A recent decision of a specialist tribunal in Dubai could have
far-reaching consequences for the maritime industry. In this
article Robert Thomas QC, of Quadrant Chambers, and Robert Lawrence
and Leonard Soudagar, of Clyde & Co, examine how it is now
possible, in certain circumstances, for a shipowner to set up a
limitation fund in the UAE. The decision is of interest to
shipowners worldwide given the low limits that would apply and the
scope for the specialist tribunal to hear disputes that are
entirely unconnected with the UAE, but there is a real concern that
there is now an uneven playing field in the UAE.
There is clear anecdotal evidence
that the "on shore" courts in the UAE have been unwilling
to grant limitation decrees or permit limitation funds to be
constituted even in obvious cases.
