Quadrant Chambers remains the leading set for shipping matters, with formidable bench strength across silks and juniors, handling the full range of wet and dry shipping disputes. Guy Blackwood KC successfully represented the shipowners in Herculito Maritime Ltd v Gunvor International BV, marking the first detailed Supreme Court ruling on the incorporation of non-jurisdiction clauses into bills of lading, in a case in the wake of a general average claim by shipowners who paid a ransom to Somali pirates. Another significant Supreme Court case, Sharp Corp Ltd v Viterra BV, saw Chirag Karia KC leading Ben Gardner, with the court affirming the ‘principle of mitigation’ as a fundamental tenet of the English law of damages. Unled, Saira Paruk represents the owners of the Asia Ruby III in a claim against the Ever Given limitation fund; after the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal, the Asia Ruby III suffered damage to avoid running into the back of another vessel. Andrew Stevens joined from 4 Pump Court in September 2025, having appeared in Amyr Trading v Eternus Group, successfully obtaining the discharge of an ex parte injunction preventing the sale of a cargo of Venezuelan oil products.
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Position
Barrister specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration. Saira practises across the full range of chambers’ areas of expertise, including shipping, carriage of goods by land, air and sea, sale of goods, insurance and reinsurance, conflicts of laws, aviation and travel and general commercial and contractual disputes. She also has experience in insolvency, company law and chancery matters. Much of Saira’s practice involves arbitration, but recent court cases include: Specialised Vessel Services Ltd v MOP Marine Nigeria Ltd [2021] EWHC 333 (Comm); The Gravity Highway v The Maritime Maisie [2020] EWHC 1697 (Comm);
QBE Europe SA/NV v Generali Espana de Seguros Y Reaseguros [2022] EWHC 2062 (Comm); Robertson v Bembridge Harbour Improvements Co Ltd [2021] EWHC 1025 (Comm).
For further details please visit www.quadrantchambers.com.
Career
Called 2004, Lincoln’s Inn.
Languages
French, German.
Memberships
COMBAR.
Education
Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls, Herts; St Hilda’s College, Oxford (2003 MA Oxon Law with French Law and 2005 BCL); University of Paris II (2002 Diploma in French Law).
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘ Saira is a pleasure to work with and focusses on how to present arguments in a simple and compelling way. ’