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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Profile
Work Department
Commercial litigation.
Position
Ben is a commercial barrister, with a particular focus on international arbitration, commodities, shipping, energy and insurance work. Much of his work is in international arbitration, including under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, LMAA, SIAC, HKIAC and DIAC and in jurisdictions including Dubai, Geneva, The Hague, Hong Kong, Paris and Singapore. He also appears regularly in the English Courts, including in three Supreme Court cases (JTI Polska v Jakubowski [2023] 3 WLR 50, The New Flamenco [2017] 1 WLR 2581 and Versloot Dredging v HDI Gerling [2017] AC 1).
For a detailed CV, please visit www.quadrantchambers.com.
Career
MA (Cantab), LLM (Cantab), LLM (Harvard)
Called 2010; Middle Temple
Memberships
COMBAR; LMAA (supporting member); ICC YAF; TECBAR; Chancery Bar Association
Education
MA, Double First (Cantab.); LLM, First (Cantab.); LLM (Harvard).
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