On January 13, 2026, we teamed up to present a 90‑minute CLE program through BARBRI focused on one of the most consistently challenging areas of maritime practice: drafting and negotiating commercial agreements. The session brought together maritime lawyers from around the country, giving us an opportunity to talk through the trends, pressure points, and recurring issues we’re seeing in charter parties, cargo contracts, and multimodal arrangements.

The program opened by grounding the discussion in what actually drives maritime contracting today: specifically, a mix of commercial expectations, regulatory frameworks, and operational realities that do not often line up neatly. Whether the topic is a charter negotiation, a service agreement, or cargo documentation, one theme ran throughout: the contract has to work in the real world, not just on paper.

Some important takeaways for the conversation include:

• Charter Parties - Major charter forms can take many shapes, each with key provisions that tend to define the deal. Laytime and demurrage, off‑hire, bunker responsibilities, trading limits, and maintenance requirements all sit at the intersection of legal theory and day‑to‑day vessel operations. Bills of lading issues, in particular, continue to create downstream challenges depending on the charter structure.
• Cargo Contracts - Several different contracts effect the cargo side of the industry, where bills of lading, service agreements, and carrier/OTI relationships set the tone. Rate structures, demurrage and detention, liens, invoicing requirements, and the ripple effects of port disruptions and customs delays are all areas where a few carefully drafted lines can make a big difference and keep goods moving smoothly.
• Allocating Liability and Managing Indemnity - From COGSA and the Hague‑Visby Rules to general average, several liability regimes influence how parties approach risk. Indemnity provisions such as knock‑for‑knock structures, Himalaya clauses, exclusions, and carve‑outs remain some of the most heavily negotiated terms we see. The key takeaway: clarity and enforceability matter more than ever.
• Force Majeure - Operational interruptions, such as port closures, piracy, ice conditions, sanctions, and other government actions, are beginning to feel increasingly common in maritime commerce. Drafting a workable force majeure clause means addressing notice, cost allocation, and when (and how) performance resumes.
• Market Realities and Negotiation Strategy - Contracts don’t exist in isolation. Freight rates, container volumes, and counterparty financial health influence every negotiation. Due‑diligence steps, from reputational checks to litigation history reviews, help parties build agreements aligned with today’s market expectations rather than last year’s assumptions.
• Dispute Resolution and Risk Mitigation - The session explored arbitration’s advantages and disadvantages and how to draft effective dispute‑resolution clauses. Additional guidance covered performance standards, termination rights, notice provisions, documentation practices, and other operational risk‑mitigation tools important to contract administration.
• Regulatory Compliance - Compliance continues to be a moving target. Companies are faced with a myriad of compliance obligations across the maritime sector, including FMC regulations, OFAC screening, export controls, environmental regulations, cybersecurity considerations, and shifting Coast Guard requirements, all of which are key issues for companies engaged in domestic and international operations.

Lawyers advising maritime clients must balance commercial realities with legal risk, ensuring a clear understanding of the parties, the deal structure, and the enforceability of the final written agreement. As market conditions, regulatory expectations, and operational risks continue to shift, clear and disciplined contract drafting remains essential.