By Chinmaya Vidyadhar Joshi Introduction In June 2023, Titan, a submarine owned by Ocean-gate, an American tourism and expeditions company, imploded on its way towards the wreckage of the Titanic. The implosion instantly killed all the passengers in the submarine. It is an infamous tragedy and a maritime disaster that led to the gruesome death of five passengers – one of them being the CEO of Oceangate. This incident raised serious concerns about the submarine and the general safety measures surrounding maritime expeditions. It ventures into the conflicting domains of negligence and the idea o ..read more

By Aditi Sinha & Soumya Pradhan What is deep sea mining? Deep sea mining involves extracting metals and minerals from the seafloor of the ocean. Deep beneath the surface, metals and minerals such as manganese, nickel, and cobalt have accumulated on the seafloor over millions of years, forming potato-sized nodules. Gigantic machinery heavier than a blue whale would extract deposits from the deep ocean floor to mine these metals. They would transport the extracted material to a ship by pumping it via many kilometers of tubing. Subsequently, sand, seawater, and other mineral waste will be rei ..read more

By Samridhi Prakash On 5th January, 2024, in a daring operation the Indian Navy’s Marcos thwarted hijacking attempt of MV Lila Norfolk by Pirates in the North Arabian Sea. Along with that they rescued 21 seafarers. The Conflict and the Maritime Geo-political tension: The incident was a deliberated one, carried out by the Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, which specifically aims at ships that engages in business with Israel. This issue is majorly highlighted in the Arabian Sea – Gulf of Aden region. Here is the image illustrating the Exclusive Economic Zone area and the potential conflict zone, inclu ..read more

By Sushrut Devadiga Introduction The world stands at the precipice of a potentially transformative yet ecologically dangerous undertaking in the form of deep-sea mining. As humanity depletes its terrestrial deposits of critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt required for the “green” transition, deep sea mining offers to solve this crisis by opening up the untapped depths of the deep sea for resource extraction. Like many other countries, India has joined the race to the bottom of the seafloor, with the nation developing deep-sea mining technologies and resource exploration throug ..read more

By Lohitakshaa Mohapatra Amidst growing environmental concerns, the COP28 held in Dubai has been significant. The summit brought international shipping, as well as maritime transport in general into the limelight, thus pushing the need for decarbonizing shipping. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly in its 33rd session adopted new strategic plans for the six-year period from 2024 to 2029. It issued strategic directions, one of which was “Respond to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.” According to the UNCTAD, the international shipp ..read more

By Swayam Sambhab Mohanty Introduction The case of Doliaa SAS v. Mediterranean Shipping Co SA [2023] EWHC 3165 (Comm) revolves around a cargo claim brought against the defendant carrier, Mediterranean Shipping Co SA, in accordance with a bill of lading incorporating the Hague Rules. The central issue in this case is the application for an extension of time to serve the claim form, considering the one-year time bar under Art 3.6 of the Hague Rules. The High Court’s decision, sheds light on the principles governing such extension applications and emphasizes the importance of adhering to statutor ..read more

By Vinay V. Viswanathan Introduction On Mar. 1, 2021, the Supreme Court pronounced judgment on P. Mohanraj v. Shah Bros[1] (“P. Mohanraj”), which overruled the Delhi High Court’s decision in Power Grid Corporation of India, Ltd. v. Jyoti Structures[2] (“PGCIL”), ultimately holding that arbitration proceedings come within the ambit of the word ‘proceedings’ in Section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”), and are therefore barred during the moratorium period. The resultant ripple effect compromises judgments such as SSMP v. Perkan Food Processors[3] (“SSMP”), which relied on P ..read more

By Avani Khatri Without those who work at sea, “half the world would freeze and the other half starve.”[1] This axiom holds true, especially in the present age when the maritime shipping industry has become the cornerstone of international trade and economy. With approximately 11 billion tons of goods carried around the world every year, transportation via sea route accounts for 80 percent of the total international business.[2] To a layman, the magnitude of such a vastly globalized sector is incomprehensible. The credit for attaining such monumental success needs to be attributed to the heroe ..read more

We are pleased to extend our heartfelt greetings to you. It is with immense pleasure that we announce the release of the fourth edition of the Newsletter from the Centre for Maritime Law (CML) at the National Law University Odisha (NLUO). This newsletter encapsulates the developments, accomplishments, and strides undertaken by CML NLUO in the period spanning from 2022 to 2023. As a testament to our commitment to scholarly dissemination and the pursuit of excellence in maritime law, this publication serves as a chronicle of our achievements, scholarly pursuits, and engagement in the maritime le ..read more

By Vanshika The Hague and the Hague Visby rules were envisioned to be such guiding principles which acts as a fair balance between the rights and liabilities of the ocean carrier and the cargo owner. Even before the adoption of these rules, the bill of lading had various clauses and provisions which would allow the carrier to absolve himself from liability and exclude his responsibility. Such provisions which attempt to reduce to exempt the carrier from any liability are generally referred as an exclusion or a limitation clause.[1] Article III (8) of the Hague and Hague Visby allows from such ..read more