Week of 19 to 25 January 2026
Legislation / regulation
Entry into application, from 22 January 2026 until 20 February, of the spatio-temporal fishing closure in the Bay of Biscay for the 3rd consecutive year (order of 24 October 2023, upheld by the Conseil d’État’s decision of 30 December 2025). Entry into force, on 21 January 2026, of the European ban on imports of refined petroleum products derived from Russian crude oil transiting through third countries (Art. 3 ma of Regulation (EU) No. 833/2014, 18th sanctions package) — a structuring measure for oil freight and tanker chartering from India, Turkey and China.
Case law
Opening, on 23 January 2026, of a second specialised “maritime and transport law” chamber at the Marseille Commercial Court, owing to the volume of litigation linked in particular to jurisdiction clauses in bills of lading; a procedural timetable agreement was signed with the Marseille Bar Association to reduce hearing-scheduling delays (12 to 14 months).
International
CJEU, 2nd Chamber, 22 January 2026, Case C-413/24, Vlaams Gewest v. P&O North Sea Ferries Ltd and others: interpretation of Regulation (EEC) No. 4055/86, Article 56 TFEU and Article 191 of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Court rules that, from the date the Agreement became applicable, EU law ceased to govern EU-UK relations, so that P&O could invoke neither EU law nor the Agreement before the national court regarding the VTS charge owed for vessels bound for Flemish ports — an important decision for the post-Brexit status of British shipowners in EU waters.
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