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  1. Shipping
  2. Leading individuals

Leading individuals

Al Tamimi & Company has ‘one of the best local advocacy practices in the region, with excellent knowledge of maritime law’. Its expertise covers contentious and non-contentious work, from shipbuilding and finance work, to wet and dry claims. In 2012, it acted for Agility Logistics in the arrest of a vessel at Johor Port in Malaysia and the release of cargo, and advised Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on the AED900m sale of its fleet to ADNATCO. Practice head Yazan Saoudi and Omar Omar are ‘well versed in local and international maritime laws’.

Clyde & Co LLP’s clients ‘cannot praise the shipping team highly enough’. The practice’s regional footprint attracts work from across the GCC, and its dedicated demurrage department witnessed a growth in instructions in 2012. Highlights included representing Millennium Offshore Services in chartering negotiations and arrangements for a multi-year charter of a jack-up accommodation rig to a major oil corporation. Irvine Marr heads the team, with dispute resolution head Christopher Mills providing contentious expertise. Senior associate Robert Lawrence ‘impresses with his grasp of the key issues and assessment of how far to go in negotiations’.

Dentons’s ‘vast knowledge of the ship finance market in the Middle East’ ensures ‘smooth and swift conclusion of deals in a tough region’. Its transactional capability spans conventional and shari’ah-compliant ship finance work, acting for lenders such as Standard Chartered as well as regional borrowers such as Khalid Faraj Shipping. Paul Jarvis’ team represented HSBC Middle East in the financing of a second-hand ship and a newbuild, the latter involving dual registries for the registration of the mortgage in Cayman Islands and the vessel in Azerbaijan.

Hadef & Partners’ shipping practice is ‘infinitely approachable, responsive and practical’, and its team of local law experts ‘almost always has the correct answer’. In 2012, the firm worked on various new ship finance loans, largely due to increased appetite among established regional players, and was kept busy with shipping disputes. It acted for Maersk Line in defending Dubai court proceedings brought by cargo receivers, and acted as UAE counsel to Standard Chartered on a $45m Korean ECA-backed facility made available to Gulf Energy Maritime to finance the construction of an Aframax LR2 vessel. Erik Muthow is ‘particularly strong in shipping disputes’.

Holman Fenwick Willan LLP’s sizeable team of dedicated shipping specialists ‘always delivers high-quality advice’, and the firm combines a leading casualty practice with strong non-contentious capability. Highlights included representing Stanford Marine Group in obtaining a five-year, $175m senior secured club facility, which includes dual currency tranches and both conventional and shari’ah-compliant murabaha tranches, an innovative structure that represents a first for the region. Edward Newitt returned to the London office in 2012 but remains focused on the Middle East, with disputes specialist Hugh Brown relocating to Dubai. Practice head Simon Cartwright is highly recommended.

Fichte & Co has played a key role in the maritime sector since its formation in 2005, and has amassed a team of dual-qualified shipping experts that handles the full spectrum of maritime work for international clients and government-related entities. In 2012, it acted for Gulf Energy Maritime PJSC in the part-financing of the acquisition of two Aframax LR2 vessels currently under construction and valued at $120m. Alessandro Tricoli led on that deal, and is a respected figure on ship finance deals. Jasamin Fichte has extensive experience in wet and dry claims.

Ince & Co is highly rated for its ‘specialist knowledge of casualty claims, and for its responsiveness’. The team has been acting in an increasing number of high-profile cases. Highlights included representing the owners of the Desh Bhakt and the North of England P&I Association in a cargo contamination claim before the Dubai Court. Graham Crane has ‘a great deal of maritime expertise’.

Reed Smith is ‘an excellent firm with a high standard of lawyers devoted to maritime matters’, with practice head Adam Morgan singled out for his ‘excellent industry knowledge and ability to get the deal completed’. The practice continues to handle a variety of corporate and ship finance matters for clients such as Eagle Shipping and APM Terminals, and is particularly valued for its experience in the superyacht space.

