India is known for its rich maritime geography, with its nine coastal states and union territories hosting numerous ports, each playing a significant role in the maritime economy. The terms Admiralty and Maritime are often used together, but originally, Admiralty refers to a specific court in England and the American colonies that handled legal disputes involving contracts or torts (civil wrongdoings) occurring on the high seas, beyond the jurisdiction of any nation's land borders.

Substantive maritime law developed through the expansion of Admiralty court jurisdiction, which came to encompass all activities related to the high seas and similar activities on navigable waters.

Maritime law refers to a body of law that deals with shipping and navigation, whereas Admiralty law is a branch of jurisprudence that regulates maritime matters of both civil and criminal nature, and it involves a court or tribunal administering maritime law through its own unique procedures.

With the advent of globalisation, the maritime industry has grown significantly and has become a cornerstone of domestic and international trade and commerce. As the ongoing rapid developments in the maritime industry has increased in huge numbers, the disputes have also took a toll in between.

To address these maritime disputes, there have been taken many steps to avoid traditional court litigation and put more emphasise on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) like Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation. Maritime Arbitration is one of the preferred method to resolve disputes and it has its roots back in International commercial arbitration.

While both types of arbitration focuses on resolving disputes between parties from different countries, maritime arbitration has a unique character due to its specialised focus on shipping, trade and navigation. It is usually seen that there is always an arbitration clause in Shipping contracts. So it makes it easy to resolve disputes through arbitration rather than approaching the traditional litigation.

Evolution Of Maritime Arbitration In India:
India was known for its import and export of various goods and a major business hub during the British colonial era. All that used to happen at the ports of Presidency states like Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and others which were governed under the East India Company.

So precisely the admiralty statutes were made by the Britishers which granted the Presidency High Courts in India to have the power to handle the disputes regarding maritime cases like arrest of ships, detention, sale and other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Even after India gained Independence, these colonial admiralty statutes were still applicable and heavy judicial interpretation was relied in maritime matters.

It was then in the case of M.V Elizabeth vs Harwan Investment and Technology Pvt Ltd the Supreme Court for the very first time relied upon the Principles of International Conventions of Maritime laws which were applicable vis-a-vis to the Indian law as the Indian Admiralty laws very outdated. The Supreme Court further issued directions for the prompt enactment to address the issue of these outdated admiralty laws and thus the 151st Report on Admiralty Law was issued by the Law Commission of India in 1994.

Then a bill pertaining to Admiralty law was proposed in the Lok Sabha in 2005 but it could not get materialise into law. Then finally The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017 was enacted. The act repealed the colonial law and added seven High courts situated in coastal Indian States to have jurisdiction over admiralty matters.

The act addresses maritime disputes in two typical categories i.e. in Personam and in rem. similar to the other forms of arbitration, maritime arbitration typically arises from a contractual arbitration clause which is of utmost importance. It includes all the details of the arbitration like seat of arbitration, procedures to be followed etc. however the language of the arbitration clauses should be clear and precise otherwise it can lead the courts to interfere in middle just like it happened in the case of Harmony Innovation Shipping Ltd. vs Gupta Coal India Ltd.

But then there is always a lacuna in the law. So the courts can create their own procedural solutions and interpret in a way in which it protects the rights of innocent claimants or defendants. Recently in the case of OSV Crest Mercury 1 (IMO 9724398) vs. Vision Projects Technologies Pvt. Ltd. , the Bombay High Court addressed the relationship between arbitration proceedings and admiralty suits.

The court ruled that an admiralty suit for an arrest of a ship may still be maintained while arbitration is still ongoing. This ruling emphasises the idea that parties may pursue admiralty remedies in addition to arbitration, enabling the detention of a vessel during arbitration proceedings.

This ruling highlights that High Court's Admiralty jurisdiction over admiralty cases and makes it clear that a party may pursue quick remedy through admiralty measures, including the arrest of a ship, in order to establish their rights, even in cases where there is an arbitration agreement. This decision also quietly clarifies the procedural interactions between admiralty litigation and arbitration, which is very crucial for maritime law.

International Point Of View:
So far, International maritime law has been way more progressive due the uniform standards and consistent norms. Thats why Indian Maritime law is one of the most neglected part of commercial law in India. All the shipping disputes are highly relied and preferred on arbitration as a mean to resolute. Despite the international processes for resolving maritime disputes are well-established and well acknowledged, the Indian framework for resolving maritime disputes is still in its early stages and faces obstacles with regard to international recognition and efficiency.

While the other countries have their own Arbitration and Mediation centres for solving marine and shipping disputes like London, Singapore, Hong Kong etc., India's first Arbitration centre dedicated to maritime disputes was launched as Gujarat International Maritime Arbitration Centre (GIMAC) which is a small significant step in country's maritime arbitration landscape.

Although it could be viewed as a "small baby-step" in the bigger picture of international arbitration, this still represents an important step forward for India's expanding marine sector and future forward thinking. The London Maritime Arbitration Association continues to be a pioneer for solving shipping disputes in London. It can be also viewed in Cargill International S.A v. Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries Corporation where the seat of Arbitration was decided as London as a neutral venue.

Lately in the news, Shanghai has been decided to host a Landmark International Maritime Arbitration case at North Bund where two companies mutually decided to conduct arbitration proceedings in the city to resolve their disputes swiftly which includes the appointment of an arbitrator by both parties to settle the dispute swiftly and it thus marks the first Maritime interim Arbitration case in China with a foreign component.

Conclusion And Way Ahead:
In conclusion it is clearly evident that Maritime industry continues to develop and Maritime arbitration has also gained a lot of popularity both, Internationally as well as in India. It has met with a lot of demands like historical changes, Admiralty law frameworks, etc. It can be also seen that Maritime arbitration is heavily impacted by its nature of dispute and it still does lag behind from both global and Indian stage perspective.

The enactment of the Admiralty Act, 2017 and the launch of Gujarat International Maritime Arbitration Centre (GIMAC) has marked a significant step forward plus the Indian courts acting as neutral evaluators whenever the arbitration or any maritime dispute comes into litigation. Though India still continues to develop its maritime arbitration framework, it does have the potential to be a future International Maritime Arbitration and Dispute resolution hub and thus enhancing its role in global trade as well.