2026 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings

Current / English Maritime Cases / Featured

London Arbitration 4/26

NYPE – TIME CHARTER – SPEED AND CONSUMPTION – HULL FOULING

The vessel was chartered for one time charter trip from Nouadhibou, Mauritania to Taranto, Italy on an amended NYPE 1946 form. A dispute arose regarding the balance of hire.
The owners claimed US$13,190.34 in outstanding hire, a FuelEU Maritime penalty of €12,710.10, and the transfer of 475.04 EU Emission Allowances (EUAs) pursuant to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The charterers denied liability and counterclaimed US$16,779.22, alleging that the vessel had been delivered with hull fouling, which caused underperformance and excess consumption on the voyage.

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English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 10/26

NYPE – TIME CHARTER – HIRE – UNDERPERFORMANCE – THE KOSTAS MELAS This arbitration concerned a dispute under a time charter trip on an amended NYPE form for the carriage of logs. The owners sought a partial final award for unpaid hire of US$146,095, arguing that the charterers had wrongfully deducted hire in breach of clause 67 of the charterparty, which expressly stated: “No Hire deductions for alleged underperformance claims.” The charterers admitted that the deductions related to the vessel’s alleged poor performance, including lost time of 77.36 hours and additional bunker consumption. However, they argued that the tribunal should...

Singapore Maritime Cases

Singapore Arbitration 2/26

VOYAGE CHARTER – LAYCAN – LATE ARRIVAL – BREACH – DAMAGES The dispute arose out of a charterparty for the Vessel, under which the agreed laycan was 1 July to 10 July. The respondent initially requested an earlier laycan and, subsequently, proposed a later laycan of 20 July to 30 July because of the Vessel’s obligations under a preceding charterparty. The claimant rejected the proposed changes and maintained that the agreed Laycan was contractually binding. The claimant also took the position that the respondent’s commitments under the preceding charterparty were a matter for the respondent and could not excuse non-performance...

Current / English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 9/26

GENCON 1994 – FREIGHT – DEMURRAGE – LIEN ON CARGO – ECONOMIC DURESS This arbitration concerned disputes arising under a voyage charterparty for the carriage of approximately 177,300 metric tonnes of bauxite from Indonesia to China. The charterparty incorporated a Gencon 1994 form with amendments contained in a fixture recap. English law governed the contract,...

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Current / English Maritime Cases

FinCo International AG v Integra Petrochemicals Europe AG (The “Aramon”) [2026] EWHC 727 (Comm) – King’s Bench Division, Commercial Court (Stephen Midwinter KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) – 27 March 2026

CIF VS EX SHIP – BPOI GT&Cs – DELIVERY DATES – REJECTION OF NOMINATION – ESTOPPEL This case concerned a dispute arising from a contract for the sale of 10,000 metric tonnes of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) between Integra (seller) and FinCo (buyer). The parties entered into the agreement on 4 October 2023, incorporating version...

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Current / English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 8/26

VOYAGE CHARTER – GENCON 1994 – SAFE PORT – DETENTION – WAR RISKS – VOYWAR 1993 – STRAIT OF KERCH This dispute arose under a voyage charterparty evidenced by a recap fixture incorporating the Gencon 1994 form, for the carriage of ammonium nitrate from an Azov Sea port to a Black Sea port. The central...

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Current

Trans Trade RK SA v Sebat Shipping and Trading Co (The “Sabat”) [2026] EWHC 950 (Comm) – King’s Bench Division, Commercial Court – 28 April 2026

VOYAGE CHARTER – DEMURRAGE – INVALID NOR – NOTICE OF READINESS – ERROR OF LAW This case concerned a voyage charterparty dated 9 April 2022 under which the vessel Sebat was chartered to carry a cargo of Ukrainian barley from Constanta, Romania, to Brake, Germany. The charterparty incorporated the Synacomex 2000 form, including clause 11,...

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Current / U.S. Maritime Cases

Evenstar Shipping, Inc., v Sokana Shipping & Trading, Ltd., (The “ST Nicholas”) – SMA No. 4524 – 1 May 2026

EXXONMOBILVOY 2005 – DEVIATION – INTERIM – DEMURRAGE – HOSES DISCONNECTED This arbitration arose from a voyage charter party dated 30 October 2024 under which Evenstar Shipping, Inc., as owner of the tanker ST NICHOLAS, chartered the vessel to Sokana Shipping & Trading, Ltd. for the carriage of clean petroleum products from the U.S. Gulf...

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Current / U.S. Maritime Cases

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha v XCoal Energy & Resources (The “Medi Nagoya”) – SMA No. 4519 – 27 February 2026

AMWELSH – DEMURRAGE – NON PARTICIPATION Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (“NYK”) sought demurrage of $54,928.39, plus interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs from XCoal Energy & Resources (“XCoal”) under a voyage charter dated July 6, 2024, for the carriage of bulk coal from Baltimore, Maryland to China. The charter incorporated the Amwelsh Charter Party form and...

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Current / U.S. Maritime Cases

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha v XCoal Energy & Resources (The “Morphou”) – SMA No. 4518 – 27 February 2026

AMWELSH – DEMURRAGE – NON PARTICIPATION Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (“NYK”) sought recovery of demurrage of $36,374.61, plus interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs from XCoal Energy & Resources (“XCoal”) under a voyage charter dated June 11, 2024, for the carriage of coal from Norfolk, Virginia to China. The charter incorporated the Amwelsh Charter Party form...

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English Maritime Cases

London Arbitration 5/26

NYPE – TIME CHARTER – SPEED AND CONSUMPTION – NOON REPORTS – ABOUT – NO EXTRAPOLATIONS This dispute arose under a trip time charter on an amended NYPE 1946 form between claimant owners and respondent charterers. The owners claimed US$160,407.16 allegedly due under their final hire statement, while the charterers denied liability and asserted a right of set-off based on alleged underperformance of the vessel. The recap incorporated key performance warranties. The vessel was described as capable of: “ABT 14.00 KNOTS (L) ON ABT 35.00 MT IFO/DAY + ABT 0.10 MT MDO/DAY” This performance was expressly qualified by defined environmental...