INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Yoav Harris, John Harris (1940-2023) and Domiana Abboud, Harris & Co. Shipping & Maritime Law
Worldwide Conflicts A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect on 9 October 2025, following President Trump’s 20-point “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Con - flict”, halting the most recent round of the ongoing con - flict, which began with Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023. The Sumud Flotilla, comprising approximately 50 vessels, attempted to breach the naval blockade imposed on January 2009 on the Gaza shore, which led to a confiscation claim brought by the state of Israel before the Haifa Maritime Court. The court was asked to use the authority vested in it as a prize court by the Colonial Court’s Act 1890 and the Naval Prize Act 1864, through a King’s Order in Council in 1937 rendered during the British Mandate over what was called Palestine-Israel at that time. The Haifa Maritime Court’s authority as a prize court was invoked by the State of Israel’s application for the confiscation of the small vessel named Estelle (2012), and has thereafter been exercised on the vessels Marianne (2016), Zaytuna Olivia (2019) and Freedom (2021). In those cases, the vessels were sold, and the remaining proceeds were awarded to the Israeli Min - istry of Treasury. The present application for confis - cation of the Sumud Flotilla vessels seems to mark another development in this aspect of maritime law, which always evolves according to either the reality of commerce and trade or naval warfare. While confiscation proceedings before the Haifa Mari - time Court are brought before the courts’ adjudication “forthwith, and without bulk broken” in accordance with clause 16 of the Naval Prize Act, the US bomb - ing of vessels described as “Venezuelan drug boats” seems contrary to the principle of freedom of naviga - tion under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which orders that “the high seas are open to all states” (Article 87) and guarantees the right of innocent passage even through territorial seas (Article 17). UNCLOS indeed recognises the right of hot pursuit of a foreign vessel that has violated the laws and regulations of the pursuing state, provided that such pursuit is commenced when the foreign ship is within the territorial sea or the contiguous zone (Arti - cle 111). It also recognises the right of seizure of a pirate ship on the high seas (Article 105) but does not provide any further drastic measures. Moreover,
the US Navy’s Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operation 2007 requires, under clause 7.10, that “captured vessels... are sent to port under bellig - erent jurisdiction as a prize for adjudication by a prize court” and presents a scheme that seems different from the bombing of vessels carried out by US forces. Protests against the Iranian regime could result in a reduction in Iran’s support for its proxies, including the Houthis, who have control of the Bab al-Mandab strait and of navigation in the Red Sea, and who were responsible for more than 100 attacks on navigating vessels between October 2023 and 2025. Although these attacks were intended to disrupt Israel’s ship - ping trade, the main party affected was the Suez Canal itself, which suffered revenue losses amounting to billions of dollars as vessels diverted to an alterna- tive, longer route around Africa. Latest Developments in Autonomous Ships and the MASS Code The technological and legal evolution of autonomous ships is continuing at a rapid pace, particularly for military use. After sinking the Russian ships Ivanovets (on 1 Febru- ary 2024) and Tsezar Kunikov (on 14 February 2024), Ukraine naval drones sunk Sergey Kotov , a patrol ship of the Russian Navy, on 5 March 2024. On 31 Decem - ber 2024, for the first time, a Ukrainian naval drone, Magura 5 , reportedly successfully hit and downed an air target – a Russian Mi-8 helicopter on Crimea’s west coast. On January 2025, Ukraine launched FPV drones via naval drones and hit the Russian air defence system Pantsir-S1 in Kherson region. In May 2025, a world-first event occurred when, reportedly, Ukrainian Magura naval drones succeeded in shooting down two Russian fighter aircraft. These naval drone attacks mark a maritime revolution, with Ukraine lead - ing; it brought naval drones to the world stage in early 2023, with the Sea Baby and Magura V5 , and it has recently introduced new variants of naval drones with extended range and arms. Development of the autonomous shipping industry is evident across both the military and commercial domains. For example, the
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