Category: Blog

Although important steps have been taken in recent years that have led to a more solid system for compensation of maritime claims there are still areas left uncovered. This overview shows which territories remain unchartered and call for further action especially against the background of maritime decarbonization now moving full steam ahead. Global Limitation When … Continued

The legal basis for the nationality of seagoing vessels can be found in article 91 of the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC). This article determines that “Every State shall fix the conditions for the grant of its nationality to ships, for the registration of ships in its territory, and for the right to fly … Continued

The Port of Rotterdam: A Playground for Foreign Investors? In the past year, we have observed how the Port of Rotterdam increasingly seems to be falling into foreign hands, with investments from Qatar and growing involvement from the Chinese government (see our earlier blog). Although the port is crucial for Rotterdam and its position in the national and … Continued

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions, many superyachts (beneficially) owned by Russian nationals have been seized or impounded in European ports (this article will focus on the EU sanctions, and more particularly on The Netherlands). Primarily this concerned yachts owned by persons on the lists of targeted persons, but … Continued

Setting up a company such as a Dutch B.V. obviously requires some red-tape, but is relatively simple to do. Having a Dutch B.V. does not automatically imply that the company can benefit from all tax facilities. In recent years, many measures have been taken to prevent tax avoidance through treaty abuse. One of the problems … Continued

Finally, as the last country in the EU, ship-owners can hire private guards to protect their Dutch flagged vessels as from 1 February 2022. All other EU countries, and many countries worldwide, allow private guards on board of merchant vessels for some time already. The Netherlands now also adopted an act to this effect. However, … Continued

Unlike many Anglo-American based jurisdictions, the concept of disclosure/discovery is unknown to  the Dutch legal system. Consequently, it is possible that there is insufficient documentation to substantiate your side of the case.  If you have doubts about initiating proceedings because you lack the necessary evidence, there are several ways to acquire further evidence. Dutch law … Continued

In 2019, Professor Rob de Wijk published the book “The New World Order: How China is Stealthily Taking Over the World.” The book paints a shocking picture of an unstoppable totalitarian regime, whose leader openly declared in 2017 that the People’s Republic of China aims to lead the world by 2047. The Port of Rotterdam … Continued

For some time, the Netherlands has been the world’s second largest outward investor, preceded only by the US. With regard to inward Foreign Direct Investments, the Netherlands ranked fifth after the US, the UK, Hong Kong and China. Consequently, our clients live and think ‘cross border’, when it comes to doing business. In short, they do business… … Continued

The Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord (Act Homologation Private Agreement, ‘WHOA’) has come into force on 1 January 2021. This Act (partly) implements Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of 20 June 2019 on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt (‘restructurings’) … Continued