulate nascent deep-sea mining industry (Mongabay)
Hong Kong unveils new tax breaks to lure commodity traders and shipping firms (Splash 247)
EU may be joining others in harder line toward China trade (Barnes, Richardson & Colburn)
Digital enforcement of local marine cargo insurance in Kenya (Clyde & Co)
Blue Homeland Law: a new framework for Türkiye’s maritime order (Daily Sabah)
New EU FDI Screening Regulation: the good, the bad, and the not so pretty (Gibson Dunn)
USTR proposes new Section 301 forced labour tariffs covering most major US trading partners (Gibson Dunn)
Brazil aligns with the global oil pollution compensation regime (Tauil & Chequer Advogados)
Lawmakers call on Trump’s trade chief to restore port fees on China-linked ships (TradeWinds)
Russia-trading tankers to be inspected by the EU’s Mediterranean naval force (TradeWinds)
Export controls alert: recent measures from the UK, EU, China and the United States (Wikborg Rein)
EU expands sanctions for the first time to cover bunker ships helping shadow fleet (Shipping Watch)
The real risk threshold for sanctions exposure (Squire Patton Boggs)
News & Opinion
Unifor slams Senate report backing binding arbitration in transportation labour contracts (Maritime Mag)
Training Targets Lack of Legal Clarity Around Right to Life at Sea (Marine Link)
EU sanctions against service vessels could lead to higher prices from reliable suppliers (Shipping Watch)
The law and practice of financing an underwater sea cable (Clyde & Co)
CO2TIME: new standard form for the carriage of liquefied CO2 (Hill Dickinson)
Jones Walker grows maritime practice with addition of special counsel Nicole Wolf in Miami (Jones Walker)
Can shipping’s green shift survive global chaos? (Kvale)
Two experienced lawyers bolster Schwabe’s ports and maritime team,expanding the group’s geographic footprint from Alaska to Southern California (Schwabe)
Speed and performance FAQs (Steamship Mutual P&I Club)
Is the UN the best option to resolve the Cambodia–Thailand maritime dispute? (Upstream)
WFW named law firm of the year in aviation and shipping at CBLJ Awards 2026 (Watson Farley & Williams)
Wikborg Rein named law firm of the year 2026 by IFLR Europe (Wikborg Rein)