Shipping and Trade

Our Shipping and Trade practice has been the market leader for over 100 years. Our specialist lawyers have in-depth industry knowledge and experience, and with their expertise across Australian law and international maritime conventions, are able to provide our clients with cost efficient, commercial, and strategic legal support to help navigate the ever-increasing geopolitical risks, disruptions to trade and supply routes, increased tariffs, carbon emissions-reduction plans and ongoing regulatory reforms.

We assist clients in all aspects of wet and dry shipping, both contentious and non-contentious, as well as corporate, commercial, insurance, regulatory, environmental and trade law. We advise shipowners, operators, charterers, ports, P&I and H&M insurers, mining, and logistic companies. Our work includes ship finance, sale & purchase, shipbuilding, offshore energy, casualty response and ship arrests.

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Shipping and Trade

Our experience

  • P&I Clubs Acting for most of the members of the International Group of P&I Clubs in matters covering cargo claims, defence of prosecutions and civil claims arising from major oil spills, CTL, wreck removal, personal injuries, groundings on Great Barrier Reef and related salvage.
  • Carriage of goods and chartering of vessels Advising owners and cargo interests in relation to the carriage of goods by sea and chartering of vessels, including long term shipping contracts for large importers.
  • Marine casualties occurring on ships, pleasure craft and ports Acting for shipowners and operators, port terminals, warehouse and logistic operators, and their insurers in all aspects of death, personal injury, and property damage liability (including statutory liability) arising from marine casualties.
  • Ship sale & purchase Advising on all aspects of ship sale & purchase transactions, ranging from small pleasure craft and luxury motor yachts to commercial barges, tugs, dredgers, ferries and blue water vessels, including obligations under the Hong Kong and Basel conventions.
  • Ports Advising on and drafting port access and user terms and conditions.
  • Offshore Advising on the deployment of an FPSO off Australia, including compliance and regulatory support, under a 15 year contract, and acting for a subsea telecommunications cable supplier on a claim arising out of damage to a subsea cable caused by a ship off the Western Australian coast.
  • Trade and Customs Advising Australian and global distributors on all aspects of customs and trade law including sanctions compliance, Free Trade Agreements, Customs duties and prohibited exports, including dangerous goods and the prohibitions applicable to dual-purpose goods.
  • Commodities Advising on chartering, sales contracts, trade finance and conducted disputes in commodity specific and domestic and international arbitrations including ICC, FOSFA, GAFTA, LMAA, SCMA and SIAC.
  • Ship Arrest Advising shipowners and their insurers in relation to applications for and defending ship arrests in Australia. We also regularly assist the Admiralty Marshal of the Federal Court of Australia in relation to judicial sale of ships.
  • Logistics Advising logistics companies in connection with renewable energy project’s contracting and securities, commercial risk management, specialised leasing and customer contracting including Service Level Agreements, lien disputes and 4PL and 5PL contracting.
  • Marine insurance Acting for insurers and insureds on marine insurance disputes and advising on P&I and H&M insurance, marine cargo insurance, forwarder liability and charterers’ liability P&I.
  • Cruise and tour operators Advising on the regulatory environment for businesses in Australia, purchase and refurbishment of cruise vessels, ownership and flag structuring, coastal trading, vessel importation, crew visas, tax, and passenger and charter contracting.