Admiralty and casualty response

We offer our services to those looking for assistance with maritime casualties.

A maritime casualty can obviously be a traumatic event.  There is no substitute for experience, and that is what our team has.  Our team of mariners is complemented by a leading in-house Admiralty KC. We have international reach utilising a network of foreign correspondents. Counting approximately 200 years of experience amongst us, we guide clients through the legal complexities that major incidents throw up, be that a grounding, collision or fire, whether resulting in a total loss or involving salvage, on-shipment of cargo, GA, pollution or wreck removal.

Crisis management

A loss of reputation cannot be insured and yet once lost the damage to a business can be serious. Our partners have hands-on experience of some of the biggest maritime casualties helping decision makers make sense of a fast evolving situation where information is scarce. This includes cases involving hijackings and kidnapping as well as interdictions at sea by capricious navies. We have an innate understanding of the long term consequences of short term decision making. Our experience in the insurance sector allows to advise on potential liabilities working with insurers.

A full blown crisis can de-rail the everyday running of a company. More often the trigger event is not the root cause and most incidents involve a series of key decisions of potential importance. Averting a crisis is about assessing risk and thinking imaginatively about what could go wrong. We have been involved in many high profile cases where we have learned many hard lessons enabling us to know that we are able to guide a company through those early days putting them in a position to then respond to the inevitable witchhunt with confidence.

Collection of evidence

Gathering of evidence and preserving privilege is critical.  We routinely investigate, analyse and prepare evidence relating to all maritime incidents often flying to the area to provide immediate assistance to the crew and to take statements. This includes:

• collisions
• fires
• heavylift incidents
• seaworthiness
• groundings
• safe ports
• salvage
• mechanical or structural failures
• piracy and kidnappings

We have ex-mariners who travel to the casualty to collect and process information downloaded from VDRs and other ship’s equipment. We work with clients and experts to interpret this to obtain an accurate picture of what has happened, to understand where liability is likely to fall and which jurisdiction, port of refuge or repair may be most appropriate.

An important first move is often to secure the services of a good lawyer in the local jurisdiction to protect the interests of the crew. Criminalisation of crew is a growing trend as maritime incidents in particular are often tainted with local politics. It is not unusual to have one of our partners in a local court supporting the crew and ensuring that their voices are heard and active in the negotiation of their release from detention.

We know we can bring value to a crisis management team and liaise with brokers and P & I Clubs in the process.

Casualty response

Crucial in those first moments is information and a proper understanding of what is happening. Often the incident will be over the horizon and in a maritime setting crew members may have been arrested making fact finding even more difficult. Often it is not the event itself which causes the most reputational damage, but the response. The inability to respond quickly in a world where social media is ready to condemn, even where no fault has been found, is critical.

We have hands-on experience working with all stakeholders in the immediate aftermath of a casualty. We provide 24 hour casualty response capability. Our partners have acted in many of the world’s headline cases including:

• "Alnic MC c/w USS John McCain"
• "Vitaspirit"
• "Emerald Star"
• “Asian Forest”
• "Courage"
• “Erika"
• “Ever Decent”
• "Evoikos"
• "Faina"
• "Khalijia 3" c/w "MSC Chitra"
• "Global Purity" c/w "ICGS Vivek"
• “Saloos”
• “Heavylift Ancora”
• “Jascon 4"
• “Heroic Idun”
• "Hyundai Fortune"
• "ICL Vikraman" c/w "Mount 1"
• “Rena”
• "Rocknes"
• "MSC Napoli"
• "Nordlake" c/w Indian warship
• “Pontonostos” c/w Indian flagged vessel
• "Prestige"
• “Acina”
• "Braer"
• "Sealand Express"
• "Tricolour"
• “Sea Empress”
• “Hyundai New World”