A discussion on the judicial findings in a case relating to contract for the sale of Russian wheat and the incorporation of the GAFTA 49 contract form, on which one of the parties relied and considered that contract automatically cancelled.

This dispute involved a consideration of US and EU Burmese Sanctions Regulations and whether they prevented the buyers of Burmese rice from opening a letter of credit pursuant to the payment provision in the sale contract.

Louis Dreyfus Commodities Kenya Limited ("LDCK") were named as the shipper of 5,000 tonnes of grain under a bill of lading dated 10 March 2007 ("the Bill of Lading").

This was an appeal to the High Court from an arbitration, in which the tribunal had been asked to consider whether a settlement agreement was voidable for duress.

In a potentially very significant recent judgment, the Hong Kong High Court has upheld the arrest of a vessel despite the Plaintiff already having obtained an arbitration award.

The Bribery Act 2010 comes into force in April 2011 against the background of increasing international pressure for a concerted crackdown on bribery and corruption, exemplified by the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, to which the UK signed up in 1998, and the judicial view that "There can be no doubt that corruption of foreign government officials or foreign government ministers is at the top end of serious corporate offending."

The Commercial Court has recently given a judgment in the case of X v. Y (where, unusually even for an appeal from an arbitration award, the identity of the parties has been kept anonymous).

The Commercial Court has recently determined a dispute concerning an attempt by owners to intercept freight payable by sub-charterers.

In our April 2011 E-Brief, we reviewed the Commercial Court decision in this dispute, where the judge upheld the charterers’ claim for damages against the owners on the basis that the vessel was not in a fit state to be approved by any oil company and, in particular, the oil majors identified in the recap email containing the charterparty.

The litigation in these proceedings originated in the Scottish courts but subsequently went on appeal to the UK Supreme Court who considered amongst other things how the indemnity/ exceptions clause in a charter party governed by English law should be interpreted.

The recent decision of Mr Justice Teare in this case heralds a departure from the previously held view that under clause 13 of the standard form Norwegian Sale Form 1993, where a buyer fails to pay the deposit under a memorandum of agreement, an innocent seller’s claim is limited to compensation for its losses.

In 2012, Seatrade sold four reefer vessels for scrapping.

In our January 2011 Shipping E-brief, we reviewed the first instance decision in this matter, where the Commercial Court held that the Advance Payment Guarantees issued by an insurance company were "on-demand" performance bonds rather than "see to it" guarantees.

Under section 51(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, the English High Court has the power to determine by whom, and to what extent, the costs of the litigation are to be paid.

In our November 2013 Legal Update, we reported on the first instance decision in the Erin Schulte, which subsequently went to appeal.

Dubai’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, has considered a further case on the incorporation of charterparty terms into a bill of lading under UAE law and, in particular, the incorporation of an arbitration clause from that charterparty.

After more than 80 years, the law governing the rights of third parties against insurers has finally been given an overhaul, with the passing of the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010.

This case involved a charterparty with two different, and potentially conflicting, arbitration provisions.

The Supreme Court has recently delivered an important decision on the question of whether legal advice privilege covers communications between a client and a non-lawyer.

In June 2014, Brent Crude Oil was trading at prices of around US$115 per barrel, with average prices having remained in triple digits for most of the preceding three years.