The Admiralty Newsletter - When a Mine, a Forgery, and a Mortgage Collide

22 June 2026

Jun 23, 2026

Case Law

Tonzip Maritime (Singapore) Pte Ltd v 2 Rivers Pte Ltd (The “Catalan Sea”) — England & Wales — Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal held that, under this charterparty sanctions clause, owners did not need to prove an actual sanctions breach; it was enough that they made an objectively reasonable judgment of a real risk of sanctions exposure. (Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law / BDM / Court of Appeal / Norton Rose)

Oceanus Capital Sarl v Lloyd’s Insurance Company S.A. (M/V “Vyssos”) — England & Wales — Commercial Court

The court’s first judicial interpretation of the Institute Mortgagees’ Interest Clauses held that a mine strike was the proximate cause of loss and that a deceived mortgagee was not “privy” to the trading warranty breach that defeated the owner’s war-risk cover. (DWF / Norton Rose Fulbright)

Transatlantica Commodities PTE Ltd v Eurochem Trading GmbH [2026] EWHC 1494 (Comm) — England & Wales — Commercial Court

The court confirmed that missing a declared COA shipment was non-performance, not mere delay, so damages were measured by the orthodox contract/market differential rather than by reference to a later substitute voyage. (NoordenJones / ICLG / Solicitors’ Journal)

HMTX Industries LLC v United States — United States — Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court declined review, leaving intact the Federal Circuit ruling that upheld USTR’s authority to impose and modify Section 301 List 3 and List 4A tariffs.
Watch this if: your cargo flows still assume a litigation off-ramp for China-origin tariff exposure; that door has now shut. (Barnes Richardson / Thompson Hine)

Regulatory

China Maritime Code 2026

China’s revised Maritime Code, in force from 1 May 2026, expands mandatory application of Chinese law to carriage involving a Chinese load or discharge port, eases interruption of the one-year time bar, broadens the“actual carrier” concept and changes the allocation of risk for unclaimed cargo. (Hesketh Henry)

OFSI General Licence INT/2026/9559192 and 16 June Russia package — OFSI / UK

The UK has paired new Russia sanctions designations with a general licence permitting steps necessary to enable and enact interdiction, signalling a live enforcement model against shadow-fleet shipping. (OFSI)

HNS Convention entry into force on 30 November 2027

The 2010 HNS Convention has finally met its trigger conditions, creating a two-tier compensation regime for hazardous and noxious substances, with strict shipowner liability backed by compulsory insurance and a second-tier HNS Fund. (Hill Dickinson)

Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships — Council Decision (EU) 2026/1099

The Council has authorised conclusion of the Beijing Convention, which is designed to give international effect to judicial sales of ships and reinforce clean-title recognition across borders. (Studio Legale Mordiglia)

Government Regulation No. 24 of 2026 on Strategic Natural Resource Commodity Exports — Government of Indonesia

Indonesia is centralising exports of covered commodities through a designated SOE mechanism, with coal, palm oil and ferro-alloy initially in scope and a transition period running no later than 31 December 2026. (ARMA Law)

BIMCO Biofuels Clause for Time Charterparties 2026

BIMCO’s new clause allocates responsibility for biofuel specification, testing, segregation, degradation risk and off-loading costs in time-charter performance. (Hill Dickinson)

News & Opinion

U.S.-Iran Interim Agreement: Implications for the Maritime Industry and Oil Trade

The piece explains that the 17 June 2026 MoU promises a 60-day framework for maritime reopening and Iranian oil-related sanctions relief, but stresses that the MoU is not itself a general licence and that OFAC guidance remains the real legal switch. (Holland & Knight)

Emerging U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and Implications for Sanctions and Nuclear Negotiations

HSF Kramer reads the MoU as an interim sequencing device: limited sanctions waivers, promised reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days, and a 60-day negotiation period toward a broader settlement. (Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer)

Owners and marine insurers face snap judgements over ‘fragile stabilisation’ in Strait of Hormuz

The argument is that a ceasefire headline does not restore underwriting normality; owners and insurers are still making rapid war-risk decisions in a market where CONWARTIME, VOYWAR and loss-of-hire positions remain open to dispute. (Lloyd’s List)

Mine-hit ship at centre of legal showdown over forged war risk cover

TradeWinds’ reporting on the Vyssos dispute usefully captures the commercial backdrop to the court fight:forged additional cover, a mine strike in Ukrainian waters and competing attempts to push the loss out of the war-risk tower. (TradeWinds)

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