Our expertise in admiralty and ports
To address maritime incidents, we are on call around the clock and calendar to provide immediate response to, and investigation of, all manner of maritime and other transportation casualties. We regularly work with the International Group of Protection & Indemnity Clubs, Hull and Machinery underwriters, and other domestic and international marine insurers.
We dive deep to provide solutions that are in alignment with your business objectives, executive team and operating style.
Because maritime commerce propels vast components of the global economy, our admiralty and ports team maintains close working relationships with lawyers in other global-economy sectors, such as manufacturing, energy & natural resources and retail & hospitality. Our team also is our clients’ portal to lawyers in related service areas ranging from employment to securities, equipment finance, creditor rights, cybersecurity, real estate and more.
We offer an insatiable curiosity about, and preparation for, the future course of the industry. Together, you and we will navigate emerging legal and compliance developments such as Post-Panamax, multinational trade competition, the expansion of environmental regulations, the potential of autonomous shipping, and the arrival of big data and cyber challenges, to name a few.
What we do
Our industry-focused maritime team has broad industry knowledge, comprehensive resources, and decades of experience advising clients across virtually all aspects of admiralty and maritime law in the UK, US and beyond. We serve shippers and carriers across all maritime asset classes from general cargo ships, product tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, and pure car/truck carriers, to cruise lines, to towing companies, to private owners and manufacturers of yachts and other large seagoing vessels. In our recreational boating division, we act for many major boat builders, personal watercraft makers, and engine and accessory manufacturers, as well as insurers, marinas, boatyards, yacht management companies, and operators.
Our services include around-the-clock emergency response and investigation of casualties involving personal injury and death, pollution incidents, collisions, groundings, machinery failure, dock damage, and cargo loss, as well as to provide immediate response in defending MARPOL criminal matters. We help maritime companies navigate complex commercial litigation and dispute resolution; draft and negotiate intermodal transportation contracts and supply chain agreements; resolve charter party disputes; handle vessel arrest actions; counsel on environmental and other regulatory compliance; and defend enforcement actions, grand jury investigations and criminal charges.
On the transactional front, we advise maritime companies on the structuring of ship sales and purchases, vessel mortgages and other marine finance transactions, including the preparation and recording of bills of sale, preferred ship mortgages, and other finance documentation.
In acting for port owners, operators of ports and port facilities, port users and funders, we’ve developed a deep understanding of what our clients need. We regularly advise in areas such as planning, regulatory issues, marine real estate, competition, insurance, port developments and health and safety incidents.
