Statistics and Overview*

The fourth issue of the Maritime Law Journal in 2025 covers the period from October to December. We traditionally publish statistics on maritime disputes considered by commercial courts.

During the reporting period, we adopted a more narrowly focused approach to the collection of statistics and identified only those cases in which the courts expressly referred to the Merchant Shipping Code when adjudicating the dispute. As a result, the number of public-law cases decreased significantly. While such an approach narrows the dataset, it enables the tables to more clearly illustrate the legal contexts in which issues of merchant shipping arise as a matter of substance, rather than merely tangentially.

The Centre for Maritime Law at the National University of Singapore, in collaboration with Comité Maritime International, maintains a database of cases considered by courts in various jurisdictions where international maritime conventions are interpreted. Recently, this database has included cases examined by Russian courts. The database is available exclusively in English. Russian case summaries can be accessed via https://cmlcmidatabase.org/browse-by-jurisdiction. It is necessary to select the “Russia” field.

Cases in District Commercial Courts (Cassation Instance)

During the reporting period, 13 private law cases and two public law disputes were considered by the district commercial courts. Most private law cases concerned the recovery of damages caused by contractual breaches, most often involving non-payment. This tendency remains stable throughout the statistical period. The contractual disputes concerning unpaid remuneration constituting a significant majority. The public-law disputes addressed issues of taxation and the imposition of administrative liability due to the lack of compulsory insurance. In my view, such disputes are of interest only to a relatively narrow circle of practising specialists. Nevertheless, they merit attention as maritime cases.

Cases in the Commercial Courts of Appeal

The commercial courts of appeal considered 35 private law and two public law disputes. The private law disputes primarily relate to the enforcement of claims under various maritime contracts. Case No. A58-11322/2024 deserves particular attention due to its noteworthy factual background. In this case, the Prosecutor’s Office of Sakhalin District has filed a claim to contest a municipal contract for the removal of the wreck of a sunken vessel. Aside from the compelling arguments, most notably the flawed reasoning regarding the necessity of the cleanup, this case provides valuable insight into how Russia enforces the obligation to remove the remains of sunken ships, as well as the public law entities involved in addressing this issue. Additionally, cases No. A32-31617/2025 and A32-31618/2025 are of interest. These cases are connected to the infamous oil spills from the vessels Volganefht-212 and Volganefht-239. They provide an example of how such disputes typically unfold, with the shipowner attempting to limit liability and establish a limitation fund.

Cases in the Commercial Courts of First Instance

During the period under review, 49 maritime private law cases and 15 public law disputes were examined by the commercial courts of first instance. The substance of the disputes has not changed compared to previous periods–disputes concerning claims under various maritime contracts. One particularly interesting case is No. A06-1606/2015, where the Commercial Court of the Astrakhan District examined the legal nature of demurrage and concluded that it is a form of liability of the party for breach of contract, i.e., predetermined losses. Despite this being a first-instance judgement, such clarifications on a significant practical issue are rare.¹ Both the judicial act and subsequent case proceedings are worthy of close scrutiny.

Conclusion

A total of 116 cases were considered during the period under review, comprising 97 private law cases and 19 public law disputes. The principal categories of disputes remained unchanged and consisted primarily of claims for the recovery of payments under various maritime contracts and claims for damages caused by vessels.

Arrests

As an additional feature in this issue, the journal presents statistics on maritime arrests for the period under review. The numbers and outcomes of all arrest proceedings are set out below. A total of seven such cases have been identified. ■

* Author and editor: Bulat Karimov. Statistics compiled by Alexey Arakelov and Denis Kumpan (NAVICUS.LAW).

Notes