Law firm Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance has strengthened its marine and international trade practice with the appointment of John Simpson as partner. Simpson joins the firm from Ince & Co, where he was the Singapore office managing partner.

Simpson has nearly 20 years' experience advising on marine-related disputes, offshore oil and gas, and international trade. He advises on disputes involving charterparties, bills of lading, shipbuilding and contractual disputes arising in the aftermath of casualties. He regularly handles large scale disputes involving subsea construction, drillships and FPSOs. He also advises on contracts and disputes in relation to the trade of oil, bulk cargoes (including coal and iron ore) and LME metals. He has particular experience drafting and advising on disputes in relation to contracts for port services.

Simpson's clients include multinational metals and petroleum companies, major contractors to energy companies, P&I Clubs, shipowners and builders, charterers, international insurers and reinsurers, and global banks. A recognised expert in his field, Simpson is on the Advisory Board to the Centre for Maritime Law of the National University of Singapore and a board member of the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA). In 2013, Simpson was part of the drafting committee for a new Singapore form of time charter, which resulted in Singapore and SCMA becoming one of the default law and jurisdiction choices.

"The firm's marine and international trade team has had an excellent few years – both in terms of growth, and of quality and range of mandate – and 2019 is looking to be another strong year," said Daryll Ng, head of dispute resolution, Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance. "John's extensive offshore oil and gas experience is a valuable addition to the team's capabilities, and his marine-related disputes practice will complement our existing dispute resolution capabilities in Singapore, as well as those of our international offices. John's vast experience in advising on arbitration in Singapore, London, Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia will certainly be an asset, to the firm and our clients, given the exponential growth of arbitration – in Southeast Asia and globally – over recent years."

The Stephenson Harwood MIT practice offers services to clients in the shipping, offshore and commodity sectors. Clients include many of the world's largest shipowners, shipyards, major ship finance banks, marine insurers and IG P&I clubs, energy services companies, oil and gas companies and commodities traders. In 2017, the firm received the 'Maritime Law Award' at the Seatrade Maritime Awards Asia, the 'Maritime Law Award' at the Lloyd's List Global Awards, 'International Shipping & Aviation Firm of the Year' at the China Law & Practice Awards, and 'Transport Law Firm of the Year' at the Legal 500 UK Awards.