Maritime Law News

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA), through the Directorate General of Merchant Marine (DGMM), held a roundtable with the International Association of Recognized Organizations (IARO) to review, update, and align Panama’s Ship Registry regulations with the demands of the global market.The meeting brought together PMA officials and leading classification societies within the IARO, marking a decisive step toward modernizing Panama’s ship registration regime. Discussions focused on key industry challenges…

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has called for vigilance and deeper cooperation among Member States and international partners to address growing threats to global maritime security. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council high-level open debate on August 11, chaired by the President of the Republic of Panama H.E. José Raúl Mulino, Mr. Dominguez outlined the risks facing ships and seafarers as they transport billions of tonnes of goods worldwide. “Our collective response must be rooted in prevention…

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised a consortium of lenders comprising Nordea Bank Abp, filial i Norge (“Nordea”), acting as facility and security agent, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Danske Bank A/S on a US$350m revolving credit facility provided to Ardmore Shipping Corporation (“Ardmore”) to refinance Ardmore’s existing revolving credit facilities and for general corporate purposes. The facility was secured by 20 of Ardmore’s vessels.Founded in 2010…

The federal district court in Anchorage, Alaska, has entered final judgment against three Kodiak-based commercial fishing companies and their manager for multiple violations of the Clean Water Act.The court entered default judgments against company manager Corey Potter and F/V Knot EZ LLC, Aleutian Tendering LLC, and Alaska Tendering Company LLC, and imposed a civil penalty of $1,182,265 for the violations. The case was filed on October 24, 2024, by the Department of Justice on behalf of the Coast Guard against Corey Potter and three of his related companies.

The Australian Federal Policy (AFP) has charged two men for allegedly trying to take possession of 140kg of cocaine hidden inside two marine engines. Investigations began in October, 2024, when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers in Brisbane detected a large quantity of plastic-wrapped blocks inside two wooden-crated marine engines. The engines, each weighing about 4.5 tonnes, arrived from the United States.AFP officers removed the cocaine, replaced it with an inert substance, and inserted the new blocks back inside the engines.

IntroductionThe increase in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East recently resulted in Iran threatening to close the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz (the “Strait”) to international shipping. Inevitably, this led to considerable concern over the impact that the closure of the Strait (or attacks on vessels passing through the Strait) would have on the flow of goods and energy products, as well as the potential disruption to international markets that would drive up prices.The Strait holds geographical importance as one of the world’s most important choke points.

The IMO Council met for its 134th session from July 7-11, 2025 at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (with hybrid participation). The session was chaired by Mr. Victor Jimenez Fernandez (Spain), supported by the Vice-Chair, Ms. Amane Fethallah (Morocco). Outcomes of the meeting are outlined below:Revised Strategic Plan for 2024-2026The Council approved the Revised Strategic Plan for the six-year period 2024 to 2029, including the mission statement, vision statement, overarching…

The latest volume of Decisions of the Federal Maritime Commission, Second Series has been published on the FMC website: Decisions of the Federal Maritime Commission, Second Series (Volume 8).This publication provides a compendium of Initial and Final Decisions of the Commission and selected other orders that may be legally significant or establish legal precedent.The volume now incorporates the period of January 2024 through December 2024.Decisions and orders published in the volume may be cited by counsel and parties in Commission proceedings using the abbreviation F.M.C.2d.

Greek police have dismantled a gang that had been hiding cocaine in sheets of leather that were smuggled from Bolivia to Greece on container ships, police officials said on Friday.They said the method used by the gang signalled a shift in methods for smuggling the drug from South America to Europe.Eleven people have been arrested so far, including nationals form Bolivia and Spain, after police monitored the suspects for months following a tip-off by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration…

BIMCO has initiated the development of a standard industry clause with the aim to address contractual uncertainties arising from the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) Notice of Actions to impose fees on Chinese-related ships calling US ports.The USTR has announced actions to impose fees on ships calling at US ports which are Chinese-built or have Chinese owners or operators. The actions are part of the USTR’s “Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance”.

