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High Court News

25 Mar 2024

Greek Shipping Tycoon Wins in Legal Battle with Newcastle United Co-owner

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Newcastle United football club co-owner Amanda Staveley on Monday lost a London High Court battle with a Greek shipping tycoon over a historic debt of nearly 3.5 million pounds ($4.4 million).Staveley, who owns 10% of the Premier League side with her husband, denied she was liable to Victor Restis for a sum that had snowballed with interest to over 36 million pounds.The total bill had included around 31 million pounds in interest, accruing at 505,000 pounds per day. Restis' lawyers…

12 Mar 2024

Nord Stream Sues Insurers in London Over 2022 Pipeline Blasts

© guteksk7 / Adobe Stock

Nord Stream is seeking more than 400 million euros ($436 million) from its insurers over explosions in 2022 which ruptured pipelines designed to transport Russian gas to Germany, court filings show.Nord Stream AG names Lloyd's Insurance Company and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC as defendants in its lawsuit, which was filed at London's High Court last month.Switzerland-based Nord Stream confirmed in an email there is a contractual dispute in London commercial courts between itself and insurers of the pipeline system."However…

07 Feb 2024

UK Supreme Court Piracy Ruling Gives Guidance on War Risk Provisions in Charterparties

The tanker was released from pirate control in August 2011. (File photo: EUNAVFOR)

In a well-timed decision given the current situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the UK Supreme Court recently handed down judgment in Herculito Maritime Ltd v Gunvor International BV [2024] UKSC 2, a decision that arose from seizure of a ship by Somali pirates.Key factsThe vessel MT Polar was chartered to carry a cargo of fuel oil from St Petersburg to Singapore. The most direct route would be via the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aden.The Gulf of Aden was within the “high risk area” for piracy when the charter was agreed.

09 Nov 2023

Shell Sues Greenpeace for Boarding Penguins FPSO While in Transit

©Greenpece

Shell is suing Greenpeace for $2.1 million in damages after the environmental group's activists boarded the company's oil production vessel in transit at sea this year, according to Greenpeace and a document seen by Reuters.The British oil and gas major filed the claim in London's High Court. Greenpeace activists boarded the vessel in January near the Canary Islands off the Atlantic coast of northern Africa to protest oil drilling and traveled on it as far as Norway.In an email to Reuters…

08 Nov 2023

Putin Approves Transfer of State-owned Shares in Shipping Company to Rosatom

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President Vladimir Putin signed on Wednesday a decree transferring to Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom state-owned shares of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, parent company of transportation group Fesco.Fesco was formerly controlled by Ziyavudin Magomedov, who was convicted last year on organized crime and embezzlement charges and is serving a 19-year jail sentence following one of the highest-profile prosecutions of a Russian tycoon in years.Magamedov says the charges are unfounded and is appealing his conviction.

25 Oct 2023

Australian Court Finds Carnival Misled About Cruise's COVID Risks in Landmark Luling

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Carnival Corp's Australian unit has been ordered to pay the medical expenses of a woman who contracted COVID-19, with a judge ruling that the cruise ship operator misled passengers about safety risks in a landmark class action ruling.The decision from Australia's Federal Court is the first class action win against a cruise ship operator in the world, according to Shine Lawyers, who represent about 1,000 Australian plaintiffs in the suit.Justice Angus Stewart found Carnival Australia…

10 Oct 2023

Britain to Return Asylum Seekers to Barge Amid Legal Challenge

Bibby Stockholm (Photo: Ashley Smith - CC BY-SA 4.0)

Britain said on Tuesday it would return asylum seekers to a barge on its southern coast as opponents of the policy argued in court that such housing was unlawful.In an embarrassment for the Conservative government's immigration policy, legionella bacteria was detected in the water system of the Bibby Stockholm barge in August, just days after dozens of asylum seekers had been moved on.Following safety tests, the government has started sending letters to asylum seekers confirming they will be moved to the barge, an interior ministry spokesperson said.The government wants to cut the 8 million po

27 Sep 2023

Jailed Russian Tycoon Launches $14B Lawsuit in UK Over Port Holdings

Credit:Maxim Tupikov/AdobeStock

Russian tycoon Ziyavudin Magomedov, jailed at home in Russia, has launched a London lawsuit seeking nearly $14 billion over his holdings in valuable port operators, which he says were seized as part of a state-backed conspiracy.The businessman filed the lawsuit at London's High Court on July 20 against several defendants, including Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom, oil pipeline operator Transneft, private equity firm TPG, and UAE-based port operator DP World.Magomedov…