Afridi & Angell’s broad-based maritime practice covers collision and cargo claims, shipbuilding contracts, insurance and regulatory matters, and ship finance. Bashir Ahmed and C Chakradaran are the key figures.

Galadari & Associates is ‘agile enough to adjust to the client’s needs and still give quality advice based on their working knowledge of the legal system in the UAE’. It is an approach that has netted a number of high-profile mandates, including ship piracy claims, shipbuilding disputes and loan restructuring. Iqbal Lala ‘thinks outside the box and spends the time to come up with a strategy to push things forward’.

Press releases

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Legal Developments in United Arab Emirates

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • Legal Aspects of Medical Practice in UAE - Reportable Events, Crimes and Civil Wrongs

    1. According to recently published statistics, the UAE’s medical tourism market was worth $1.58 billion in 2012 and this is expected to grow a further 6.5 per cent to $1.69 billion in 2013. The UAE- with its predominately expatriate population of around 8 million- and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are- it seems- the two jurisdictions in the GCC where the demand for medical services- and the appetite to cater to this demand- is booming. The two "senior" Emirates in the seven member federation- Dubai and Abu Dhabi- have broadly similar demographics, hospital beds and medical practitioners although in Dubai the private sector is substantially larger than the public sector whilst the reverse is the case in Abu Dhabi.
  • Construction Law & Practice, as published in The European Lawyer (Thomson Reuters)

    1. Construction industry overview for the jurisdiction
  • Arbitration in Dubai, March 2013 by Daniel Brawn, Galadari

    The Emirate of Dubai has long been a centre for trade and commercial activity and such activity will inevitably generate disputes. In Arabic culture, traders endeavour to settle their disputes by negotiation, either between themselves or under the guidance of a leading citizen. The growth of international trade and investment has brought a wider range of disputes and Dubai has sought recently to place itself as a centre for commercial dispute resolution. Parties to international contracts are generally unwilling to submit their disputes to the Dubai Courts, with proceedings conducted in Arabic, and therefore international contracts generally include provisions for disputes to be resolved by arbitration. The law is developing rapidly in Dubai and the purpose of this article is to provide an insight into current arbitration practice at this exciting stage of its development.
  • Getting it off the ground: the Jointly Owned Property Law in Dubai

    The original version of this article was published in Practical Law, Multi-Jurisdictional Guide to Corporate Real Estate, 2012/2013
  • DIFC EMPLOYMENT LAW: WHY 2013 WON’T BE LIKE 2005

    "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like "1984""
  • MLC 2006-WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE SHIPOWNER AND THE COMMON SEAFARER?

    On 7 February 2006, the ILO, a United Nations agency, established the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006). According to the convention, all commercial ships over 500 GT trading internationally will require a Maritime Labour Certificate and a Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance. The convention will also apply to ships below 500 GT or those operating on domestic trades (within the flag’s territorial waters) but will not require certification, only inspection.
  • MLC 2006 - Update

    This article on the MLC 2006 is to provide you with an update and developments regarding the convention. An estimated 90% of world trade is carried on ships and seafarers are essential and integral part of international trade and the international economic and trade system in general.
  • The Reluctant Poacher - Focusing on the fundamentals

    Foreign labour migration in the UAE (and, indeed, the AGCC in general) is characteristically transient, a trait which is further exacerbated by the increasing liberalisation of local sponsorship transfer rules. The departure of the original employer's talent pool to a competitor will inevitably impact upon its business, especially if the departures lead to loss of key customers or clients, damage to the company’s competitive edge and other critical elements of profitability. Mandeep Kalsi reports
  • Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards against UAE counterparties

    The merits and de-merits for seating arbitration in the DIFC using the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Rules for contracts with UAE counterparties are explored by Reema Ashraf, Jonathan Brown and Valeria Lysenko.
  • When boom turns to bust: protective measures in the UAE engineering and construction industry

    In this article Anthony Edwards considers the extent to which the Dubai legal framework has served the construction industry in terms of protecting parties from the consequences of what happens when the boom times turn to bust. This article is the first in a series by Hadef & Partners’ Engineering & Construction Group.

Press Releases worldwide

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