The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced a notice of action on fees for operators of Chinese-built ships and vessel owners and operators of China after it issued a proposed notice with fees and restrictions on maritime...more
4/25/2025
/ China ,
Contract Disputes ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Impracticability ,
International Trade ,
Maritime Transport ,
Ports ,
Shipping ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
USTR ,
Vessels
As the United States nears its 250-year celebration, what is old may be new again in the shipyard space. The uptick in shipyard-related legal and regulatory work during the Biden Administration has been notable and is...more
1/3/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Defense Sector ,
Infrastructure ,
International Trade ,
Public Private Partnerships (P3s) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Shipping ,
Shipyard Industry ,
South Korea ,
Trump Administration ,
Vessels
Following the Francis Scott Key Bridge allision on March 26, 2024, two U.S. House of Representatives members introduced the Justice for Victims of Foreign Vessel Accidents Act (Bill), which would retroactively increase the...more
Following its Feb. 23, 2024, release of a pre-publication draft, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)'s Final Rule on Demurrage and Detention Billing Requirements (Final Rule) was published on Feb. 26, 2024, in the Federal...more
3/25/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Common Carriers ,
Detention ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Fee Disputes ,
Final Rules ,
Invoices ,
Maritime Transport ,
NPRM ,
NVOCCs ,
OMB ,
Shipping ,
Vessels
Many legal questions have been raised during the last 120 hours; initially when communications had been lost with Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Inc., a corporation based in Everett, Washington, and then on the...more
Since its passage on June 16, 2022, the shipping industry is understandably focused on the implications of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) (Pub. Law No. 117-146, 2022 Enacted S. 3580), and the rulemakings that...more
The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has released SHIPSALE 22, a new standard contract form for use by commercial sellers and purchasers of vessels. SHIPSALE 22 is intended to replace the popular SALEFORM...more
Cargo congestion has reached historic proportions during the COVID-19 pandemic as the demand for imports by U.S. consumers and businesses has skyrocketed combined with an increase in operational disruptions. The effect has...more
Negotiating a contract, a charter party in maritime parlance, is a balance of leverage and sometimes a leap of faith. Certain issues are more important to companies than others, and for those issues, the language of clauses...more
4/6/2020
/ CITGO Asphalt Refining Co v Frescati Shipping Co Ltd ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Contract Terms ,
Crude Oil ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) ,
Safe-Berth Clause ,
SCOTUS ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Split of Authority ,
Strict Liability ,
Subcharter Agreements ,
Vessels ,
Warranty of Safety
Much has been theorized in the past two months concerning whether the Trump Administration will follow through on President-Elect Donald Trump's campaign pledge to "rip up" international trade deals such as the North American...more
1/11/2017
/ Common Carriers ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Maritime Transport ,
NAFTA ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Trade Relations ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
Vessels ,
WTO
It is a fundamental precept of military planning that naval operations are a capital-intensive endeavor, given the long time involved in the design and construction of the ships of the U.S. Navy's fleet. The Navy currently...more
In Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida, No. 11-626 (January 15, 2013), the U.S. Supreme Court "reformulated" the definition of "vessel." It explained that an objective test, which looks to the physical characteristics of...more