The Shipping Lawyer

Detention and demurrage invoices land on desks every week, and too often the person holding one can’t say what they’re actually being charged for. This episode goes back to basics.

Host Alison Cusack breaks down what demurrage, detention and storage each are, why the same words mean different things depending on who’s sending the invoice, and why it matters before you pay. (And no, it’s not about Dungeons & Dragons. Apologies if you were misled.)

In this episode:

• Demurrage vs detention: same box, two places, two clocks
• Separate vs merged D&D, and why the label on the invoice won’t tell you which you have
• Where storage fits, who charges it, and why it runs alongside the other charges
• What stops the clock (and why customs holds and fumigation usually don’t)
• Why depot congestion and return directions can change your detention exposure
• What a lost or delayed bill of lading can cost you
• The “hat test”: are you even the right party to be charged?
• A four-question checklist for any invoice: who is charging, what for, are the dates and rates right, and are you liable?

If you want a second set of eyes on an invoice before you pay it, not after, get in touch.

General information only, not legal advice. Your position depends on your documents and facts, so please get advice on your specific situation before you act.

Contact
Alison Cusack, Cusack & Co
Website: cusackandco.com.au
LinkedIn: subscribe to the LinkedIn newsletter for more
Email: [email protected]

If you found this useful, please follow, share and leave a rating or review. Feedback is always welcome.

The charterparty gets signed at speed. The ops team takes over. And the document sits in a folder until something goes wrong.

In this episode, Alison breaks down how to manage charterparty risk well — even when you're moving fast. That means understanding your rider clauses, knowing what to do in the days immediately after signing, and using the life of a fixture to set yourself up better for the next one.

What we cover:

• Why rider clauses are powerful — and why a poorly drafted one can create more ambiguity than the gap it was trying to fill
• The four questions to ask in a post-signing review (and why it's not a six-week exercise)
• The clause development file: a simple habit that changes your negotiating posture for every future fixture
• What the clients who manage charterparty risk well actually do differently

Key concepts from this episode:

Rider clauses — bespoke provisions that sit alongside the printed charterparty form. In most charterparties, they take precedence over the printed form where there's a conflict. Common inclusions: cargo-specific requirements, deviation provisions, off-hire triggers, bunker specifications, environmental compliance, and sanctions provisions.

Post-signing review — a focused review of the charterparty after execution to map commercial risk. Not a due diligence exercise; a practical read with four questions: where are the commercial triggers, where are the asymmetries, where are the gaps, and what does the counterparty's performance obligation actually look like?

Clause development file — an ongoing record of issues, ambiguities, and desired amendments built during the life of a fixture. The starting point for next time's negotiations.

Work with Alison:

If you need a charterparty reviewed — whether you signed last week or you're six months into an eighteen-month charter — Cusack & Co can help.

🌐 cusackandco.com.au📩 Reach out via LinkedIn or drop your details via the contact form: forms.office.com/r/3wV6PS9wPB

Support seafarers:

The Mission to Seafarers provides welfare support to crew around the world.🔗 missiontoseafarers.org

The Shipping Lawyer is hosted by Alison Cusack, founder of Cusack & Co, a specialist maritime law firm. The podcast covers shipping law, maritime practice, and the commercial realities of the industry.

Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice. If you have a specific legal issue, please seek independent advice.

If you enjoyed this episode: please leave a review, subscribe, and share with colleagues in shipping, logistics, or maritime law. It helps more people find the show.

THE SHIPPING LAWYER PODCAST

Season 3 · Episode 4 |  Show Notes

Host: Alison Cusack, Shipping Lawyer

We're 100 days into the Gulf Cargo Crisis — and the question has shifted. It's no longer about watching what happens in the Strait of Hormuz. It's about what you're doing with the time you have right now. In this episode, Alison cuts through the noise with a practical framework for triage: what's actually in your control, what professional advice looks like in practice, and how to set your business up for the rest of 2026 without burning out.

Topics covered: force majeure and surcharge disputes, contract management, freight forwarding T&Cs, sanctionscompliance, the shadow fleet, UKMTO incident tracking, and the FMC's recent $1.9M penalty against a major carrier for improper detention and demurrage.

