Marine and international trade

Advised and represented various owners and their P&I Clubs in lifting arrest orders issued by the Courts of Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, and Khor Fakkan.

Regularly advise and defend bunker claims brought before the UAE Courts.

Assisted management investment fund and bondholders in the enforcement of marine mortgages over three oil rigs in the UAE for an approximate US$650 million claim cross-border litigation involving Oslo, New York, London, and Sharjah.

Advised and represented owners and their P&I Clubs in defending and pursuing claims under a charterparty, including claims related to a lien on cargo, a lien on freight/sub-hire, outstanding hire, bunker off-spec, and disputes under S&P.

Acted for bareboat charterers of a vessel in a dispute with head-owners concerning the head-owners refusal to consent to the change of management of the vessel (which had previously been with an aligned company). We sought and obtained a mandatory injunction from the High Court, which forced head-owners to consent to the change of management. Meanwhile, criminal proceedings were initiated against the Master and the technical managers for theft and piracy before Khor Fakkan Public Prosecution.

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Dispute resolution

Acted for a global auction house in pursuing cross-border civil and criminal proceedings against sellers following a breach of express warranties on the provenance of an item sold.

Assisted a high-profile Saudi individual from the royal family in LMAA arbitration proceedings for early termination of a sale and purchase agreement for a superyacht worth US$47million.

Represented a global shipping line and their IG P&I Club in bringing proceedings before the Dubai Courts against a shipper based in the UAE and a freight forwarder for an indemnity claim following a fine of US$10million imposed by the Turkish customs authority for cargo misdeclaration and an attempt of smuggling cigarettes.

Successfully represented a leading bulk carrier in the UAE in resolving one of the most significant insurance cases in the history of the UAE judicial system. Both the IDSRC and Dubai Courts applied a general principle of English law that permitted our client, the claimant, to recover full legal fees, claim for economic loss, loss of earnings, and consequential losses due to the insurers' delay in settling the CTL amount. The amount awarded to our client was over US$7.7 million.

Enforced marine mortgages over three oil rigs in the UAE for an approximate US$650 million claim. This was a cross-border dispute involving Oslo, New York, London, and Sharjah.

Enforced a New York judgment before the UAE local Court and pierced the corporate veil of a conglomerate group, which resulted in issuing an execution court order to attach assets of subsidiaries and issuing arrest orders over a fleet of 10 vessels beneficially and ultimately owned by the debtor to satisfy a debt of over US$170 million.

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Marine casualty

Advised Standard P&I Club and its members concerning UAE law issues following the catastrophic and deadly fire onboard a container ship. This included advising under the Basel Convention, Hazardous and Noxious Substance disposal issues in various states on the vessel's voyage from the Indian Ocean to the UAE and in relation to the regional anti-pollution legislation and conventions.

Assisted a leading underwriter regarding an explosion and fire onboard an oil tanker off the coast of Sharjah. This included investigating the cause of the incident and interviewing crew members and contractors on board to assist the underwriters in marine coverage issues.

Advised P&I insurers and their assureds in investigating a major oil pollution incident in the port of Aqaba and setting up, for the first time in the history of Jordan, a limitation fund before Aqaba Courts to avoid potential arrests of the assureds' vessel under the local laws and international conventions.

Advised West of England P&I Club and its members (predominately owners of oil tankers and bulk carriers) following the blockage of the Suez Canal, Egypt, by the "Ever Given" container ship. This included advising on the potential liabilities of the owners of the "Ever Given" and the Suez Canal authorities, as well as various liability aspects towards their charterers, traders, consignees, and suppliers in response to the traffic of shipments and goods in both directions of the Suez Canal.

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Finance litigation

Enforcement of a US$320 million New York judgment before the onshore courts in the UAE against the debtor's assets, affiliates, and subsidiaries, after using the DIFC Court as a conduit jurisdiction.

Pursued claims before the Dubai Courts by using lenders' powers under the security documents to recover debts of over US$30 million from a UAE-based guarantor of the borrower's customer. This involves utilising a POA coupled with an interest to establish lenders' locus standi.

Pursued a US$20 million claim before the DIFC Court and precautionary attachments before the UAE local court against various defaulted borrowers and guarantors in facility documents.

Pursued a US$19 million claim against a global oil trader for the wrongful delivery of 25,000 MT of cargo and unjust enrichment. This case involved elements of fraudulent misrepresentation and conspiracy to defraud the investment firm.

