'Alize 1954 and CMA CGM SA v Allianz Elementary Versicherungs AG and Ors' [2021] UKSC 51

On 10 November 2021, more than ten years after the 'CMA CGM Libra' grounded outside the port of Xiamen and incurred many millions of dollars in loss and damage, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom delivered judgment in 'Alize 1954 and CMA CGM SA v Allianz Elementary Versicherungs AG and ors' [2021] UKSC 51. The decision of the Supreme Court both clarifies and reinforces the existing historical and international understanding of the extent of the obligation on a carrier to exercise due diligence to make a vessel seaworthy under the Hague Rules, and reflects existing (albeit not recent) Australian jurisprudence on the same point.