Shipowner’s lien over cargo.   Part 5 of our series on how to deal with an economic crisis – a guide for international businesses.   Luke Zadkovich unpacks the fundamental differences between the US and English approaches to shipowner’s liens over cargo.  This has been a hot topic for a few years now, most recently with the English liquidation of British Steel in 2019 and prior to that, the collapse Hanjin Shipping and others.   One of the unfortunate business realities of an economic crisis is that it typically results in more bankruptcies and insolvencies.  Edward Floyd discusses bankruptcy proceedings in detail later in this series.   In this talk, we assess what a shipowner can do to secure its payments under a charterparty or bill of lading through the exercise of its cargo lien rights and other measures.  Charterers/cargo interests will also be interested to navigate through these tricky scenarios.   ps. look out for the Athos 1 unsafe berth analogy at 17:00mins – especially given the US Supreme Court’s decision came out yesterday.  If you have any further questions on this topic, please contact Luke Zadkovich.

Pre-contract protection – securing useful representations and creating contemplated damages.   Part 3 of our series on how to deal with an economic crisis, Shannen Trout discusses what international businesses can do pre-contract.   Obviously many deals now will be off the table in this market. Contraction is already happening. The price of oil has collapsed. As liquidity dries up, this situation might well get worse.   However, there will be those in a position to continue deal-making. At this time, it is even more important to consider carefully what kind of representations or guarantees you can obtain before entering into contracts. An air-tight bank performance guarantee is the strongest, yet hardest to obtain.   In this talk, we look at other options and assess what can be done in the context of representations and special damages awareness. These strategies are to be employed during commercial negotiations and put parties in a better position if things go wrong. For further information please contact Shannen Trout or anyone from the ZFZ team to discuss this, or any of the other topics in the video series.

Contractual levers and measures   Part 2 of our series on how to deal with an economic crisis – a guide for international businesses.   Damon Thompson discusses the importance of reviewing your contracts and charterparties at an early stage in an economic downturn, as well as some key provisions to look out for following the outbreak of COVID-19.   As liquidity tightens across the economy, parties will increasingly look to tighten the belt. Being on top of your charterparty provisions and understanding exactly where you stand is the first step for a company being ready to combat any speculative claims.    Damon has years of experience in the legal industry, including eight years at a major energy trading company, so is well aware of what practical steps a company can take to protect its position. Damon looks at standard form exclusion clauses, safe port warranties and what parties can do now to protect their position over the coming weeks and months.   If you have any questions, or would like someone to have a close look at your charterparty/contractual terms, please speak to Damon or your usual ZFZ contact.