But we also have a very successful track record in court proceedings and arbitrations in the remaining cases.
Acting for a shipowner in a multi-million dispute with the cargo owners following a ship casualty concerning the recoverability of losses in general average and calculation of the ship’s contributory value.
Acted for the buyers of two containerships which were under construction in South Korea in a substantial dispute concerning the quality of the building works following the discovery of serious welding defects leading to the cancellation of the contracts.
Acted for an English insurance company defending claims before Greek courts against its assured marina management company.
Acted for a Greek shipyard against the shipowners of a car carrier vessel, securing and collecting their claim for payment for repairs carried out at the yard.
A London arbitration in which the client was an operator who claimed US$1.4 million freight and demurrage from a shipper in India. The first phase of the case concerned the hearing of the shipper's jurisdiction challenge. The shipper raised various complex legal points, key amongst which was whether a FOB seller concludes a contract of carriage as principal or only as agent for the FOB buyer. In its award the tribunal, which included a silk, accepted the client's case on this and all other legal issues. The second phase dealt with the client's substantive claims and the client succeeded in persuading the tribunal that the charterparty demurrage regime was incorporated into the bill of lading despite the House of Lords' judgment in The Miramar stating that such incorporation was contrary to commercial sense. The tribunal awarded the client the US$1.4 million it claimed plus interest and costs.
This is a recent reported judgement on demurrage time bars, acting for the successful appellants against an arbitration award, under s. 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
This is a reported Commercial Court and Court of Appeal set of judgments, in a complex application for an anti-suit injunction with regards to a claim worth US$1 million, in which the client was successful both in the Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal. The judgments are important because they clarified the law on the incorporation of a charterparty’s jurisdiction clauses into a bill of lading, and they are referred to in the leading textbooks, Voyage Charters and Bills of Lading (Informa press).
This reported case concerned the owner client’s successful claim for US$5 million of demurrage. The judgment is an important authority on the construction of force majeure clauses in charterparties, and on the enforceability of performance guarantees. It also altered the long-established definition of a ‘safe port’ for the purposes of safe port warranties that frequently appear in time and voyage charterparties.
Acted in a case concerning fraudulent bills of lading where a worldwide freezing injunction was obtained for the vessel’s owners and handled the multi-jurisdictional aspects arising out of this.
Involved with a series of O.W. Bunker cases resulting in The Res Cogitans test case going to the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2016.
A reported High Court decision concerning whether lost profit can be claimed as a ‘consequential loss’ under a shipbuilding contract.
A reported High Court decision concerning when the time charterer does/does not pay hire follow seizure and detention of the vessel by pirates.
Acted for the owners of a Capesize bulk carrier in an indemnity claim against time charterers following the collision of the vessel with a bunkering barge off Busan which caused significant pollution and substantial claims against the owners.
Acting for owners in a very substantial claim against charterers concerning a cargo hold explosion during a voyage from China to the United States caused by the shipment of undeclared dangerous cargoes.
Acting for the owners of three vessels in multi-jurisdictional enforcement proceedings against their defaulting charterers.
Handled the Sea Diamond high-profile Greek case arising from the sinking of a passenger ferry at Santorini, Greece.
Handled the Norman Atlantic high-profile case arising from a fire on board a ferry boat in the Adriatic Sea after sailing from Greece.