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Shipping

Represented a global shipping line and their P&I Club in bringing proceedings before the Dubai Courts against a shipper based in the UAE and a freight forwarder for an indemnity claim following a fine of US$10 million imposed by the Turkish customs authority for cargo misdeclaration and an attempt of smuggling cigarettes.

Advised P&I insurers and their assureds in investigating a major oil pollution incident in the port of Aqaba and setting up, for the first time in the history of Jordan, a limitation fund before Aqaba Courts to avoid potential arrests of the assureds' vessel under the local laws and international conventions.

Successfully represented a leading bulk carrier in the UAE in resolving one of the most significant cases in the history of the UAE judicial system. Both the IDSRC and Dubai Courts applied a general principle of English law that permitted our client, the claimant, to recover legal fees, claim for economic loss, loss of earnings, and consequential losses due to the insurers' delay in settling the CTL amount. The amount awarded to our client was over US$7.7 million.

Assisted an IG P&I Club and their members, global shipping line, in bringing proceedings before the Dubai Courts against a shipper based in the UAE and a freight forwarder for an indemnity claim following a fine of US$10 million imposed by the Turkish customs authority for cargo mis-declaration and potential smuggling of cigarettes.

Advised on a claim before the Dubai Courts, involving the protection of their rights and defending legal proceedings following a claim brought by a cargo claimant for loss of perishable goods which were rejected by the Dubai Municipality as a result of delay in delivery caused by the blockage of the Suez Canal. Defending the freight forwarder in counter proceedings brought by the shipping line for demurrage and return of empty containers held by the consignee.

Advised on a claim before the Dubai Courts in defending legal proceedings brought by a cargo claimant against a freight forwarder and their shipping agent in respect of damage to vegetables shipped from Pakistan to the UAE due to 'hot-stuffing' in reefer containers.

Advised and represented owners and their P&I Clubs in defending and pursuing claims under a charterparty, including claims related to a lien on cargo, a lien on freight/sub-hire, outstanding hire, bunker off-spec, and disputes under S&P.

Enforced marine mortgages over three oil rigs in the UAE for an approximate US$650 million claim. This was a cross-border dispute involving Oslo, New York, London, and Sharjah.

Assisted a state-owned shipping company in securing the release of its vessel over the Islamic weekend in the UAE, and meeting its laycan deadline, following a casualty on board pending a criminal investigation.

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P&I clubs

Advised Standard P&I Club and its members concerning UAE law issues following the catastrophic and deadly fire onboard a container ship. This included advising under the Basel Convention, Hazardous and Noxious Substance disposal issues in various states on the vessel's voyage from the Indian Ocean to the UAE and in relation to regional anti-pollution legislation and conventions.

Regularly instructed by the International Transport Workers' Federation to represent abandoned crew members in the region, including the UAE and Kuwait to claim their wages, defend criminal complaints initiated against some crew members and liaising with various authorities for repatriating them.

Represented and advised TT Club's members, before the Dubai Courts, in defending legal proceedings brought by a cargo claimant against members in respect of alleged mis-delivery of goods in Kuwait.

Represented and advised West of England P&I Club and their members, Fleet Management Ltd, in relation to issues arising under their MLC cover, including representing over 35 crew members of MT Maharshi Vamadeva for the arrest of the vessel in Fujairah, UAE, and recovering their wages and costs of repatriation. This was successfully enforced by way of a class action brought before the Fujairah Court against the Owners.

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Marine insurance

Successfully represented a leading bulk carrier in the UAE in resolving one of the most significant cases in the history of the UAE judicial system. Both the IDSRC and Dubai Courts applied a general principle of English law that permitted our client, the claimant, to recover legal fees, claim for economic loss, loss of earnings, and consequential losses due to the insurers' delay in settling the CTL amount. The amount awarded to our client was over US$7.7 million.

Assisted a leading shipyard and its London underwriters in defending over US$10 million civil claim and criminal proceedings brought against it and its personnel, respectively, following a major fire incident on a customer's tanker during the installation of a scrubber, a new system introduced by the IMO for cutting sulphur oxide emission.

Assisted a leading underwriter regarding an explosion and fire onboard an oil tanker off the coast of Sharjah. This included investigating the cause of the incident and interviewing crew members and contractors on board to assist the underwriters in insurance coverage issues.

Represented underwriters of a rig, Noble Gene House, which sank in Abu Dhabi during a dismantling operation. The owners submitted a claim for US$7.6 million for the removal of the wreckage, pollution and total loss claims. The Court of First Instance decided to dismiss the claim and the judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation to misrepresentation and breach of express warranties.

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