Category Archives: Maritime + Transport Law
Admiralty, Maritime, and Transport Law news selected by Toronto Transportation Lawyer Gavin Magrath
FIATA warns against Carrier LOUs
According to FIATA, freight forwarders have been reporting attempts by carriers to extend forwarder and NVOC liability for charges through demands for execution by the forwarder of a Letter of Understanding (LOU) in order to make bookings. The language of these LoUs clearly … Continue reading
Container Shipping Returns to Great Lakes
On 20 October 2020 the containership Claude A Desgagnés departed Montreal en route to Toronto, according to reports by the Port of Montreal and others. The voyage, a collaboration between MSC and Groupe Desgagnés, is the first such container cabotage route on the Lakes since … Continue reading
Federal Court Time begins to run July 14th
Following the March 17th practice direction, suspending all time periods under the Rules and Court ordered timetables due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Chief Justice has confirmed that time will begin count against all limitations and timetables beginning 14 July … Continue reading
US FMC issues Interpretive Rule on Carrier Billing Practices
The US Federal Maritime Commission‘s Interpretive Rule on Carrier Billing Practices (85 FR 29638, 46 CFR 545, Docket No. 19-05) came into force today. The purpose of the rule is to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable regulations and practices relating to or connected with … Continue reading
The Pith and Substance of Marine Engine Supply
A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in respect of a claim by a shipping company against a supplier of marine engine parts turned on the question of whether or not Canadian Maritime Law or Quebec civil law should govern … Continue reading
Montreal Convention Limits Increase for 2020
Most international carriage of goods and passengers by air falls within the ambit of the the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, also known as the Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99). The MC99 sets out, inter … Continue reading
CN announces tentative labour deal
CN Rail announced today that “a tentative agreement has been reached with our 3,200 CN conductors and yard crews working on CN’s mainline and yards in Canada for a new collective agreement.” While the ratification process may take as long … Continue reading
Special Update: CN Labour Dispute
As of noon Tuesday, November 19th, CN has provided the following update on labour negotiations: The Federal mediator is still involved in negotiations between the railway and the union and both will continue to negotiate today. In the meantime CN … Continue reading
FIATA publishes Prevention of Bribery guidelines
The Advisory Body – Legal Matters (ABLM) of FIATA has recently published a set of guidelines on the prevention of fraud and bribery in freight forwarding. According to the World Banks Logistics Performance Index (LPI), freight forwarding suffers from a lack … Continue reading
No Contract, No Demurrage!
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently considered whether a rail carrier is entitled to charge a shipper demurrage pursuant to its tariff in the absence of any contract for carriage or services between the carrier and the shipper. Facts: P&H, … Continue reading →