ימי ותחבורה

When a vessel is detained at a foreign port, when cargo arrives damaged at a destination thousands of miles from the contract’s chosen forum, when a charter dispute develops while bunkers are running low and the next voyage is contracted, the business results arrive faster than ordinary commercial litigation can address them. Maritime disputes operate in a world of fixed schedules, perishable cargoes, and counterparties whose assets are by definition mobile.

Seiden Law brings trial-ready advocacy, cross-border coordination, and judgment-enforcement strength to maritime and transportation disputes in U.S. courts, international forums, and related regulatory proceedings; so that matters do not end with a paper win but with a practical resolution and recovery. The firm’s complex-litigation bench routinely handles expedited, high-value cases across capital-intensive industries, including shipping, and applies the same disciplined approach to maritime controversies that demand speed, accuracy, and commercial judgment.

How Maritime Disputes Move

Several features distinguish maritime litigation from other commercial work. Vessels can be arrested at port to provide security for claims, but only if the right procedural steps are taken in the right forum within a short window. Charterparty and contract-of-affreightment disputes typically include arbitration clauses requiring proceedings in London, New York, or other maritime arbitration centers, with their own institutional rules and practitioner conventions. Cargo claims are governed by an overlapping framework of international conventions (Hague-Visby, Hamburg, Rotterdam Rules), domestic statutes (COGSA), and contract terms, each with different limitations periods and burdens of proof. The Federal Maritime Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection add regulatory dimensions that affect commercial outcomes.

סנקציות and export controls have become an increasingly important overlay. Insurance, financing, maintenance, and operational continuity for vessels that touch sanctioned trades require careful coordination between maritime counsel and sanctions specialists. OFAC licensing has become central to many shipping operations involving sanctioned counterparties or jurisdictions.

What Sets Seiden Law Apart

• Cross-border muscle, built in. Maritime disputes often involve multiple venues, from New York federal court to maritime arbitration to foreign recognition actions. The firm plans forum strategy and enforcement together so that filings in one place reinforce leverage in another.
• Judgment enforcement and asset recovery from day one. Many firms stop at judgment. Seiden is known for turning judgments and awards into money through coordinated asset-tracing, recognition, and collection; critical when counterparties or assets are offshore or layered through holding structures.
• Lean, trial-ready teams for expedited schedules. Maritime clients need quick decisions on attachment, injunctions, discovery, and hearings. The firm’s complex case bench is organized for that tempo and regularly runs high-stakes matters at pace, including in the shipping sector.
• Multilingual coordination across borders. The team works directly in Chinese, Spanish, German, Russian, French, Hebrew, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, and Arabic, enabling direct work with crews, counterparties, and foreign counsel without translation lag.

Practice Scope

The firm handles maritime and transportation matters in U.S. federal and state courts, in international arbitration tied to maritime and transport contracts, and through coordinated U.S. recognition and confirmation actions where needed. Regulatory and sanctions touchpoints intersecting with shipping lanes, counterparties, and insurance are managed to protect compliance while preserving litigation leverage.

• Charterparties and contracts of affreightment. Performance, off-hire, fuel and bunker quality, delay, and risk-allocation disputes under time, voyage, and bareboat charters.
• Carriage of goods and cargo claims. Damage, delay, short delivery, contamination, misdelivery, and document or bill-of-lading disputes, including parallel insurance interfaces.
• Supply-chain and logistics contracts. Intermodal agreements, terminal operations, warehousing, and last-mile disputes under relevant port and agency frameworks.
• Marine insurance interfaces. Coverage disputes and recoveries litigated alongside the underlying liability matter.
• Financing and security controversies. Payment disputes, security interests, guarantees, and structured transactions tied to vessels or logistics assets, aligned with enforcement pathways.

Maritime Sanctions and OFAC Highlights

Maritime disputes increasingly converge with sanctions and export controls; from insurance and maintenance continuity to vessel acquisition or scrapping under restrictions. Seiden’s sanctions team integrates directly with the firm’s maritime litigators to preserve compliance and litigation leverage.

The firm has obtained an OFAC specific license authorizing urgent vessel maintenance, continuity services, and resume marine insurance coverage. The firm has provided sanctions analysis cited in Lloyd’s List and The Wall Street Journal addressing expanding U.S. enforcement, Venezuela-linked trade, and shadow-fleet vessel practices. The firm has advised on the acquisition of a sanctioned vessel at auction, including sanctions-risk assessment, licensing strategy, and post-acquisition compliance. The firm has counseled on the scraping of sanctioned vessels, addressing sanctions restrictions, stakeholder exposure, and de-risking pathways to complete the operation.