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  • Shipping disputes and contracts

    Day to day shipping involves understanding the allocation of risk between the various stakeholders. Often disputes arise when that risk allocation is misunderstood and we have a wide range of real-world experience to make sure that you understand the legal consequences of short term decision making. Our aim is to help to resolve disputes without damaging important commercial relationships.
    Learn more

  • Admiralty law and casualties

    We have handled many high profile casualties including groundings in sensitive waters, fires, collisions as well as hijackings and kidnappings. We fully understand the issues that arise such as pollution, GA and transhipment of cargo. We provide a casualty response expertise: assisting in forum selection, ship arrest, limitation of liability, evidence collection and analysis and contract selection from LOF through to bunker removals and wreck removal.
    Learn more

  • Piracy and security

    The world does not get any safer and it is difficult not to transit across waters where coastal states are subject to internal conflict and where your vessels are not potentially exposed to collateral damage from attacks by warring factions or criminal gangs.

    Learn more

  • Marine insurance

    Whatever your role in a maritime venture you will want to make sure that your commercial risk is insured. We provide contentious and advisory services to all stakeholders.

    Learn more

  • Offshore

    Whether you are an oil, drilling, or service company or an insurer we are experienced in reviewing contracts and in dispute resolution.

    Learn more

  • International trade

    When goods are delayed or their condition differs from what is expected, parties to sale contracts need on the spot advice as to what can and can’t be done against the counterparty and possibly against a transport provider, and as to what practical and legal steps to take to minimise exposure and to secure the best possible recovery.

    Learn more

  • Aviation

    We fly high! Aviation lawyers with an intimate understanding of the industry, and an approach that prioritises speed, straight talking and flexibility. Providing solutions that work for you.

    Learn more
  1. Shipping disputes and contracts
  2. Admiralty law and casualties
  3. Piracy and security
  4. Marine insurance
  5. Offshore
  6. International trade
  7. Aviation
Shipping disputes and contracts

Shipping disputes and contracts

Day to day shipping involves understanding the allocation of risk between the various stakeholders. Often disputes arise when that risk allocation is misunderstood and we have a wide range of real-world experience to make sure that you understand the legal consequences of short term decision making. Our aim is to help to resolve disputes without damaging important commercial relationships.
Learn more
Admiralty law and casualties

Admiralty law and casualties

We have handled many high profile casualties including groundings in sensitive waters, fires, collisions as well as hijackings and kidnappings. We fully understand the issues that arise such as pollution, GA and transhipment of cargo. We provide a casualty response expertise: assisting in forum selection, ship arrest, limitation of liability, evidence collection and analysis and contract selection from LOF through to bunker removals and wreck removal.
Learn more
Piracy and security

Piracy and security

The world does not get any safer and it is difficult not to transit across waters where coastal states are subject to internal conflict and where your vessels are not potentially exposed to collateral damage from attacks by warring factions or criminal gangs.

Learn more
Marine insurance

Marine insurance

Whatever your role in a maritime venture you will want to make sure that your commercial risk is insured. We provide contentious and advisory services to all stakeholders.

Learn more
Offshore

Offshore

Whether you are an oil, drilling, or service company or an insurer we are experienced in reviewing contracts and in dispute resolution.

Learn more
International trade

International trade

When goods are delayed or their condition differs from what is expected, parties to sale contracts need on the spot advice as to what can and can’t be done against the counterparty and possibly against a transport provider, and as to what practical and legal steps to take to minimise exposure and to secure the best possible recovery.

Learn more
Aviation

Aviation

We fly high! Aviation lawyers with an intimate understanding of the industry, and an approach that prioritises speed, straight talking and flexibility. Providing solutions that work for you.

Learn more

Latest knowledge

All knowledge
NEWS & KNOWLEDGE

Unlawful Detentions off Indonesia?

  The detention of vessels in and around the Singapore Straits by the Indonesian Navy in recent months (following an earlier cluster of cases in 2019) has presented challenges to the shipowners involved.  It raises difficult issues in respect to what constitutes “innocent passage” and the tensions between that fundamental right under the law of […]

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Tatham & Co win Law Society’s Small Law Firm of the Year Award   »

Big news for the firm was that we recently won the Law Society Award for Small Firm of the Year 2021. This was mainly for our work around helping owners whose ships were attacked and hijacked during the last year and in previous years building on the success we had with the Chennai 6. The […]
container
How ultra-large ships pose high salvage challenges   »

A theme of this year’s London International Shipping Week was container ships, coinciding with the first visit to Felixstowe of one of the new class of ultra-large 24,000-TEU vessels. Even much smaller container ships pose a marine claims challenge when a voyage goes wrong. We are not infrequently reminded that Napoli, which was beached in […]
Cargo owners will shoulder Ever Given salvage payments   »

It has been more than two months since salvors unblocked the Suez Canal by refloating 20,000-TEU container ship Ever Given and yet the vessel remains in Egypt awaiting compensation payments and its release. If discussions do not result in a compromise, it is the receivers of cargo on board Ever Given that will continue to bear the brunt of […]
NEWS & KNOWLEDGE

Mv “Ever Smart” in collision with vlcc “Alexandra 1” [2021]

Vessels crossing at the entrance to narrow channels – the COLREGS clarified by the English Supreme Court   In the first of two articles, we examine this important decision on its facts and in the second, the practical lessons to be learned. It is commonplace for collisions to occur because the outbound ship is dropping […]

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Mv “Ever Smart” in collision with vlcc “Alexandra 1” [2021] – further commentary   »

Vessels Crossing at the entrance to narrow channels – the COLREGS clarified by the English Supreme Court – Part II   In this second of two articles we consider the likely outcome on apportionment of liability and analyse the practical implications of this decision for mariners and fleet superintendents. We also point out circumstances in which there […]

Featured case studies

All case studies

Grounding and Total Loss in Brazil – caution needed when taking on Uncle Sam

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Trading to Yemen

We have particularly good experience in dealing with vessels caught up in complex environments made difficult or dangerous by war, geo-political issues or simply a capricious judicial system.

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West Africa – Piracy during the Pandemic

There is anecdotal evidence that the gangs operating off West Africa (and it remains the case that most kidnappings are carried out by Nigerian gangs) have become more sophisticated. It is believed that attacks are carried out by one gang and the victims then “sold” to another who carry out the negotiations.

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