Statistics
Statistics and Overview[1]
The second issue of the Maritime Law Journal covers the period from April to June 2026. We continue publishing statistics on maritime disputes considered by commercial courts during the reporting period. In addition, the Centre for Maritime Law at the National University of Singapore, together with the Comité Maritime International, continues to maintain a database of cases considered by courts in various jurisdictions applying international maritime conventions. Russian case summaries can be accessed via https://cmlcmidatabase.org / browse-by-jurisdiction. It is necessary to select “Russia.”
Cases in District Commercial Courts
In the second quarter of 2026, 20 maritime cases were heard by the district commercial court, 19 of which concerned private law matters. Most of these cases involved recovery of monies under various contracts, including contracts for the carriage of goods by sea, bareboat charters, and others.
One of the interesting cases was Case No А56–10504 / 2025 considered by the Commercial Court of the North-Western District. Following the loss of the vessel and its cargo, the shipowner sought full freight payment from the charterer, relying on a charterparty clause that provided that freight was deemed earned and non-returnable regardless of the loss of the ship and cargo. The charterer challenged this clause. The district court upheld its invalidity, holding that Art 165 of the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation (MSC RF) mandatorily provides that no freight is payable for lost cargo, whilst Art. 116 of the MSC RF expressly renders void any agreement inconsistent with the rules of Ch. 8 of the MSC RF.
| Court Name | Categories of Cases |
|---|---|
| Commercial Court of the Moscow District | 6 cases in total: - on recovery of expenses incurred in the carriage of postal items (3), - on recovery under a freight forwarding services contract, - on challenging a decision of Rosmorrechflot, - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea. |
| Commercial Court of the North Caucasus District | 3 cases in total: - for compensation for harm caused to a body of water, - on the recovery of petroleum products from on board a vessel, - for compensation for environmental harm caused by a spill of petroleum products from a vessel. 3 cases in total: - for compensation for harm caused to a body of water, - on the recovery of petroleum products from on board a vessel, - for compensation for environmental harm caused by a spill of petroleum products from a vessel. |
| Commercial Court of the Volga District | 2 cases in total: - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea, - on recovery under a time charter. |
| Commercial Court of the Far Eastern District | 5 cases in total: - on recovery under a salvage contract, - on recovery under a contract of marine insurance, - on recovery of losses for the storage and upkeep of a vessel, - on recovery under the towing agreement, - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea. |
| Commercial Court of the Urals District | 1 case in total: - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea. |
| Commercial Court of the West Siberian District | 1 case in total: - on recovery under the towing agreement. |
| Commercial Court of the North-Western District | 2 cases in total: - for a declaration that a charterparty clause is void, - on recovery of demurrage. |
Cases in the Commercial Courts of Appeal
During the period from April to June, the Commercial Courts of Appeal considered 30 maritime cases, 26 of which concerned private law matters. As in previous periods, the most frequent category of cases was recovery of monies under various contracts. Lacking any particular legal significance, such cases nonetheless remain the most typical within the Russian judicial system. Several cases concerned the recovery of damage caused by a bunker fuel spill (Case No А56– 62425 / 2022), demurrage, and other categories of losses.
Case No А73–3712 / 2025 of the Sixth Commercial Court of Appeal is noteworthy in the field of public law. Following the repair of a marine oil tanker in China and South Korea under the customs procedure of processing outside the customs territory, the Astrakhan Customs Office assessed additional import customs duties and VAT, having included in the cost of the processing operations the fees paid to the Russian Maritime Ship Registry for the survey and classification of the vessel. The Court of Appeal excluded these fees from the base for calculating customs payments, holding that classification and survey of a vessel do not constitute processing operations, are not aimed at restoring or improving the condition of the vessel, and possess no independent economic value in relation to the repair. The court distinguished between processing (repair) operations and inspection carried out by a classification society.
| Court Name | Categories of Cases |
|---|---|
| 5th CCA | 5 cases in total: - on recovery under a time charter, - on recovery under a salvage contract, - on recovery under a contract of marine insurance, - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea (2). |
| 6th CCA | 1 case in total: - on challenging a decision increasing the customs value of goods. |
| 9th CCA | 8 cases in total: - on recovery under a freight forwarding services contract (2), - on recovery of expenses incurred in the carriage of postal items, - on recovery of demurrage, - on challenging a decision of Rosmorrechflot regarding subsidies for maritime transportation, - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea (3). |
| 12th CCA | 1 case in total: - on recovery of demurrage under a charterparty. |
| 13th CCA | 9 cases in total: - on challenging administrative liability for violation of the rules on crossing the state border (2), - on recovery of a debt under a sub-charter (sub-lease) agreement for a vessel, - on recovery of losses connected with the leakage of dangerous cargo under a freight forwarding contract, - on recovery of damage from a bunker fuel spill, - on recovery under a time charter, - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea (2), - on recovery of demurrage under a charterparty for the carriage of goods. |
| 14th CCA | 2 cases in total: - on recovery under a contract for the carriage of goods by sea (2). |
| 15th CCA | 4 cases in total: - on recovery under a time charter (2), - on recovery of losses for the loss of deck cargo in the course of a carriage of goods by sea, - on recovery of losses for the storage of a shipload of cargo |
Cases in the Commercial courts of first Instance
At first instance, 60 maritime disputes were heard, 47 of which concerned private law matters, and 13 public law matters. Alongside cases for the recovery of monies, compared with previous periods, more cases arose from ship collisions (6 cases) and disputes over the arrest of vessels. We shall therefore continue to monitor the further progress of these cases through the Courts of Appeal.
Conclusion
In total, 110 maritime cases were heard during the period from April to June 2026, of which 92 concerned private law matters and 18 concerned public law matters. This relatively small number of public law cases is due, among other things, to a change in our methodology for counting them. We have become more selective in compiling this list, including a case in the statistics only when it directly concerns matters governed by the MSC RF or international maritime conventions.
Notes