Appeal Court News

A Greek court on Wednesday overturned an earlier court ruling that allowed the confiscation by the United States of part of a cargo of Iranian oil on an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast, three sources familiar with the matter said.The incident had led to an angry response by Iran, with Iranian forces last month seizing two Greek tankers in the Gulf after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens.Iran had also appealed the original court decision, one legal source said, declining to be named."The action for the reversal of the ruling was accepted by the court," the source said. "It will be hard to overrule that (the appeal court's ruling)."It was not immediately clear if the U.S.

A Swedish appeal court ordered on Tuesday that a district court try again a case against two film makers accused of disturbing the ferry Estonia that sank in the Baltic sea in 1994 with the loss of 852 lives.The lower court in 2021 dismissed charges of disturbing a marine grave against the two Swedes, saying the law that protects the site did not apply to foreign-registered vessels in international waters.The film team had in 2019 lowered a remotely operated vehicle to the Estonia from a German-flagged ship…

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…

U.S. Navy ships started accompanying U.S.-flagged commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, seeking to ensure freedom of navigation two days after Iran seized a cargo ship, U.S. defense officials said. The officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, described the decision as incremental, saying it was a precautionary move expected to be for a limited time involving Navy ships already deployed to the area. They also stressed that the Navy would not be "escorting" ships, which would involve moving in much closer proximity. One noted the Navy ships would be in communication with the U.S.-flagged vessels and somewhat nearby but not necessarily closely trailing them.

Denmark's Maersk shipping said on Thursday it insisted on the release of a vessel and crew seized by Iran, adding it assumed the incident was related to a 2005 court case over uncollected cargo. The Marshall-Islands flagged Maersk Tigris container ship was detained by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, spurring the United States to send military vessels to monitor the situation. Maersk had chartered the ship, which is owned by undisclosed private investors. The firm met with Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization on Wednesday and said the company "must presume" the seizure was related to the long-running cargo dispute. "We have however not received any written or formal confirmation that the seizure and the cargo case are connected," the company said in a statement.

InterManager, the international trade association for in‐house and third party ship managers, has condemned the decision by South Korean appeal court judges to jail the Master and Chief Engineer of the Hebei Spirit. Guy Morel, General Secretary of InterManager, slammed the retrial decision, which comes after the pair were found innocent of the same charges by a South Korean court in June this year. “It is unacceptable that these two dedicated seafarers should be treated in this way,” Mr. Morel said. InterManager, whose members represent a worldwide fleet of some 2,500 vessels and more than 100,000 crew, believes the plight of the Hebei Spirit pair has already had a detrimental effect on recruitment at a time when seafarers are in short supply.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency issued a Press Notice stating that it is concerned over implications of a ruling by the Appeal Court, London that a personal water craft (PWC) is not a vessel for purposes of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The case arose as a prosecution of the operator of a PWC that collided with another PWC, severely injuring the other operator. An application had been made to appeal to the House of Lords. Source: HK Law