Welcome to the next edition of the insolvency insight bulletin from the insolvency specialists at Quadrant Chambers. All cases link to the relevant judgments.

On 5/6 July 2011 armed men were permitted to board the ship as she drifted off Aden.

The UK Law Commission's 2023 review of the Arbitration Act 1996 recommends limited reforms, including simplified rules on arbitration agreement law, empowering arbitrators for summary awards, and restricting jurisdiction challenges, aiming to enhance arbitration efficiency and clarity...

The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark judgment on SALEFORM 2012 ship sale contracts, addressing whether buyers can recover loss of bargain damages when exercising cancellation rights due to sellers' proven negligence in failing to meet delivery deadlines. This decision resolves uncertainty following a surprising first instance ruling and clarifies the scope of compensation available under standard maritime sale agreements.

At 2232:15 on 29 August 2020 SYDNEY, a very large ore carrier, collided with APOLLO, a container ship, in the approaches to Tianjin, Northern China.

Can a party perform its payment obligations by paying into a frozen account in a non-contractual currency where strict contractual performance would risk breaching sanctions?

The lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing geopolitical conflict, a challenging economic climate, and ever-growing environmental concerns have made 2023...

Part of a cargo suffers some minor physical damage. But, an economic loss is suffered in respect of the whole of the cargo – perhaps a diminution in market value due to delay, a liability to pay salvors, or transhipment costs.

Who can limit their liabilities under the Limitation Convention 1976? Shipowners and salvors. What is a "shipowner"? The owner, charterer, manager or operator of a ship.

On 9 December 2021, Sir Michael Burton GBE gave judgment awarding damages of €11,383,359 to MAD Atelier International B.V. on its claim for fraud and breach of contract against Axel Manes.

On 30 April 2025, the Singapore High Court handed down judgment in Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd v Argoglobal Underwriting Asia Pacific Pte Ltd [2025] SGHC 82...

This fundamental principle of party autonomy in arbitration under English law is different from the approach adopted by some civilian law jurisdictions.

The case involved a familiar factual scenario often encountered in repudiatory breach disputes.

At first blush this wording, which is also to be found in in the 2025 revisions to the Act, might be said to suggest that where a party wishes to make a challenge to the English Court in respect...

When does time start to run for limitation purposes in a claim for the recovery of sums transferred on a basis that subsequently fails?

It is the strong policy of English law, based on party autonomy and freedom of contract, to enforce exclusive jurisdiction clauses ("EJC") and arbitration clauses in contracts.

The judgment of Edwin Johnson J in Hadcliffe Properties Ltd v Fenton [2024] EWHC 2587 (Ch), handed down on Friday 11 October 2024, provides a salutary warning to commercial fraud practitioners when deciding whether...

Lord Justice Flaux granted the yacht owners permission to appeal.

The judgment of Mrs Justice Dias in MOK Petro Energy v. Argo (No. 604) Limited (The "F1") [2024] EWHC 1935 (Comm) contains an important analysis of the requirement of physical "damage" in a particular average claim.

The Star Axe I LLC v. Royal and Sun Alliance Luxembourg S.A. decision challenges the long-standing interpretation of the Congenbill 1994 clause incorporating the 1994 York-Antwerp Rules (YAR). The court ruled that the clause actually includes the 2016 YAR, potentially disrupting previous GA assessments and raising risks related to the YAR 2016's one-year time bar. This ruling could lead to significant legal uncertainties in general average claims.