Suez Canal Diversions: Who Bears the Costs When Ships Reroute Around the Cape of Good Hope?

Ocean carriers may need to divert from the planned route due to circumstances such as military conflict in a particular region. Diversions like this may create significant additional costs for the carrier. Can these costs be recovered from cargo interests, or must they be borne by the carrier? There is no bright-line rule. Courts have long dealt with such situations, with some cases dating back to the Suez Crisis of 1956. One such example is Transatlantic Financing Corporation v. United States, 363 F.2d 312 (D.C. Cir. 1966).

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Demurrage and Detention After WSC v. FMC: Can Ocean Carriers Charge Motor Carriers?

On September 23, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set aside the key provision of the Federal Maritime Commission’s Final Rule on Demurrage and Detention Billing Requirements, 46 C.F.R. § 541.4, which allowed invoices for demurrage and detention to be issued only to contracting shippers and consignees. World Shipping Council v. Fed. Mar. Comm’n, 152 F.4th 215 (D.C. Cir. 2025). Why did the Court find this rule arbitrary and capricious? Who may now be charged for demurrage and detention? These questions are explored in this article.

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In re Lion Air Flight JT 610 Crash: The Application of Maritime Law in an Airplane Crash Case

The choice of applicable law and the choice of forum—these are two key strategic determinations that must be made in almost all legal matters. Maritime cases are not an exception. In the case decided by the Seventh Circuit on August 6, 2024, the plaintiffs relied on both federal and state law to make their cases as advantageous as possible and requested a jury trial in federal court. See In re Lion Air Flight JT 610 Crash, 110 F.4th 1007 (7th Cir. 2024). How did the court respond to these requests? Read on for more details.

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Lack of Attorney Authority: Can It Be a Defense Against Enforcement of an Arbitral Award?

The District of Columbia Circuit vacated the district court’s decision to enforce a foreign arbitral award because the respondent, against whom the petitioner sought to enforce the arbitral award, challenged the authority of the petitioner’s attorneys. Does this result align with the traditionally narrow scope of enforcement proceedings under the New York Convention? Should the district court resolve the authority dispute despite the parties’ contractual commitment to resolve such corporate governance issues through arbitration? Is it proper to allow one party to challenge the other party’s authority during enforcement proceedings, even though this party had opportunity—and was even invited—to raise this issue during arbitration? These questions remain unresolved.

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“We Aim To Create a More Sustainable and Better Shared Future.” Is It Always Safe to Publicly Declare a Commitment to Sustainability and Environmental Protection?

Does your company make public statements that it cares about, and is working meaningfully toward, environmental sustainability? If yes, this article is for you. The opinion released by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on August 29, 2024, demonstrates that even aspirational statements, such as the company’s statement on its website that it aims “to achieve positive change in the world and build a more sustainable future for our communities and our planet,” can be actionable under consumer protection laws for being false and misleading representations. Earth Island Inst. v. Coca-Cola Co., No. 22-CV-0895, 2024 WL 3976560 (D.C. Aug. 29, 2024).

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Saving to Suitors Clause: Understanding the Fundamentals

Under the jurisdictional statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1333(1), federal courts are granted “exclusive” jurisdiction over maritime claims. At the same time, the saving to suitors clause preserves the concurrent jurisdiction of state and federal courts. How to reconcile this conflict? Are there any other conflicts related to the saving to suitors clause? These questions are explored in this article.

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