For the first time in 50 years the highest UK court hands down a judgement in a collision case

Historically, English law has played an important role in the interpretation of COLREG. However, recently a collision case reached the highest UK court for the first time in nearly 50 years. On 19 February 2021, the UK Supreme Court handed down a judgment in Evergreen Marine (UK) Limited v Nautical Challenge Ltd ([2021] UKSC 6).

The appeal concerned the proper construction of the crossing rules (Rules 15-17) of COLREG (the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972, as amended). The case arose in relation to a collision between M/V “Alexandra 1” and M/V “Ever Smart” that occurred on 11 February 2015 just outside the dredged channel by which vessels enter and exit the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The details of the judgment, as well as its full text, are available on the following link.