The Admiralty Newsletter - March 30, 2026

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

This week the Strait of Hormuz continues to be the buzziest box in town: naval law and rules of engagement have moved from footnote to front‑row, insurers are rewriting war‑risk lines and owners ask whether their policies still mean anything.

Jones Act gynmastics have opened legal gaps as foreign vessels reckon with US domestic rules. LNG projects and long‑term supply chains face competing commercial and legal shocks. Bunkering markets and crew wellbeing in the Persian Gulf are being tested as routes and insurance premiums reprice.

Courts and arbitrators are sharpening the law: recent judgments and rulings nudge carrier liability, late‑redelivery damages, and the scope of enforceable arbitration agreements. Trade measures and tariffs (including Section 301 chatter) are top of mind, and enforcement officials in the US are fixing their bayonets over Panama‑flagged vessel detentions.

Case law

• An Seaways v Allianz (Britannia P&I)

• V Ships Ltd v Luna Management Corp (Mills & Co)

• Skyros and Agios Minas: assessment of damages for late redelivery (UK Defence)

• Court finds Russian proceedings breached contractual arbitration agreements (Hill Dickinson)

• Kiveli collision with Afina I - Rule 14 applies until the risk of collision has passed (Penningtons)

• U.S. District Court issues judgment in favour of Kuehne + Nagel (FloydZad)

Regulatory

• SOLAS amendments effective 1 January 2026 - what shipowners, operators and managers must prepare (AGP Law)

• SOLAS amendments on container loss reporting — new mandatory requirements from 1 January 2026 (AGP Law)

• Temporary waiver of the U.S. Jones Act - what to know (Gard)

• Trump administration issues 60‑day Jones Act waiver amid Iran war (Blank Rome)

• Foreign vessels operating under the Jones Act waiver — consider what other US laws may apply (K&L Gates)

• The US issues a temporary limited waiver of its cabotage requirements (North Standard)

• US trade developments and tariff outlook (BLG)

• Check your charterparty if trading to the US (Gard)

• Force majeure and LNG contracts (Vinson & Elkins)

• Force majeure “in uncertain times” - how businesses can protect themselves (CBP)

• The legal impact of the conflict in the Middle East (Norton Rose Fulbright)

• War‑risk insurance amid Hormuz Strait disruptions (Kvale)

• War insurance in the Middle East - legal and commercial implications (Morgan Lewis)

• Has marine insurance become a war risk? (Law.com / New York Law Journal)

• US trade developments - IEEPA, tariffs end and Section 301 outlook (BLG)

• Litigating tariff refund pass‑on class actions - lessons from antitrust (Vinson & Elkins)

• Shipping terms under the UCC and Incoterms - supply chain survival (Quarles & Brady)

• How Jamieson Greer trade probes could impose new fees on shipping (Tradewinds)

• China’s surge in Panama‑flagged vessel detentions — FMC warns (Tradewinds)

News & Opinion

• Courts have become less sympathetic to carriers (Shearwater Law)

• Evolving landscape of dispute resolution (The Law Gazette, Singapore)

• LCI Athens office and senior shipping partners ranked top‑tier in The Legal 500 2026 (LCI Law)

• Retrofitting fleet - heavy green lifting has limits (Tradewinds)

• Strait‑talking - Briefing on the impact of the Iran war on shipping (36 Group)

• The Iran war - property and business interruption insurance implications for policyholders (Fenchurch Law)

• Persian Gulf hostilities — crew wellbeing (North Standard)

• Tehran tollbooth - how Iran picks who to let through the Strait of Hormuz (Al Jazeera)

• Iran war and international shipping - navigating disruption and legal risk (Blank Rome)

• Iran conflict - impact on marine bunkers (North Standard)

• How the law of naval warfare applies to the Strait of Hormuz (The Conversation)

• China’s urgent need to plug maritime insurance gap (SCMP)

• The maritime net zero framework matters far beyond shipping (Nature)

• How Iran is seeking to cash in on the Strait of Hormuz (Financial Times)

• The Middle East conflict — key legal considerations for project contracts (Paul Hastings)

• BIMCO brings in veteran shipping lawyer to help shape autonomous contracts (Tradewinds)

• Geopolitical disruption — interface between shipping, construction contracts and supply chains (Hill Dickinson)

• Nintendo may win its case against the US government — tariffs are here to stay (NintendoLife)

• US trade and tariff commentary (City‑Yuwa)

• Navigating the digital tide — generative AI and the Washington Public Records Act (Schwabe)

• The legal impact of the conflict in the Middle East (Norton Rose Fulbright)

• Check your charterparty if trading to the US (Gard)

• How Jamieson Greer trade probes could impose new fees (Tradewinds)