30 May 2023

Heroic Idun Released from Nigeria

Source: Nigerian Navy

The Nigerian Navy announced the release of the VLCC Heroic Idun on Saturday, and the crew and vessel are now reportedly sailing for South Africa.The navy said the “grave infractions” of the vessel were prosecuted by the Federal Government of Nigeria at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt on January,10 2023. The 26 foreign crew pleaded guilty and elected voluntarily to enter into a plea bargain that involved paying fines and making an apology to the Federal Republic of Nigeria…

26 Apr 2023

Bumi Armada Sells Armada Claire FPSO

Malaysian FPSO leasing company Bumi Armada said Tuesday it had completed the sale of the Armada Claire floating production storage and offloading vessel. The FPSO was sold by Bumi Armada's subsidiary, Armada Balnaves."The Armada Claire sale was on an “as is where is” basis, at a sale price of US$20 million. The sale proceeds were received by [Armada Balnaves] on April 19, 2023," Bumi Armada said,Bumi Armada said it would recognize a gain on sale of the Armada Claire FPSO of approximately US$12 million in its second quarter financial results. Proceeds from the FPSO sale, net of transaction fees, will be used to reduce Bumi Armada Group’s corporate debt.

18 Apr 2023

Ince to Seek Sale After Creditor Bows Out

Photo © Robert Lamb (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Legal and professional services firm Ince Group Plc plans to enter administration and pursue a sale of the company, it said on April 12, amid cash concerns and repeated delays in reporting its financial results.Ince's directors applied to London's High Court on April 12 to appoint administrators under UK insolvency law in relation to the company and four subsidiaries, court filings show.Trading in Ince on London's Alternative Investment Market was suspended from Jan.

10 Apr 2023

Credit Suisse Wins $41 Million Superyacht Lawsuit Against Saudi Prince

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Swiss lender Credit Suisse has won a $41 million lawsuit against a member of the Saudi royal family over a loan to refinance a super yacht, with London’s High Court ruling there was no viable defense to the bank’s case.Prince Fahad bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud is liable to pay his company Burgundy Sea Ltd’s debts to Credit Suisse, Judge Robert Bright said in a written ruling.The judge had ruled in Credit Suisse’s favor without a trial at a hearing last month, at which the prince and Burgundy were unrepresented…

13 Feb 2023

Maersk Sues Evergreen Over Suez Canal Blockage

Global shipping traffic was disrupted in 2021 when Ever Given, one of the world's largest containerships, got stuck in the southern section of the Suez Canal for about a week. (File photo: Suez Canal Authority)

Shipping group Maersk  said on Monday it had filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of container ship Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for six days in 2021, claiming compensation for delays caused by the incident.The Danish company did not disclose the size of the claim or when it was filed. The news was first reported by industry media ShippingWatch.dk."Maersk has raised a claim against Evergreen, the ship's owners and the technical manager at the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court…

12 Nov 2022

Detained Oil Tanker in Equatorial Guinea to Return to Nigeria

An oil supertanker accused by Nigerian authorities of attempting to illegally load crude before leaving its territorial waters is on its way back to the country, a Nigerian Navy spokesman told Reuters on Friday.At the request of Nigerian authorities, Equatorial Guinea detained the Heroic Idun, a vessel capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, on Aug. 17 for sailing without an identifying flag, fleeing from the Nigerian navy and sailing in Equatorial Guinean waters without prior authorization.Nigerian officials said Messrs.

27 Jul 2022

Greek High Court Rules to Return Confiscated Oil Cargo

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An Iranian-flagged tanker anchored off Piraeus port is expected this week to retrieve part of its cargo which was confiscated by the United States and sail back to Iran, following a Greek top court ruling, government sources said on Wednesday. The case has strained relations between Athens and Tehran amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States.The removal of oil from the Lana, formerly Pegas, prompted Iranian forces to seize two Greek tankers in the Middle East Gulf which have not yet been released. "The (Greek) Supreme Court's ruling...

