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Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd v The Ship Yangze 22 (No 2) — Forum Non Conveniens Stay Granted

The Federal Court of Australia permanently stayed admiralty proceedings commenced by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd and Protea Navigation Inc against the vessel Yangze 22 on 28 April 2025, finding Australia a clearly inappropriate forum for the dispute arising from a 30 December 2024 collision in Chinese territorial waters. The key factual driver was the substantial difference in limitation funds—24,980,987 SDRs (approximately USD 34.5 million) under Australian law versus 6,903,375 SDRs under PRC law—with parallel proceedings already before the Shanghai Maritime Court. The plaintiffs were ordered to pay the defendant's costs.

MOL, NYK, Hoegh, ONE, COSCO Space Charter Agreements Filed with FMC

The Federal Maritime Commission published notice of three shipping agreements filed under the Shipping Act of 1984. Two are amendments removing Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co., Ltd. as a party with conforming changes, with proposed effective dates of April 13 and April 14, 2026. The third is a new ONE/COSCO PS1 Slot Charter Agreement authorizing ONE to charter space to COSCO in the Japan-U.S. West Coast trade, with expedited review requested and a proposed effective date of May 25, 2026. The Commission requests comments within 12 days of Federal Register publication.

Notice of Agreements Filed Under the Shipping Act of 1984

The Federal Maritime Commission published notice of five agreement amendments filed under the Shipping Act of 1984. Four of the amendments (Agreement Nos. 012437-002, 012453-002, 012454-002, 201273-002) remove Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co., Ltd. as a party and make conforming revisions. One amendment (012312-005) removes Nissan as a party and updates Mitsui O.S.K. Lines' address. Proposed effective dates range from April 1 to April 9, 2026.

MOL Space Charter Agreements - Nissan Removal Amendments

The Federal Maritime Commission published notice of two amendments to space charter agreements between Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and its partners. Both amendments remove Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co., Ltd. as a party from the existing agreements. The MOL and ECL Space Charter Agreement (012358-002) and MOL/LGL Space Charter Agreement (012379-002) both show proposed effective dates of March 25, 2026.