21st International Colloquium on Shipping Law in Transition: New Liabilities and Risk Allocation in the Age of Disruption

The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) at Swansea University holds its 21st International Colloquium on 9 and 10 September 2026, under the title Shipping Law in Transition: New Liabilities and Risk Allocation in the Age of Disruption. The IISTL describes it as an expert international forum examining the impact of ongoing transitions in shipping law and practice, held as ever at Swansea University and bringing together leading academics and industry professionals for authoritative discussion.

The IISTL was established in 2000 as a specialist research and professional training centre within Swansea University's law school, and its annual colloquium is one of the longer running fixtures in international maritime and trade law. Swansea University's own IISTL events page records the 21st Colloquium as focusing on new maritime liability regimes and reflections on insurance and P&I cover. The event is sponsored by Informa Law from Routledge.

From the organiser's programme note: shipping law must always evolve to reflect changing trading and technological practices. That evolution tests and often disrupts traditional doctrines, sometimes producing unexpected results. While pursuing commercial certainty remains a common objective for participants and courts, recent years have also seen growing regulatory intervention and the imposition of policies that perceptibly constrain freedom of contract. Shipping law is, in short, undergoing a period of transition.

The Colloquium will examine how this transition affects carriage, sale and insurance contracts, as well as liability regimes including limitations of liability. Discussions will span national, international and EU implications, and will be led by panels of professionals and academics.

The organiser states that the topics discussed are very varied, and will include the following:

• Deviation and modern developments
• Dangerous and misdeclared cargoes
• Misdelivery, liability and indemnities
• Shipping arrangements, including non-mainstream ones such as booking notes and slot charters
• State interventions on vessels and private law
• Role of ITLOS in state interventions
• Bareboat charters and their liability
• Nuclear energy in shipping
• Pollution and new fuel technologies
• UK Emissions Trading Scheme and FuelEU Maritime
• Drafting measures that may be adopted to mitigate the consequences of regulations concerning decarbonisation
• Funding of green shipping projects under European schemes
• Insurance and knock-for-knock under stress
• Cyber and war exclusions in marine and war risks policies
• Geopolitical tensions and naval warfare, and their impact on trade, seafarers and owners
• Limitation: recent developments and jurisdictional differences
• Insurance and sanctions compliance

The organiser lists the following confirmed speakers and chairpersons:

• Hon. Mr Justice Andrew Baker, Admiralty Judge, High Court of England and Wales
• Nigel Cooper KC, Quadrant Chambers; Simon Rainey KC, Quadrant Chambers; Josephine Davies KC, Twenty Essex; David Walsh KC, Essex Court Chambers
• Professor Baris Soyer, Director, IISTL; Professor Andrew Tettenborn, Professor Simon Baughen and Professor George Leloudas, all of the IISTL, Swansea University
• Professor Lia I. Athanassiou, Athens University School of Law; Professor Olivier Cachard, Dean Emeritus, Faculty of Law of Nancy, Universite de Lorraine
• Dr Lia Amaxilati, Senior Legal Advisor, International Chamber of Shipping
• James Addison, Claims Director, Offshore & Renewables, NorthStandard; Natalie Campbell, Fleet Manager, Britannia P&I; Joanne Sharma, Head of Americas Claims, Steamship Mutual
• Alexandra Couvadelli, Vice President, and Monica Kohli OBE, Senior Lawyer, both of Gard (UK) Limited
• Michael Biltoo, Partner, DWF Law LLP; Rachel Hoyland, Of Counsel, Stephenson Harwood; Keith Krut, Partner, Hannaford Turner LLP; Elizabeth Turnbull, Partner, Preston Turnbull LLP
• Lucy Keane, Barrister, Normanton Chambers; Mohiuddin Abdul Kadir, President of MCLaw Services, Bangladesh

The IISTL states that it hopes the programme will interest not only lawyers, practitioners and operators, but also those working in finance and insurance, particularly maritime liability, as well as academics. This is an attendance conference: there is no call for papers and no abstract submission, so registration is simply a matter of buying a ticket while sales remain open.

The official registration page lists the following ticket types, in pounds sterling with the booking fee included:

• General Admission (21 June till 2 September 2026): £325
• Concession, Students: £175
• Online Ticket (Only): £175
• Concession, Swansea LLM Students ONLY: £90
• Conference Dinner, available only to paying delegates: £0

The £90 concession is restricted by the organiser to Swansea University LLM students. For everyone else the effective range is £175 to £325. Refunds are available up to seven days before the event, per the organiser's stated refund policy.

The Colloquium runs in person at the Richard Price Building, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, on both days from 9:00 am, closing at 1:00 pm on 10 September (UK time). The registration page also sells an Online Ticket (Only) tier at £175, so the sessions can be followed remotely by delegates who cannot travel; every other tier is for attendance in person.

There is no eligibility restriction by nationality, jurisdiction or bar membership: tickets are sold openly to anyone, so an Indian delegate can register on the same footing as any other. Anyone travelling to Swansea should allow time for a UK visitor visa and should arrange their own travel and accommodation, neither of which is covered by the ticket.

Register through the official Eventbrite page linked from Swansea University's own IISTL events page. Choose the appropriate ticket tier and complete payment. Ticket sales close on 2 September 2026, one week before the Colloquium opens. Queries about the Colloquium go to the Institute at iistl@swansea.ac.uk.