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30 October 2009 / Michael L Nash
Issue: 7391 / Categories: Opinion , Commercial
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A maritime mystery

Piracy has always had a spurious glamour. Since the 17th century no case has appeared in Europe. The “Brethren of the Coast” had effectively been controlled even in the Caribbean. However the saga of the Arctic Star, which disappeared at the end of July, has proved more surreal than the Hollywood film, Pirates of the Caribbean.

Piracy has always had a spurious glamour. Since the 17th century no case has appeared in Europe. The “Brethren of the Coast” had effectively been controlled even in the Caribbean. However the saga of the Arctic Star, which disappeared at the end of July, has proved more surreal than the Hollywood film, Pirates of the Caribbean.

The unanswered questions surrounding this ship, its disappearance and reappearance continue. Whatever the outcome, the legal dimension needs to be addressed and analysed. Clearly things happened which should not have happened.

Background

The convoluted story of the ship’s voyage involved an alleged hijacking off the coast of Sweden—after it had sailed from Finland, its close monitoring in the Channel, its disappearance

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NEWS

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
The long-running Mazur saga edged towards its finale as the Court of Appeal heard arguments on whether non-solicitors can ‘conduct litigation’. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School reports from a packed courtroom where 16 wigs watched Nick Bacon KC argue that Mr Justice Sheldon had failed to distinguish between ‘tasks and responsibilities’
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
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