20 Jun 2022

Insurer Must Pay Spanish Claim in Galicia Oil Spill, EU Court Says

Photo: Stéphane M. Grueso (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Spain on Monday won backing from Europe's top court in its mutlimillion euros damage claim against The London Steam-Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association for a massive oil spill on its northwestern coast two decades ago.The 2002 sinking of the Greek oil tanker Prestige, which was sailing to Gibraltar, released an estimated 63,000 tones of foul-smelling black fuel along the Galicia coast and forced the closure of Spain's richest fishing grounds.It led to a lengthy dispute between The London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association Limited…

07 Jun 2022

Russian Superyacht in Fiji Leaves for US Amid Legal Wrangling

A Russian-owned superyacht docked in Fiji departed for the United States on Tuesday after a court in the Pacific island nation ordered its removal, saying it was a waste of money to maintain amid legal wrangling over its seizure.The U.S. Justice Department's Taskforce KleptoCapture has focused on seizing yachts and other luxury assets of Russian oligarchs in a bid to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.The 106-meter (350-foot) Amadea arrived in Fiji on April 13 after an 18-day voyage from Mexico. It was seized by Fiji authorities after the country's High Court granted a U.S. warrant last month that linked…

04 May 2022

United States Can Seize Russian Superyacht, Fiji Court Rules

Fiji court ruled on Tuesday that the United States can seize a Russian-owned superyacht, 21 days after it arrived and was impounded by police, as the United States and its allies press Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.U.S. authorities assert that the luxury vessel, the Amadea, is ultimately owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union.The U.S. Justice Department's Taskforce KleptoCapture has focused on seizing yachts and other luxury assets to put the finances of Russian oligarchs under strain in a bid to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

27 Jul 2021

HFW Helps Shanghai Shipyard in $170M Drillship Case Dispute

Law firm HFW said Tuesday it had advised Chinese shipbuilder Shanghai Shipyard on a UK Court of Appeal win relating to a US$170 million payment under a shipbuilding contract for an offshore drillship.The Court of Appeal overturned an April 2020 decision from the UK High Court that allowed the buyer of an offshore drillship – Reignwood International – to withhold a final payment installment that was due on delivery of the vessel, pending the outcome of arbitration proceedings.The Court of Appeal unanimously overturned a first instance decision in a preliminary issues trial concerning the proper characterization of a shipbuilding performance guarantee issued by Reignwood…

28 Oct 2021

Singapore Court Dismisses Oil Tycoon Family's Appeal Against Ocean Tanker Suit

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Singapore's highest court has dismissed an appeal by oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin and his two children after they were successfully sued for breach of fiduciary duties by the court-appointed managers of a company they once owned.Lim is the founder of defunct Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd and Ocean Tankers, once one of Asia's largest oil trading and shipping firms, which both went under judicial management in 2020, after oil prices collapsed."The entire conduct of this litigation has led to an immensely unsatisfactory state of affairs…

21 Apr 2022

Beirut Port Blast Suspect to Face Extradition Hearing in Madrid

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A Portuguese man is set to face an extradition hearing in Madrid over allegations he was involved in the devastating 2020 port explosion in Beirut, authorities said on Thursday.The man, named in court as Jorge Manuel Mirra Neto Moreira, flew to Chile from the Spanish capital this week but was put on a plane back to Madrid after Chilean authorities detained him at the request of global police agency Interpol.He appeared before a Madrid high court judge on Wednesday and was released…

23 Jul 2021

Ten Men Get 12 Years in Prison for Chinese Ship Hijacking

Credit: Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (File photo)

A court in Lagos sentenced 10 men to 12 years in prison on Friday for kidnapping the crew of a Chinese-flagged merchant vessel last year, the navy said, a verdict that officials hope will help tackle piracy in the waters off Nigeria's coast.Federal high court Justice Ayokunle Faji, who also fined each man 250,000 naira ($608) for each of the three counts for which they were charged, said their actions in kidnapping 18 crew from the FV HAILUFENG II in May 2020, were "an embarrassment…

26 Jul 2021

A Win for Florida: Appeals Court Lifts CDC Cruise Ship Restrictions

Credit: Solarisys/AdobeStock

A federal appeals court late on Friday reversed course and let stand a lower court order prohibiting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from enforcing coronavirus-related cruise ship rules in Florida.The decision is a win for Florida that had filed a lawsuit arguing the CDC curbs made it tough for the cruise industry to recover from the pandemic.The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta had only on Saturday voted 2-1 to block the lower court decision.But in its latest brief statement…