| Marine Casualties And Pollution 'Wet' Work |
We have expertise in a wide variety of ‘wet’ work, having been involved in virtually every major casualty involving sinkings, collisions, explosions, fires, strandings, marine pollution, salvage and average incidents that have occurred in Singapore as well as in the region over the years. The partners in the team are Jainil Bhandari, who practices both in Singapore and Malaysia, and Leong Kah Wah. The depth of our practice is further enhanced by our resident master mariner, Captain Jerry Lau.
The services we provide include casualty management, investigation and resolution of regulatory issues, advice on marine pollution liability, advice on rights and liabilities, and resolution of disputes arising from casualties.
We have worked on some of the more prominent cases in the region, a sample of which include:
- The explosion and flash fire on board the tanker, the Almudaina, which killed several workers whilst she was docked in Keppel Shipyard
- The two worst incidents in Singapore’s history of passenger liner casualties, the sinking of the Royal Pacific and the Sun Vista
- The other two main passenger liner casualties in Singapore’s history, the fire on board the passenger liner Superstar Gemini and the collision between the passenger liner Langkapuri Star Aquarius and the tanker Stresa
- The worst marine oil pollution to affect Singapore, the collision between the Evoikos and the Orapin Global, where the group represented the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
- The collisions off Singapore between the Herceg Novi and the Ming Galaxy, a case involving forum shopping and one of the few substantial collision cases heard in Singapore in recent history
- The massive sinking of cargo laden on board MV Hyundai 105,which was a car carrier which sank (with 4,000 cars on board) following a collision with the tanker, MT Kaminesan, in Singapore waters near Sentosa
- One of the world’s worst oil pollution incidents that arose from the break up of the Nadhodka off Japan
- The collision off Bangkok between the container vessel Nanta Bhum and the Kapitan Shvetsov, a significant case involving the law on forum shopping and limitation of liability
| Ship Building, Conversion And Repair |
Our firm has over the years built up a very significant capability to advise on ship building, repair and conversion disputes. Partners Winston Kwek, Philip Tay, and Raymond Ong lead our practice in this increasingly important and growing area. Our partners have been involved in some of the most significant ship building, repair and conversion cases in Singapore, including the largest shipbuilding dispute in Singapore history, the Solitaire dispute. The dispute has also resulted in what is believed to be the largest ship building, repair and conversion arbitration in the London Market. Other cases include the landmark PT Bumi International Tankers which concerned the position of leapfrog claims over the main contracting shipyard against the engine supplier.
Over the years, the scope of work in this field has drastically enlarged. The work is no longer restricted to the ‘traditional’ issues of shipyard / shipowner disputes and has matured into a complex and specialised practice involving specialised issues relating to the shipbuilding and repair disciplines, such as the complex issues of work and task scheduling and interdependent sequencing between the different construction disciplines, design issues, prolongation, disruption and acceleration costs issues relating to time and cost overruns, work variations and additional works and quality issues of newbuilding, repairs and conversion.
Another important aspect of the ‘modern’ ship building, repair and conversion practice is the ship building or repair related casualties ie fires and explosions on vessels undergoing repairs. In this area, we have represented and advised H & M insurers, shipyard insurers, owners and shipyards on different occasions in some of the most serious ship building related casualties in Singapore. Our familiarity with the prevailing shipyard and shipbuilding legislation, rules and regulations, codes of practices, as well as shipyard terms and conditions and our extensive dealings with the workings of the regulating authorities in situations involving explosions, and fires on board vessels has been called into play.
We handle all aspects of disputes relating to oil shipment and trading, spanning Platts’ disputes to oil trading arrangements and other quantity and quality issues, and represent some of the biggest names in the oil industry.
Our most notable cases include:
- The Nadhodka oil pollution, where we advised the International Oil Pollution Fund on part of its recovery efforts
- The Evoikos and the Orapin Global collision, where we advised the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore in the oil pollution incident
- The collapse of Metro, one of the worst corporate failures in the oil industry in recent history, where we were involved in the multimillion dollar claim in the Singapore High Court
- The Shravan, a leading decision on oil contamination in Singapore, which provides guidance from the High Court on the calculation of damages
- Sinogreat Ltd v Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, where we succeeded in defending a claim for damages and a counter-claim for a shipment of oil cargo which was confiscated during transhipment
- A case involving damage to a cargo hose in the sea bed at a port terminal in Malaysia, where we were instructed by the UK Club Greece. The Plaintiff charterers who are also the owners of the terminal, arrested our clients’ members’ vessel and demanded security of more than US$2 million in respect of inter alia damage, oil pollution and consequential damages.
| Charterparties And Cargo Claims 'Dry' Work |
The members of the group also handle a variety of ‘dry’ work, acting for ship owners, charterers, cargo owners and insurers in areas such as cargo damage / claims, charterparty disputes, tug / tow disputes, ship sale and purchase disputes. In particular Toh Kian Sing SC and Leong Kah Wah have extensive litigation experience in this area of work and handle all aspects of such disputes. Jainil Bhandari, being one of the very few legal counsel in the shipping fraternity qualified to practise in both Singapore and Malaysia, is frequently instructed to assist in disputes in both jurisdictions’ courts in diverse areas.
