Court Orders

Argentine Tall Ship Released, Welcomed Home

Argentine naval training ship, 'ARA Libertad' which was detained in Ghana for more than two months has arrived back home. The Libertad had been seized following legal action by an investment company trying to recover money still owed after Argentina's 2002 debt default. Thousands of people lined the shore as it arrived in Mar del Plata, three weeks after a United Nations court ordered its release from Ghana reports BBC News. The lengthy diplomatic row over the Libertad began when the ship was prevented from leaving Ghana on 2 October 2012, after a local court ruled in favour of financial fund NML Capital. Last month, the UN Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ordered Ghana to release the ship, arguing that it had immunity because it was a military vessel, and Libertad sailed shortly afterwards. Source: BBC News  

Rowan Wins Against BP in Gorilla V Contract Dispute

Rowan Companies, Inc. reported that the English Court has given a comprehensive judgement in its favor in proceedings between its subsidiary, British American Offshore Limited (BAO) and Amoco (UK) Exploration Company (Amoco). The court found that Amoco's case "fails on the facts at every point", and dismissed in its entirety Amoco's claim that it had been entitled, in January 1999, to terminate its drilling contract with BAO for the use of the jack-up

Spanish Court Orders Search of Ships

A Spanish court has ordered police to capture and search two vessels belonging to a Florida firm that recently announced it had found a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean laden with an estimated $500m worth of Colonial-era treasure. The court in the southern port city of Cadiz instructed police to capture the vessels should they leave the British colony of Gibraltar, on Spain's southern tip, and enter Spanish waters. The reports came out late Tuesday night after the court had closed and it was

USMMA Alumni Eviction Upheld in Federal Court

Academy demands that Alumni Association immediately vacate premises; court orders parties to work out details by end of business of Friday, May 10th.   The eviction of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association has been affirmed by a Long Island federal court. Jim Forde ‘88, Esq., AAF Board of Directors, said in a prepared statement today, “We regret to inform everyone that the court denied our motion for an injunction

U.S. court upholds British Arbitration Award

In an unpublished opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court’s confirmation of a British arbitration award in favor of a protection and indemnity (P&I) club against plaintiff seamen. Acting on behalf of the seamen, a law firm sued States Steamship Company for alleged asbestos-related injuries. When States, which was in bankruptcy, did not answer, plaintiffs obtained a default judgment

Writ Issued Protesting Transocean Shutdown Order

Petrobras files writ of mandamus against an injunction suspending Transocean's activities in waters offshore Brazil. (Mandamus is an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion. (Source: Advanced English Dictionary). Petrobras filed a writ of mandamus, in the capacity of injured third party, to suspend the injunction granted on July 31

Activists Want Exxon-Mobil Deal Stalled Over Spill

A group of activists have proposed that the merger of Exxon and Mobil be halted until Exxon pays a $5 billion court-ordered settlement to thousands of people affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The appeal was linked to the oil spill's 10th anniversary on March 24 and the start of the 16th biennial International Oil Spill Conference in Seattle. The event is sponsored by the USCG, EPA, IMO and International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association.

Hyundai Heavy Reports Q3 Results

According to Reuters, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. reported a net profit in the third quarter because of more profitable orders and one-off gains from an accounting change. Earnings at South Korean shipbuilders, which dominate the global market, are set to improve due to falling steel plate prices and a more stable South Korean won. But analysts are concerned vessel prices could weaken in the coming quarters due to sluggish global trading volumes and as Chinese shipyards boost capacity

Breaking Ships on Tidal Beaches is Illegal

The International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA) is quite clear; Bangladeshi ship breakers who are using tidal beaches are, as ISRA understands the court decision, illegal. The ruling by the Bangladeshi High Court on the petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association to close the ship breaking yards is a logical outcome as beaching practices are against future international law. The court order seems to confirm ISRA’s point that the practice of using a tidal beach

Ferry Project Open for Bids

Shipyards likely will submit new proposals to build four Washington state ferries after the state dropped its appeal of a court order that invalidated part of its selection process, according to a report in the Seattle Times. Last February, the state decided that Todd Shipyards of Seattle was the only company financially qualified to build the new ferries. Now, J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding of Tacoma will be allowed to submit a technical proposal to build the new ferries, a $284 million project