Capabilities / Ocean Law

Ocean Law

Navigating the complex waters of maritime law.

Our seasoned Ocean Law team is well-versed in the intricacies of commerce by sea and new and evolving Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) regulations, handling a wide array of legal matters connected to ocean vessel transit and port operations. Whether it’s negotiating shipping contracts, resolving disputes (including those involving detention and demurrage charges), or ensuring regulatory compliance on ocean freight laws, our attorneys are at the helm, providing strategic guidance through every nautical mile. We regularly work with ocean carriers, Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCCs), freight forwarders, and other ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs), with extensive experience in the varying laws for different carrier types entering and departing ports around the world.

Central to our ocean law practice is our command over the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA). Our lawyers are adept at applying COGSA’s provisions to protect the interests of our clients engaged in the shipping of goods. We ensure that their rights are safeguarded, liabilities are limited, and legal requirements are meticulously defended. When cargo is lost at sea, the stakes are high, and the legal terrain is often treacherous. Our team assists clients in determining liability, filing claims, and seeking adequate compensation for lost cargo.

In our global economy, many of our clients face international cargo-related issues that cross borders and jurisdictions—particularly when shipping by sea. We are proficient in navigating these complex legal waters, with a highly skilled International Trade & Supply Chain practice group ready to advise on the Customs components of ocean law.

Our clients include both those with in-house fleets as well as those who rely on outsourced or third-party fleets. We cater to companies that manage diverse shipping operations, ensuring seamless legal support, whether it’s for a single mode or a combination of multi-modal transport. Additionally, Husch Blackwell offers an array of legal services for maritime clients, including general business consulting (regulatory, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence); contract drafting revision and review (NVOCC, agency, broker, carrier, shipper, freight forwarder, warehousing); employment law advice and representation (enforcement of restrictive covenants, FLSA, class/collective actions, wage-and-hour issues); intellectual property and trademark issues; and representation of software developers who serve the transportation industry.

Representative Experience

Regularly represent clients in disputes involving cargo damage or loss under COGSA.
Routinely represent clients in matters involving disputed charges for detention and demurrage.
Assisted high-tech client who had set up an electronic shipping auction platform that allowed ocean transport companies to compete for freight contracts on a real-time basis. Assisted in structuring the platform to conform to federal shipping statutes and regulations. The client met the requirements of the Federal Maritime Commission and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Regularly drafted, negotiated, and revised transportation and maritime contracts for Fortune 500 companies.
Assisted ocean shippers with requirements pursuant to the U.S. Cargo Preference Act to meet U.S. flag vessel requirements imposed by the Maritime Administration (MARAD).
Advised non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) with FMC regulatory compliance issues related to bills of lading, service contracts, and invoicing.
Navigated maritime and air transport clients through complexities of regulation and compliance in matters administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), and other governing bodies.
Represented shipyards and other interests before Maritime Administration, Military Sealift Command, Department of Defense (DOD), and other federal agencies.
Counseled shippers in U.S. domestic trades to structure agreements with motor carriers to allow shippers to act as Property Brokers to secure cargo from other shippers, licensed by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in order to maximize use of container/trailer space on backhaul of motor carrier transport after delivery of their own goods.
Assisted large shipper in obtaining over $500,000 in ocean carrier refunds from the ocean carrier for demurrage paid when cargo was held by the carrier on an intermodal transaction where cargo was to be Customs cleared at the inland point. This involved the ocean carrier’s inability to provide the appropriate chassis to accomplish the inland routing and the ocean carrier’s failure to timely change the Customs clearance point to the locations where the containers were held, which made it impossible for the importer to clear the cargo. This refund was obtained short of litigation.
Developed and implemented comprehensive risk management strategies for a maritime logistics company, reducing exposure to legal and operational risks while optimizing vessel and cargo management.
Advised a global logistics provider on compliance with Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) regulations and international maritime conventions related to cargo security, safety, and hazardous materials transportation.
Managed litigation related to detention and demurrage fees in federal court and at the FMC.