Practice Areas
Welcome to our firm of maritime and commercial solicitors that pride themselves on their integrity, speed of response and experience.
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Shipping disputes and contracts
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Admiralty and casualty response
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Piracy, war, terrorism and maritime security
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Offshore and energy
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International trade
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Marine Insurance
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Aviation disputes
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Based in the City of London, Tatham & Co has a dedicated focus on the shipping, offshore, insurance and trade sectors. The firm is run by senior lawyers who have practiced in their respective sectors all their careers.
Latest News and Work from Tatham & Co
LOF 2024 – Changes designed to increase take up of Lloyd’s Open Form
Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF) 2024 has now been published by Lloyd’s of London, its 14th edition since it was first launched in 1908, replacing the 2020 Form
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Who wants to play maritime dodgems?
In the first judgment [1] of 2024 handed down by the Admiralty court, Mr Justice Baker considered the actions of two vessels that collided at anchor off Chattogram (Chittagong)
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Detention in Indonesia - extortion, bribery and mitigation under a war policy
Any case where the English Court gives some assistance on what a word or a definition means, or what a duty entails, is always most welcome
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The UK Supreme Court considers remoteness in Armstead v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company Ltd [2024] UKSC 6
One of the longstanding traditions of English Law is that many of the legal decisions issued by the highest Court in the land involve very important legal principles, but very small amounts of money
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Do the York Antwerp Rules 1994 apply or 2016 apply when adjusting general average claims? The English Commercial Court has now decided.
UPDATE: Although the owners sought permission to appeal the court’s judgment below, which was granted, the owners never actually filed their appeal
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FIRS contemplates next steps in collection of Nigerian Freight Tax
The ongoing FIRS exercise to recover back taxes from Non-Resident Shipping Companies (NRSCs) has crossed its first milestone
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Warnings to barge operators – a critical look at BIMCO’s BARGEHIRE 2021
Each year, around 800 Bimco BARGEHIRE contracts are signed, currently on its SmartCon platform
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Taxation of International Shipping Companies in Nigeria
There is both apprehension and a degree of frustration in the maritime industry caused by notices issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria to Non-Resident Shipping Companies carrying on business in Nigeria for the payment of backdated freight tax
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February 2023 – Ioanna Vitta and Paul Haworth join Tatham & Co as senior hires.
Ioanna Vitta has joined us (from Penningtons) as a partner and is based in Athens, servicing the firm’s Greek clientele
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Do not delay salvage contracting
Regular columnist Simon Tatham examines a recent maritime accident report to highlight the risks of not taking the offered LOFThe International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) has been working on what it calls its Salvage Delay Project, an independent study into the increasing tendency for delays in the take up of emergency response services to vessels in distress putting life, the environment and property at unnecessary risk
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Unlawful Detentions off Indonesia?
The detention of vessels in and around the Singapore Straits by the Indonesian Navy in recent months (following an earlier cluster of cases in 2019) has presented challenges to the shipowners involved
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Tatham & Co win Law Society’s Small Law Firm of the Year Award
Big news for the firm was that we recently won the Law Society Award for Small Firm of the Year 2021
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How ultra-large ships pose high salvage challenges
A theme of this year’s London International Shipping Week was container ships, coinciding with the first visit to Felixstowe of one of the new class of ultra-large 24,000-TEU vessels
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Cargo owners will shoulder Ever Given salvage payments
It has been more than two months since salvors unblocked the Suez Canal by refloating 20,000-TEU container ship Ever Given and yet the vessel remains in Egypt awaiting compensation payments and its release
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M/V “Ever Smart” in collision with VLCC “Alexandra 1” [2021] – further commentary
Vessels Crossing at the entrance to narrow channels – the COLREGS clarified by the English Supreme Court – Part IIIn this second of two articles we consider the likely outcome on apportionment of liability and analyse the practical implications of this decision for mariners and fleet superintendents
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M/V “Ever Smart” in collision with VLCC “Alexandra 1” [2021]
Vessels crossing at the entrance to narrow channels – the COLREGS clarified by the English Supreme CourtIn the first of two articles, we examine this important decision on its facts and in the second, the practical lessons to be learned
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Crew fatigue during a global pandemic and the repercussions on vessels’ seaworthiness
Fatigue is commonly described as a state of feeling weary, tired, or lethargic that results from prolonged physical or mental work, extended periods of anxiety, exposure to harsh environments, or loss of sleep
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“Best Management Practice” – The English High Court Considers obligations on a Master
On 5th July 2011, the laden tanker Brillante Virtuoso was off the coast of Yemen drifting in darkness in some of the most dangerous waters of the world
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Coronavirus – Issues and effects in relation to laytime and demurrage
As China grapples with the growing tragedy brought upon them by the coronavirus, the shipping industry and container operators in particular, are already feeling the down-turn in business caused by the shutting of major manufacturing plants
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Nigerian Piracy – Have we reached a tipping point?
in tactics as the pirates have upped the ante by taking hostages from laden vessels in numbers not seen before [1]
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Making without prejudice (save as to costs) offers
This article looks at the pitfalls of negotiating a settlement and how best to increase your chances of avoiding being ordered to pay your opponent’s costs
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Girting – Communication is vital
This article argues that over-reliance on the ability of a tug and its crew to be able to prevent the vessel from capsizing is common to many incidents
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How a lack of class can be costly
Having recently ourselves settled a case involving a tug that had fallen out of class shortly before the incident in question, it was interesting to see that such a case has recently found its way from an arbitration award to the Court of Appeal in London
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