We have been involved in numerous top-end disputes, including:
- Acting in a SIAC arbitration for warehousemen in Liberia. The case involves a consignment of rice which was supposed to have been discharged to a third party but which however remained in bonded warehouses more than a year after the discharge
- Acted for a Japanese shipowner in the Court of Appeal decision of the ‘SUNRISE CRANE’, which is an important decision on the duty of care owed by shipowners to third parties asked to handle dangerous cargo
- Acted for PSA Corp, who was being sued by a former contractor, Eastern Light Engineering (S) Pte Ltd, for breaching a S$4.6 million agreement for the supply of labour and materials for the inspection and repair of containers and refrigeration units
- Acted for the vessel owners of the Melati in the Singapore Court of Appeal where the Court upheld the ruling of the High Court allowing a cargo claim to proceed despite the fact that the statement of claim was filed and served well out of time
This is an established area of our practice encompassing cargo insurance, hull and machinery insurance, builders’ insurance and P&I cover. Our lawyers advise underwriters, brokers and insured parties on their rights and liabilities under the relevant marine insurance policies. We are also actively involved in the resolution of a variety of marine insurance disputes whether in court or in arbitration. Toh Kian Sing SC is especially well regarded in this area, having appeared in a number of marine insurance disputes both in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal of Singapore.
Some of our matters include:
- Acted in Hub Warrior Sdn Bhd v QBE Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd where we successfully defended QBE against a claim brought by shipowners under a marine insurance policy. The judgment was keenly awaited by the insurance industry.
- Acted for two major insurance companies in Singapore to defend them against a claim brought by their assured arising out of the sinking of the vessel ‘MARINA IRIS’ off Kobe in December 2003
| Ship Finance & Corporate / Transactional Shipping Matters |
We have a dedicated team handling all aspects of ship finance and corporate / transactional shipping work. This team handles a significant portfolio of ship finance matters and frequently acts for a majority of the banks and financial institutions in Singapore, as well as numerous international banks active in ship finance. The team routinely handles ship sale and purchase transactions (involving individual vessels as well as fleet acquisitions) and ship and mortgage registrations and advises shipowners on a whole range of non-contentious corporate shipping matters such as tax and related choice of flag issues, joint venture agreements, acquisitions / mergers involving ship-owning companies and port / terminal development projects.
The team combines both litigation and non-litigation expertise and hence, has the ability to draft and advice on shipping related documentation such as shipbuilding and shiprepair contracts, charterparties and bills of lading. The team has been involved in numerous major financing and corporate shipping matters including:
- Acting for DBS Bank in financing the acquisition by Titan Orient Lines Pte Ltd (part of the Titan Petrochemicals Group listed in Hong Kong) of Neptune Associated Shipping Pte Ltd (a subsidiary of Neptune Orient Lines) and the concurrent purchase and on-sale by Titan Oil Pte Ltd of MR tankers from the Sumitomo Group. The transaction involved over 20 vessels, with a total transaction value of over US$100 million.
- Acting as Singapore counsel for Fortis Bank in respect of post-delivery financing to the Odfjell Group for several chemical tankers. The total financing quantum is in excess of US$450 million.
- Acting for several local banks in a series of bilateral loans for financing the acquisition of several VLCCs by various subsidiaries within the Titan Petrochemicals Group. The total purchase price of these vessels is in excess of US$200 million.
- Acting for Scomi Group in its acquisition (via Habib Corporation Berhad) of the core marine logistics assets and businesses of Chuan Hup Holdings and Chuan Hup’s shares in CH Offshore Limited and PT Rig Tenders Indonesia. The total purchase consideration is in excess of US$550 million. The transaction involved over 70 vessels owned by Chuan Hup and its subsidiaries. The above companies are listed in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, respectively.
| Trade Finance And Sale Of Goods Disputes |
Our team has a dedicated practice in all aspects of trade finance transactions and disputes arising from such transactions. We advise a wide range of clients including banks, financial institutions and commodity trading houses in trade finance documentation and litigation. Toh Kian Sing SC has established a reputation in the market for his capability and expertise in advising banks and traders on both the contentious and non-contentious aspects of trade finance including letters of credit, structured finance, warehouse finance, collateral management agreements and sale of goods. He also advises banks in other jurisdictions on trade finance disputes.
Some of the major matters we have been involved in include:
- Acted for Mizuho Corporate Bank in an action claiming for reimbursement in respect of a letter of credit issued by the defendant, Cho Hung Bank in Korea
- Acted in the collapse of a UK-listed metal trading house, RBG Resources, in respect of a massive commodity fraud claim before the Singapore courts
| Mortgage Enforcement And Ship Finance Disputes |
Our team has extensive experience in mortgage enforcement, ship sale and purchase and other MOU disputes including contentious disputes relating to ship financing. Winston Kwek’s experience in this area makes him the preferred counsel of choice for banks and other financial institutions, both local and international.
The team has also been involved in various matters, including:
- Acted for a European ship owner in a US$50 million ICC arbitration against a major Japanese construction group arising out of delays in a port expansion project
- Acted for United Overseas Bank in the foreclosure of credit facilities against the Famco fleet of vessels, and successfully obtained the jurisdiction and sale of 13 vessels as a fleet
- Acted in the highly contested but successful foreclosure against the Karahasan fleet on behalf of HSH Nordbank AG, where the borrowers, citing Turkish laws, actively challenged the bank’s arrests of their vessels in every jurisdiction and at the same time commenced several suits against the bank in Turkey
- Acted in the US$32 million foresclosure against the Multiflex / Mint fleet on behalf of Fortis Bank and Nedship Bank
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