Lloyd's Maritime Law Newsletter

Contract - Joint venture agreement for provision of offshore well-testing vessel tostate petroleum company - Disputes between parties to joint venture agreement - Parties entering into compromise agreement - Parties agreeing addendum to compromise agreement on basis that contract with state petroleum company would be renewed for three years - Contract not renewed - Whether addendum binding on claimant - Whether claimant in breach of addendum agreement

Pensions – Automatic enrolment into pension scheme – Whether seafarers fell within territorial scope of Pensions Act 2008

Guarantee – Shipowners claiming against guarantor under letter of undertaking following charterers’ breach of charterparty – Whether guarantor’s seal was applied with proper authority – Applicable law as to actual authority – Whether guarantee enforceable in China – Whether guarantee valid and enforceable

Arbitration – Jurisdiction – Claimant giving notice of arbitration of “claims” and appointing arbitrator – Respondent appointing arbitrator “in relation to all disputes under the contract” – Respondent’s defence and counterclaim submissions served after expiry of contractual limitation period – Whether counterclaim time-barred