London law firm Lawrence Graham LLP says owners contracting for new ships should be extra careful about communication with the yard to ensure that they do actually get the ship they want, when they want it. Writing in the March issue of Lawrence Graham’s newsletter, Shipping Lawgram, Mike Lax, partner in the shipping law team, says, “In a hot market shipowners want ships quickly. Some shipyards take advantage of that by wriggling out of contracts and reselling early building slots at higher prices to new buyers. If the shipbuilding contract has been correctly drawn up, the law is generally on the side of the owner – but it is an unwise owner who relies too much on the law.