🌊  Mission to Seafarers — Donate

Seafarers are still at sea. The crisis isn't over for them. If you're in Australia and want to make a tax-deductible donation before end of financial year, now is the time.

International: missiontoseafarers.org/donate

Australia (Victoria): missiontoseafarers.com.au/donate

🐱  Schrödinger's Cat — Wikipedia

Turns out a lot of people haven'theard of Schrödinger's Cat. As promised, here's the link.

 Schrödinger's Cat — Wikipedia

⚓  UKMTO — UK Maritime Trade Operations

The UKMTO tracks attacks, incidents, advisories and suspicious activities across the region. Incident reports referenced in this episode are available via their public reporting. 

ukmto.org

Got a question about something covered in this episode? Dealing with a surcharge dispute, force majeure situation, or contract issue you need a second pair of eyes on? Alison works with importers, exporters, freight forwarders and logistics businesses across Australia.

Get in touch

Fill out Alison's contact form and she'll be in touch.

Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alisoncusack

 If this episode was useful, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — it helps other shipping and logistics professionals find the show.

Search The Shipping Lawyer onSpotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

The Shipping Lawyer podcast is hosted by Alison Cusack. Nothing in this episode or these show notes constitutes legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, please seek independent legal counsel.

Gulf Cargo Crisis — Part 2:Crisis Management Is Not A Spectator Sport

We are 18 days into the Gulf Cargo Crisis and the most expensive strategy in freight law is playing out in inboxes everywhere — sitting on it and hoping it resolves itself.

In Part 2, Alison Cusack, The Shipping Lawyer breaks down what the situation actually looks like right now, what surcharges and end of voyage declarations really mean for your cargo, why force majeure is not a magic word, and what to do this week. Every freight problem is solveable. The variable is what it costs.

FULL DESCRIPTION :

Day 18 of the Gulf Cargo Crisis. Ships are not transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Seven vessel incidents. War risk insurers have pulled cover. Surcharges are landing. Force majeure is being declared. Part 1 was the alarm going off — the documents, the contracts, the legal frameworkbehind the crisis. Part 2 is what you actually do about it.

In this episode, maritime and shipping lawyer Alison Cusack covers:

→  Where the Gulf situation sits right now and what has changed since Part 1

→  Why the backstops you think are running in the background aren't automatic — and what that means for you

→  Surcharges: the two questions inside 'do I have to pay this?' and the FMC and ACCC angle most people don't know to ask

→  End of voyage: what that clause actuallysays, the D&D clock, DG cargo, reefer cargo, and what happens when your cargo is dumped at a port you didn't plan for

→  Force majeure: why it is not a magic word, what happens when you pull the wrong lever, and why lawyers in the Middle East are begging people to stop

→  The free 19-page freight issue guide — builtspecifically for this situation

→  What to do this week — specific, actionable,no jargon

Crisis management is not a spectator sport. Get in the game.

Free freight issue guide: Start Here

Free 15-min triage call: Book here

This episode does not constitute legal advice.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

StartHere — free freight issue guide

A 19-page decision tool for containerised cargo owners, freight forwarders, and charterers. Work through it, circle what applies, and arrive at a specific problem with a specific document list and a specific question.

Download free:

Free15-minute triage call with Alison

Come with your problem statement. Leave knowing exactly what you're dealing with and what to do next.

Book:

Alison'sforce majeure article

Loadstar Article

Alison'sDaily News article on force majeure

DCN Article

Gulf Cargo Crisis — Part 1 (Season 3, Episode 2)

Link to Episode 2

CONNECT WITH ALISON

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn newsletter: [LinkedIn link]

Website: www.cusackandco.com.au

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

1.  Know exactly where your cargo is right now — vessel name, current position, any schedule changes

2.  Pull your documents — Bill of Lading (master and house), marine insurance policy, sale contract, freight forwarder T&Cs

3.  Set up a shared folder — save every email, every notice, every correspondence. You will need receipts.

4.  Check your insurance covers the route the vessel is actually taking, not the original route

5.  If you have received a surcharge notice — do not pay it and do not ignore it. Respond in writing, reserve your position.

