News & Knowledge

It has been more than two months since salvors unblocked the Suez Canal by refloating 20,000-TEU container ship Ever Given and yet the vessel remains in Egypt awaiting compensation payments and its release. If discussions do not result in a compromise, it is the receivers of cargo on board Ever Given that will continue to bear the brunt of […]

Vessels crossing at the entrance to narrow channels – the COLREGS clarified by the English Supreme Court   In the first of two articles, we examine this important decision on its facts and in the second, the practical lessons to be learned. It is commonplace for collisions to occur because the outbound ship is dropping […]

Vessels Crossing at the entrance to narrow channels – the COLREGS clarified by the English Supreme Court – Part II   In this second of two articles we consider the likely outcome on apportionment of liability and analyse the practical implications of this decision for mariners and fleet superintendents. We also point out circumstances in which there […]

In February 1977 a vessel in ballast, Unique Mariner, ran aground in Indonesian waters not far from Singapore.  The master was advised by ship’s agents that a tug would be sourced. A professional salvor’s tug turned up from Singapore and the master mistakenly thinking that it was the tug procured by the agents, signed Lloyd’s […]

In this article published in Tug Technology and Business we set ourselves the premise that a tug and tow have been prevented from reaching the agreed destination, because of disruption caused by Covid-19. We consider the potential effects of this delay briefly in the context of The UK Standard Conditions for Towage, of ad hoc […]

On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organisation designated the Covid 19 virus as a pandemic. We have since received a number of enquiries specifically about where the parties to a TOWCON 2008 contract stand in respect of Clause 27 . This slightly odd clause combines a war risk clause with, effectively, a force majeure […]