Lawrence Graham News

Three experienced shipping lawyers have moved to the 45 million GT North of England P&I club, further confirming its status as one of the major players in the international maritime insurance industry. They include two partners from leading London maritime firms and a US shipping attorney from New York. Former Lawrence Graham partner Charles Baker (54) has joined the club's freight, demurrage and defence department as a solicitor. Baker is an experienced shipping litigator who has been a partner with a number of leading London shipping practices over the past 25 years, including Holman, Fenwick and Willan and Herbert Smith. Frank Sanford (48), formerly a partner with Richards Butler, has joined as a senior claims executive focusing primarily on cargo claims.

London law firm Lawrence Graham says shipping is focusing on complying with security requirements, but another Convention soon to be enforced will have major ramifications for all aspects of shipping. Are you ready for the Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention 1996? Writing in the latest issue of Shipping Lawgram, Imogen Rumbold, shipping partner, says the HNS Convention is likely to come into force in the next two years. Charterers and receivers will pay more, ports and terminals face new liabilities, shipowners will need new insurance and documentation, P&I Clubs must set up new guarantees, authorities around the world will have more requirements to police and in any accident to almost any ship claimants for environmental damage will have new legal remedies to pursue.

London-based law firm Lawrence Graham has launched LG Corporate Investigations - a multi-disciplinary team of experts who advise clients on the potential for corporate risk, and implement solutions to contain and minimize it, while also offering a full investigation service for those faced with possible fraud or regulatory breach. The team is also ideally positioned to advise businesses or directors who may require independent advice - both independent of the company and its existing advisers. Led by partner Andrew Witts, a specialist in corporate fraud and international asset tracing, the team brings together the firm's wide-ranging expertise in areas including: corporate governance…

London law firm, Lawrence Graham has advised the Latvian Shipping Company on a complex multi-bank loan scheme to finance its recently completed purchase of three 68,000 dwt product tankers. The $125 million deal, together with $90 million of associated acquisition finance, involved separate loan agreements with banks in Hamburg, Stockholm, Riga and Rotterdam. number of banks through separate loans rather than obtain one syndicated loan. Latvian Shipping Company agreed to pay $41.6 million for each of the sister vessels and Lawrence Graham advised them on three separate purchases and loan facilities of $30 million each. The purchases and financings involved coordinating legal advice from many jurisdictions around the world…

The English and Isle of Man courts granted injunctions against Navigator Gas Management (NGM) and Vela Energy Holdings Ltd in a dispute over the proposed long-term chartering of five gas tankers in the Navigator Gas Transport (NGT) fleet managed by NGM. The English injunction forbids NGM from taking any action which amounts to a denial of the existence of the Montanari charters and from suggesting to any third parties that the charters are ineffective. This follows claims made by NGM in the trade press and in brokers' reports that the Montanari charters, concluded on November 30 last year, are invalid. Group. Vela claims to have bought 51 per cent of the shares in Arctic…

London law firm Lawrence Graham says users of dispute resolution services should be aware of pitfalls arising in relation to claims for interest under the Arbitration Act 1996. In its latest shipping newsletter - dubbed Shipping Lawgram - Lawrence Graham's shipping team comments on the Commercial Court case of Walker -v- Rowe, in which it was held that the courts had no power to make an order for interest to be paid on unpaid arbitration awards unless the interest had actually been set by the arbitrators. Lawrence Graham notes that, under the 1996 Arbitration Act, a party seeking post-award interest must apply to arbitrators to provide for it in the award and, if the arbitrators forget to award it, must immediately apply for a correction or a further award.

London law firm Lawrence Graham says tanker owners and charterers can expect more disputes over oil major approvals. Imogen Rumbold, partner, says that since the Erika sinking oil majors have been changing vetting criteria and that approval is now only obtainable on a voyage-by-voyage basis. "In the recent Seaflower case the charterer was able to cancel a charter because the owner did not hold a specific oil major approval. But now that approval has become a dynamic standard, how can owners ever be sure of meeting the conditions?" asks Rumbold. In Lawrence Graham's latest shipping newsletter, Shipping Lawgram, Rumbold goes on to call…

London law firm Lawrence Graham LLP says owners and charterers should beware a rash of disputes caused by the recent high bunker prices. Writing in the October issue of Lawrence Graham’s newsletter, Shipping Lawgram, Imogen Rumbold, partner in the shipping law team, says, “Forecasting oil prices is difficult but it is easy to forecast what will happen when fuel prices spike. A period of high bunker prices is always followed by a rash of disputes between charterers and owners and between bunker suppliers and charterers followed by an upsurge in arrests as all parties try to collect debts. The biggest loser is usually the owner, who may face legal costs and delays to the vessel under a new charter, caused by defaults of the previous charterer.