6.  If you have received a force majeure declaration — respond formally, ask for specifics, reserve your rights.

7.  If your cargo is at an intermediate port and end of voyage has been declared — call someone today.

8.  Work through the Start Here freight issue guide — it will tell you exactly what your problem is called and what to do next.

This episode does not constitute legal advice. If yourmatter is urgent, contact Alison directly.

Gulf Cargo Crisis — Update 1: What Cargo Owners Need to Know Right Now

The Gulf is in crisis. If you have cargo on the water, or you're a freight forwarder with clients who do, this episode is for you.

Maritime and shipping lawyer Alison Cusack breaks down exactly what is happening in the Gulf right now, what it means for your cargo, and — critically — what you need to do this week before the window to act closes.

In this episode:

• The geography of the crisis: why the Strait of Hormuz leaves zero alternative routes, and what that means for global supply chains
• The Baltimore bridge collapse playbook — and why the Gulf is the same movie with a higher budget
• The Master vs House Bill of Lading explained: why cargo owners who try to deal directly with the carrier often hit a wall, and how to navigate the chain correctly
• The Four Ds of a Gulf crisis: Detained, Delayed, Detoured, Denied — the risk profile of each one
• The surcharge wave that is already being prepared by carrier commercial teams, and how to know whether you can pass those costs on
• Force majeure: why it is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, and the back-to-back contract mismatch that is already causing problems
• What to do if your cargo is already stranded

Phase 1 action list covered in this episode:Master B/L · House B/L · Carrier T&Cs · Forwarder trading conditions · Marine insurance policy · Purchase contract · Downstream sale contract

LINKS

Issue 1 Companion Workbook (document inventory, force majeure matrix, surcharge checklist): Workbook

📩 Gulf Crisis Paid Newsletter Series — Issues covering contracts, the US picture from TPM Long Beach, and recovery options:

⚖️ Contract review and legal enquiries: [email protected]

🌐 ITF Seafarers Welfare: itfseafarers.org🌐 Mission to Seafarers: missiontoseafarers.org

📰 Daily Cargo News op-ed — Gulf Crisis and Australian Cargo Owners: Link

This episode is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a solicitor for advice specific to your situation.

The tides are changing in ocean shipping — and Season 3 of The Shipping Lawyer kicks off at the top. Alison Cusack sits down with the new Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission, Laura DiBella, to discuss detention and demurrage, fairness, transparency, and the balance between enforcement and collaboration. Whether you’re a shipper, carrier, trucker, or just maritime-curious, this episode delivers insider insights on how decisions are made, whose voices get heard, and what success looks like under new leadership.

Want to get in touch?

Sent me an email [email protected]

Christmas can be a tricky time of year for those away from friends and family, whether at sea or other reasons.

I decided to bring on special guest Andrew from Lifeline Australia to talk about mental health and some simple strategies for those who may need a few extra guardrails at this time of year. No different than a ship needing two tugs at a particularly tricky port.

All content is intended for information and educational purposes only. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 at any time of day or night. You can also text them on 0477 13 11 14 or use their online chat service. If life is in danger, please call Triple Zero (000) immediately. 

Andrew is speaking as an individual and his views don't necessarily represent those of Lifeline or Lifeline Central West.

Website and Socials

lifelinecentralwest.org.au

https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifelinecentralwest

Facebook

In this episode of The Shipping Lawyer, Alison Cusack is joined by Namrata Nadkarni (CEO, Intent Communications) andDeclan Bush (Senior Reporter at Lloyd's List Intelligence) and to unpack the IMO MEPC delayed vote, why it happened, and what it signals for the future of maritime regulation.

We cut through the headlines to explain the process, politics, and practical impact of the delay, including those parts that may not have made headlines (and probably should!).

Join us for a discussion behind the discussion.

This episode was proudly sponsored by Cusack & Co Academy

Disclaimer:

The opinions of the guests are their own and not representative of their employers.