The Government of Panama rejects the claims made by Mark D. Wallace, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) in recent publications circulated through the media and electronic mail worldwide. Panama, through its Panama Maritime Authority (referred to by its Spanish acronym AMP), the entity in charge of the Panama Ship Registry, as the governing body of the Panamanian maritime sector, has de-flagged more than 650 ships from its registry since 2019 in compliance with the United…

Dutch prosecutors said on Friday they had summoned shipbuilder Damen Shipyards on suspicion of violating EU sanctions against Russia and opened a separate case against the company and some of its executives for corruption.The company denied both sets of accusations.

Emirati-Lebanese shipbuilder Privinvest has been granted permission to appeal against Mozambique's victory in a London lawsuit over the decade-old "tuna bond" scandal, its lawyer said on Tuesday.The southeast African country sued Privinvest and its now late owner Iskandar Safa, alleging they paid bribes to Mozambican officials and Credit Suisse bankers to secure favourable terms on three projects in 2013 and 2014, including one designed to exploit Mozambique's tuna-rich coastal waters.London's High Court ruled last July that Mozambique was entitled to payment of just over $825 million from Safa and companies in the Privinvest group, plus an indemnity in relation to $1.5 billion it is liable to pay lenders and bondholders…

Louisiana-based Conrad Industries announced a net income of $7.5 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2024.This compared to a $3.2 million loss during the third quarter of 2023. The company had net income of $11.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 compared to net loss of $14.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.The increase in net income is primarily due to improved gross profits in the company’s new construction segment and collection of a judgment in a lawsuit.

China summoned the Philippines' ambassador on Friday to express its objection to two new laws in the Southeast Asian nation asserting maritime rights and sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea, its foreign ministry said.China made "solemn representations" to the ambassador shortly after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act into law to strengthen his country's maritime claims and bolster its territorial…

Iran has released the crew of a seized Portuguese-flagged ship linked to Israel, but remains in control of the vessel itself, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container ship MSC Aries, with a crew of 25, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route.“The seized ship, which turned off its radar in Iran's territorial waters and jeopardized the security of navigation…

BIMCO has published two standard Quiet Enjoyment Letters (QELs), the first standard form QELs available to the industry, to offer a tool that can ensure the charterers’ uninterrupted use of a ship if the owner defaults under the financing facility. The QELs will be provided by the lender to the charterer to ensure that the charterer, who does not have a contractual relationship with the lender but only with the owner, can continue to “quietly enjoy” the ship in case of the owner’s default.

BIMCO’s Documentary Committee has approved a revised version of the Continent Grain Charter Party, SYNACOMEX, to reflect changes in the geopolitical landscape following events including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The revised charter party now includes BIMCO’s anti-corruption clause and updated versions of the war risks and sanctions clauses.The charter party is developed by joint copyright holders SYNACOMEX and Armateurs de France, the French Union for Grains and Seeds Trade and the French Shipowners’ Association.

The United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (also known as the Beijing Convention) was signed by 15 nations and regions at a signing ceremony in Beijing on September 5, 2023.Signatories were: China, Burkino Faso, Comoros, El Salvador, Grenada, Honduras, Kiribati, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Switzerland and Syria. It will come into force when it is ratified by three state parties. The Convention…

BP will defend its rights "to the absolute fullest" in an arbitration case against U.S. exporter Venture Global LNG over failing to supply contracted cargoes, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney said on Tuesday.Oil companies Shell SHEL.L and have separately filed for arbitration against Venture Global LNG over failing to supply contracted cargoes, even as it sold to non-contract customers while prices were soaring."You can expect us to defend our legal rights to the absolute fullest…

Freehill Hogan & Mahar LLP Partner Daniel Fitzgerald retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington D.C., this summer.Rear Admiral Melissa Bert presided over the ceremony, which was attended by family, friends and Coast Guard colleagues who worked with Fitzgerald over the past 28 years. Fitzgerald retired from his last duty assignment in Washington D.C. where he served as the Senior Reserve Judge Advocate (RJAG) for the entire Coast Guard Reserve.