It is not always evident on the face of an instrument whether it is a demand guarantee imposing a primary obligation on the guarantor or whether it is a contract of suretyship that brings with it only a secondary obligation.

The recent judgment in the Longchamp has overturned accepted industry thinking in how bunkers and crew wages are dealt with in a hijacking.

Deutsche Bank entered into a financing transaction for a gold mine, part of which involved a gold export contract and a parent company guarantee.

This was a challenge to GAFTA arbitration awards on grounds of lack of jurisdiction under s. 67 Arbitration Act 1996 (the "AA").

The UAE’s National Transport Authority (the "NTA") has recently published its new regulations ("Regulations") for larger private yachts, bringing much needed clarity and depth to the existing local regulatory structure.

The Supreme Court has handed down its judgment in Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Limited & another v FSA1, where the court upheld the FSA's view that extended warranties for satellite TV equipment are contracts of insurance for regulatory purposes, notwithstanding that there are no financial payments made to the customer.

The 'Jackson Reforms' introduce a number of changes to the English litigation costs regime which will affect the overall cost of cases, including for insurers.

In the May 2009 edition of our Shipping E-Brief, we wrote about the issue of charterparty liens and arbitrations.

Novasen (the Seller) was a trading company based in Senegal. Alimenta (the Buyer) was a company based in Switzerland trading in groundnut and other vegetable oils.

In a judgment handed down in December 2013, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of Mr Justice Teare in the Commercial Court in "Griffon Shipping LLC v. Firodi Shipping Limited".

Time charterers, Cargill, withheld hire from disponent owners, NYK, pursuant to a period off-hire clause in a time trip charter on amended NYPE terms.

In conclusion, therefore, the shipper's claim for misdelivery was time-barred.

The issue of repudiatory breach of contract is a notoriously difficult one because it is often not easy to establish which contractual party is in repudiatory breach and which has accepted the other’s repudiation and thereafter ceased to perform its own contractual obligations.

A discussion on a recent case where the Court of Appeal's judgment provides useful guidance on a number of issues arising in relation to repudiatory breaches.

This was an appeal by the Sellers (Thai Maparn Trading) under S. 69 Arbitration Act 1996 (error of law) against two arbitration awards issued by the GAFTA Board of Appeal.

This dispute related to the sale and purchase of a cargo of low sulphur fuel oil, where the Buyers claimed damages for breach of contract in delivering the fuel oil late.

Cruise ship and ferry safety has been part of the general discussion of maritime safety in recent years.

The Convention aims to limit the liability of the owner, charterer, manager or operator of a sea-going vessel for damage occurring on board or in direct connection with the operation of the ship.

Parties should be very careful to ensure that no competing dispute resolution clauses are contained in the same contract.

This dispute related to cargo claims brought under three bills of lading. One issue was whether the claims were subject to London arbitration and/or English court proceedings and/or Moroccan court proceedings.