Namrata's linksAmbassador Albon Ishoda Speech "A Just and Equitable Transition in the Shipping Industry" COP28https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTnig2vqul8

Declan's LinksDeclan's news story on the IMO delay:

https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1155147/IMO-to-delay-Net-Zero-Framework-vote-for-one-year

Declan's story on the problem of ‘tacit’ v ‘explicit’ acceptance of Marpol amendments:

https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1155120/US-tries-to-hobble-NZF-with-late-bid-to-change-acceptance-rules

NYT on US bullying at MEPC/ES.2:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/climate/trump-climate-international-bullying.html

Declan's podcast interview with Michael Liebreich on the cases for and against hydrogen-based e-fuels:

https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1153323/Are-e-fuels-a-waste-of-time

Michael Liebreich’s presentation on why there won’t be a hydrogen economy more broadly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Q9cuF8zKg

UCL Professor Tristan Smith on shipping decarbonisation and the IMO process to date:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdUCidkeDto

In this episode, Alison Cusack challenges the old idea of “black swan events” in shipping. Over the last five years, the industry has accumulated enough knowledge, data, and legal frameworks that very few risks are genuinely unforeseeable.

Using three high-profile incidents — the Dali collision with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge (2024), the Ever Given blockage of the Suez Canal (2021), and the One Apus container loss (2020) — Alison explores how law, contracts, and risk management have evolved.

This episode isn’t about panic or chaos. It’s about professional standards, accountability, and adaptability. In 2025, calling something a “black swan” can no longer be an excuse for being underprepared.

Learn why modern shipping law rewards curiosity, agility, and proactive risk management — and why organizations that fail to adjust are already behind.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Black swans are no longer a get-out-of-jail-free card: If you were surprised, it’s likely due to a lack of preparation or failure to adapt, not impossibility.

• Dali & Baltimore Bridge: Electrical and propulsion failures were known risks — unforgiving margins, not unforeseeable events, triggered a legal and operational test.

• Ever Given: Chokepoint disruptions were predictable; the real challenge is adapting contracts and operational assumptions to systemic risk.

• One Apus: Severe weather is a foreseeable risk. Proper stowage, routing, and insurance are essential — claiming surprise no longer holds.

• The death of plausible deniability: With incident reports, regulatory guidance, and post-mortems widely available, remaining unprepared is a choice.

  
  

  🎯 Who Should Listen:

  
  

• Shipping lawyers, P&I and insurance professionals

• Shipowners, charterers, and operators

• Maritime risk managers and compliance teams

• Anyone interested in how legal frameworks shape modern shipping resilience

  
  

  🔗 Resources & References:

• Dali collision & Baltimore Key Bridge investigations

This episode was proudly brought to you by the Cusack & Co Academy

In this episode of The Shipping Lawyer, Alison Cusack unpacks the proposed Section 301 US / China-related port fees — what they are, how they came to be, and why the current 12-month pause should not be mistaken for a policy retreat.

These are not ordinary port charges. They are trade measures, applied through maritime access, with the potential to reshape cost allocation, routing decisions, and contractual risk across global shipping.

This episode explains what’s really going on beneath the headlines — and why now is the critical moment to prepare.

• What Section 301 is and how it has been extended beyond tariffs on goods into the shipping sector

• Why China-built vessels and fleet composition became the focus of the proposed port fees

• How and why the industry pushed back — and what that reaction tells us about supply chain fragility

• What the 12-month pause actually means (and what it doesn’t)

• Who is likely to bear the cost if and when the fees are introduced

• Why silence or outdated drafting in contracts creates real exposure

• How to use the pause to build agile, resilient contracts, including:

  • port cost and charges clauses

  • change-in-law triggers

  • route and port flexibility

  • hardship vs force majeure

  • governing law and dispute strategy

The pause is not a reprieve — it’s a drafting deadline.
When shipping becomes a policy lever, contracts need to be built for political risk, not just operational risk.

If you work in shipping, trade, logistics, insurance, or maritime law — this episode is about being ready before the switch is flipped back on.

🎧 Follow The Shipping Lawyer for practical analysis of maritime incidents, regulation, and the legal issues shaping global trade.

This episode is proudly brought to you by the Cusack & Co Academy