The Admiralty Newsletter - 6 April, 2026

Expert analyses of maritime law, regulatory developments, and landmark cases delivered to your inbox every week.

A new month and another week watching order fray at sea with states turning straits into revenue streams and regulators drafting new maps for old habits.

This week’s edition ranges from e-bills of lading and limitation clocks to new frontiers of seaworthiness and the control of autonomous vessels. We’ve also got digressions about the new economics of the FMC, Jones Act, and the Middle East, and it turns out Canada has a Jones Act.

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Case law

• Court of Appeal rules against bill of lading holder in conversion claim (Allen & Gledhill)

• Singapore: Peril of the seas presumption fails without investigation of cause (Reed Smith)

• Supreme Court of Spain confirms one‑year time bar is a limitation period of lapse (Penningtons)

• Court considers delivery terms and vessel nomination in CIF contract subject to BP GTCs (Hill Dickinson)

• Court of Appeal nullifies Akwa Ibom maritime sector regulation law (Banwo Ighodalo)

• The Beijing Convention on the judicial sale of ships - what it could mean for future practice? (Reed Smith)

• A Brief Overview of the OLAM Case (Arizon)

Regulatory

• Electronic bills of lading now legally recognised under Dutch law (Smart Maritime Network)

• EU Commission adopts new ports and industrial maritime strategies (Matheson)

• Nature treaty preserves IMO’s mandate (Lloyd’s List)

• STF sets limits on TCU’s power to override sectoral regulators — impact on port sector (Tauil & Chequer)

• Guardians of the deep: expanding protections for the UK’s military maritime heritage (HFW)

• Canada has a Jones Act? Analysis of Canadian cabotage and local-content rules (Millar Kreklewetz)

• Contours of the Jones Act waiver (Floyd Zad)

• Re‑establishment of specialised commercial law courts in Malta (Piazza Legal)

• The first 24 hours: benefit of SCMA for maritime claims in Indonesia (ADCO)

• FMC rejection of carriers’ surcharge waiver shows shift in US shipping politics (JOC)

• Dutch‑based lawyer challenges PH maritime laws (Global Nation/Inquirer)

News & Opinion

• Strait of Hormuz: ships paying Iran in yuan and crypto tolls for safe passage (Bloomberg)

• Iran asserts sovereignty over Hormuz by enshrining transit fees into law (Tradewinds)

• Who controls the Strait of Hormuz? Iran’s toll plan could reshape global maritime order (TRT World)

• Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf — legal implications (Thommessen)

• Hormuz crisis: managing force majeure and supply‑chain risks (Oon & Bazul)

• Hormuz crisis impact on global energy (Esenyel Partners)

• Persian Gulf hostilities — charterparty FAQs (North Standard)

• Autonomous shipping’s legal grey zone — who’s really in control? (The Digital Ship)

• From gas to grain: the risks are interconnected and building (Stephenson Harwood Perspectives)

• Sailing into the unknown — voyage charterparty considerations for turbulent times (Stephenson Harwood)

• The VHS vs Betamax problem at the heart of maritime decarbonisation (Sands)

• Regulatory unfitness to trade — new seaworthiness frontier in decarbonisation disputes (Arun Kasi)

• HFW creates new senior manager for shipping amid promotion round (Tradewinds)

• FMC, supply chain shocks and contract impacts (Squire Patton Boggs)