2026 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings

Current / English Maritime Cases / Featured

London Arbitration 2/26

VOYAGE CHARTER – DESPATCH – LAYTIME CALCULATION – RESTRICTED CRANE USE – NUMBER OF GANGS – NUMBER OF HOOKS

The subject vessel was chartered by the respondent owners to the claimant charterers for a voyage carrying a cargo of bagged rice from India to Bangladesh. A dispute arose concerning unpaid despatch earned by the charterers due to time saved on laytime.

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Current / English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 15/25

SYNACOMEX 90 – VOYAGE CHARTER – DEMURRAGE – REJECTION OF CARGO HOLDS – DELAY IN REINSPECTION

This dispute concerned a voyage charter on an amended Synacomex 90 form for the carriage of approximately 30,000 mt of wheat from the Baltic to North Africa. It arose out of an owners’ claim for demurrage at the loading port following the rejection of the vessel’s cargo holds after notice of readiness had been tendered at anchorage.

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Current / English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 1/26

TIME CHARTER – SPEED AND PERFORMANCE – HULL FOULING – GOOD WEATHER – THE DIVINEGATE

The dispute concerned a claim by the charterers for US$127,545.45 and a counterclaim by the owners for US$28,174.16, as reflected in the parties’ final hire statements. The central issue was whether, at delivery, the vessel was affected by underwater hull fouling amounting to a defect that reduced speed and entitled the charterers to an off-hire deduction under the charterparty.

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English Maritime Cases / Featured

London Arbitration 12/25

NYPE – TIME CHARTER – BIMCO HULL FOULING CLAUSE – REDELIVERY BUNKERS – DEVIATION
A dispute under a short NYPE time-charter concerned USD 71,000 in alleged unpaid hire. The contested issues were hull fouling under the BIMCO clause, bunker quantities on redelivery, and an alleged deviation from the charterers’ weather-routing advice.

U.S. Maritime Cases

Asia Marine Pacific Chartering Ltd. v Commercialisadora Columbia S.A. de C.V. (The “Amalia”) – SMA No. 4509 – 16 June 2025

GENCON – DEMURRAGE

Asia Marine Pacific Chartering Ltd. brought arbitration against Commercialisadora Columbia S for unpaid demurrage of $444,198.88 arising from the MV AMALEA’s March 2022 voyage carrying corn from Mexico to Guatemala under an OCEANSLINK GENCON charter.

U.S. Maritime Cases

Spring Marine DMCC v General Oil Co., Inc. (The M/T “MAMBO”) – SMA No. 4511 – 8 September 2025

VOYAGE CHARTER – WRONGFUL TERMINATION – DEVIATION – BUNKERS AT ANCHORAGE

Spring Marine DMCC filed arbitration against General Oil Co., Inc. over a canceled voyage charter for the M/T MAMBO, intended to carry diesel fuel from Beaumont, Texas, to Haiti. After the vessel tendered its Notice of Readiness, General Oil canceled the charter due to funding issues on August 20, 2024. Spring Marine repositioned the MAMBO to Corpus Christi for alternative employment and sought damages for 4.5 days of waiting and fuel consumed during the deviation.

English Maritime Cases

Tonzip Maritime Ltd v 2Rivers Pte Ltd (The “Catalan Sea”) [2025] EWHC 2036 (Comm) King’s Bench Division, Commercial Court – 31 July 2025

VOYAGE CHARTER – EU AND UK SANCTIONS – REFUSAL TO LOAD CARGO – REPUDIATION – TIME BAR FOR DAMAGES CLAIM

Tonzip Maritime Ltd chartered the Catalan Sea to 2Rivers Pte Ltd under an “EPS Sanctions Clause,” which allowed the owners to refuse loading if there was a sanctions risk. When the owners refused to load cargo from Neftisa, linked to a sanctioned individual, the charterers canceled the contract, leading to a damages claim by the owners.

English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 9/25

NYPE 1993 – OFF HIRE – EMPLOYMENT ORDERS – REASONABLE DELAY IN COMPLIANCE – UNSAFE BERTH, PORT COSTS

The vessel was time-chartered on an amended NYPE 1993 form with additional clauses for a one-trip charter “via ECSA to Persian Gulf–Japan range (intention Iraq) with cargo of grains in bulk (intention soybeans).” Hire was fixed at US$20,000 per day. The charter contained the usual clauses requiring safe berths, safe ports, and compliance with charterers’ orders, together with an off-hire provision.

English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 10/25

TIME CHARTER – FINAL HIRE – OFF HIRE – MASTER’S NAVIGATIONAL DISCRETION – BANK CHARGES

The vessel was time-chartered by the claimant owners to the respondent charterers under a fixture recap incorporating a proforma charterparty.
The claim was divided into sections: bank charges deducted from hire payments, and a charterers’ deduction for alleged breach of employment orders relating to the vessel’s route.  Charterers failed to submit a defense despite reminders and extensions.

English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 11/25

NYPE – UNPAID HIRE – DEVIATION – CREW CHANGE – WEATHER – UNDERPERFORMANCE

The dispute arose under a time-charter on an amended NYPE form for one voyage from Qingdao, China to Nanaimo, Canada. The claimant owners sought unpaid hire of US $73,945.02, while the respondent charterers denied liability.

Featured / U.S. Maritime Cases

Asia Marine Pacific Chartering Ltd. v Commercialisadora Columbia S.A. de C.V. (The MV “CS Satira”) – SMA No. 4510 – 16 June 2025

GENCON – DEMURRAGE

Asia Marine Pacific Chartering Ltd. brought arbitration against Commercialisadora Columbia for unpaid demurrage of $228,468.60 arising from the MV CS SATIRA’s April 2022 voyage carrying yellow corn from Convent, Louisiana to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. The fixture was concluded on an OCEANSLINK GENCON pro forma charter.