London law firm Lawrence Graham LLP says owners contracting for new ships should be extra careful about communication with the yard to ensure that they do actually get the ship they want, when they want it. Writing in the March issue of Lawrence Graham’s newsletter, Shipping Lawgram, Mike Lax, partner in the shipping law team, says, “In a hot market shipowners want ships quickly. Some shipyards take advantage of that by wriggling out of contracts and reselling early building slots at higher prices to new buyers. If the shipbuilding contract has been correctly drawn up, the law is generally on the side of the owner – but it is an unwise owner who relies too much on the law.

London law firm Lawrence Graham says owners chartering out tankers should fight to keep additional early loading clauses out of the charter party or specifically query each charterer's instruction to clarify laytime issues. The warning follows a High Court decision which Lawrence Graham says places owners at a disadvantage. Writing in the March issue of Lawrence Graham's newsletter, Shipping Lawgram, Stuart Dench, a member of the shipping law team, says, "The charterer, a major trader, uses its commercial muscle to modify a standard charter party to the owner's disadvantage. When it comes to a dispute over interpretation of the additional clauses, the owner can usually rely on arbitrators making a sensible commercial decision.

Shipping Company ("Latco"). The settlement, the terms of which remain confidential, brings to an end a long-running legal battle which has been fought out in the English and French courts over a period of years. The Latvian interests were represented throughout by Lawrence Graham. Ince & Co represented the Polish yard. The dispute centered on the shipyard's claimed entitlement to damages arising from the failure of Latreefers, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Latvian Shipping Company, to meet contractual payments under a $170 million, six reefership order placed with the Gdansk yard in 1992 and subsequently cancelled. Stocznia Gdanska arrested in France several vessels belonging to Latco or subsidiary companies in an attempt to enforce its claims against Latvian Shipping Company.

Shipping Company ("Latco"). fought out in the English and French courts over a period of years. Latvian interests were represented throughout by Lawrence Graham. Co represented the Polish yard. cancelled. Shipping Company. and the "TAGANROGA", have now been released.

Lawrence Graham says shipping companies caught up in disputes involving insolvency and receivership need not come away from the table empty-handed, provided the dispute is handled correctly. In the latest issue of its Lawgram newsletter, Lawrence Graham explains that it was recently called in to advise on the legal aspects of a dispute involving a trawler being built at Romania's Manglia yard. The yard was hit by labour disputes, and the company which placed the order for the vessel missed its repayment to the bank. There was a dispute about payment guarantees, a late-delivery claim by the Scandinavian end-buyer, a claim by the yard for outstanding construction bills, and an argument over an advance VAT guarantee paid to the Romanian authorities.

London-based law firm Lawrence Graham has appointed Charles Baker, an experienced maritime and trade lawyer, as a new partner. Baker, who has more than 25 years experience in maritime law, had previously been with Herbert Smith where he set up the Paris office of Holman Fenwick & Willan.

London-based law firm Lawrence Graham has appointed Charles Baker, an experienced maritime and trade lawyer, as a new partner. Baker, who has more than 25 years experience in maritime law, had previously been with Herbert Smith where he set up the Paris office of Holman Fenwick & Willan.

While many facets of the maritime market remain stuck in the doldrums, the passenger vessel end of the market is one which should continue to expand robustly through the coming year and far beyond. The cruise ship market continues its stampede forward, with 13 new ships and more than 16,000 berths coming on line in 1999 and 14 ships and more than 18,600 new berths scheduled to be delivered in 2000. On the smaller passenger vessel side, a significant development occurred last month when Australia’s Austal Ships announced its new partnership with Bender Shipbuilding to construct a new facility in the Mobile area and vigorously pursue both passenger vessel and government contracts.

lengthy delays which can be encountered in transiting the Turkish Straits. regulations governing the paperwork required to transit the straits. local agents to submit copies of the required back-up documents. form and evidence of payment of light dues. they can't submit the right documents by fax. of how the regulations are being applied. "owners and charterers can help themselves by thinking ahead. parties. less owner-friendly. negotiations is vital. documents on behalf of the ship when the ship sends in its sailing plan. clarify their clarification.

London law firm Lawrence Graham says shipping is set to see new forms of documents, and disputes over the use of existing ones, as security concerns raise to the top of the agenda the issue of what is in a container. Writing in Shipping Lawgram, the newsletter of Lawrence Graham's shipping team, Charles Baker highlights how security concerns are building up the political and industrial will and impetus to force through changes to traditional shipping practices which date from the general cargo era. Also in Shipping Lawgram, Captain Slapdash gets away with a grounding, and Philip Wood, director of Trade and Transport (UK) Ltd, sets out his views on dispute resolution.

Terms of settlement have been reached in the protracted legal dispute between Polish shipyard Stocznia Gdanska, Latreefers and the Latvian Shipping Company (Latco). end a long-running legal battle which has been fought out in the English and French courts over a period of years. The Latvian interests were represented throughout by Lawrence Graham. Ince & Co represented the Polish yard. The dispute centered on the shipyard's claimed entitlement to damages arising from the failure of Latreefers, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Latvian Shipping Company, to meet contractual payments under a 170 million-dollar, six-reefership order placed with the Gdansk yard in 1992 and subsequently cancelled.