The Suez Canal Blockage: Can the Carrier Recover the Increased Shipping Costs Caused by Rerouting?
When the Ever Given, a large container ship, became lodged in the Suez Canal in March 2021, it blocked one the world’s busiest maritime routes for several days. This incident led to a significant disruption in global trade, as hundreds of ships were delayed or forced to reroute around the southern tip of Africa instead of passing through the canal. Rerouting around the southern tip of Africa, known as the Cape of Good Hope route, can add approximately 7 to 10 days to a ship’s journey. This longer route increases fuel consumption and operational costs. Can the carrier recover the increased shipping costs from the charterer? This question is analyzed in this article.
Wire Transfer Scam: Who Should Bear the Loss of the Funds Stolen by the Hacker?
In 2023, businesses and individuals have suffered massive losses of over $2.9 billion due to a scam called business email compromise (BEC). This scheme typically unfolds when hackers compromise legitimate business email accounts and trick victims into redirecting payments to fraudulent bank accounts. If the payer transfers funds to the fraudulent bank account, the legitimate payee remains unpaid. This raises the question: should the payer bear responsibility and pay twice? In this article, we will analyze the development of case law on which party bears the loss when wired funds have been fraudulently diverted by a hacker.