Mr James Shirley > Chambers of Poonam Melwani KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Quadrant Chambers continues to be involved in market-leading cases in shipping, with the set fielding a large number of silks and juniors specialising in maritime matters. In FMG SYDNEY c/w MSC APOLLO, Nigel Jacobs KC acted for the owners of the FMG Sydney in a rare a decision by the Admiralty Court to contribute full liability to one vessel, the MSC Apollo, regarding a collision between the two ships in the approaches to Tianjin in 2020. James Shirley appeared on behalf of RTI in the Supreme Court in MUR Shipping BV v RTI Ltd, a case dealing with a force majeure clause in a contract of affreightment in light of Russian sanctions. Robert Thomas KC led Paul Henton in High Court limitation proceedings arising out of the high-profile grounding of the Ever Given which obstructed the Suez Canal in 2021, opposite a number of other Quadrant silks including Stewart Buckingham KC, John Russell, James Turner KC, and Michael Davey KC. Damaged undersea electricity cables running under the English Channel were the subject of claims in the Bremen Fighter, in which Caroline Pounds was instructed on behalf of the owners of a tug which had transported a dumb barge to the location where its anchor, dragging during a storm, resulted in the damage to the cables.