Editorial: Shipping & Maritime in Singapore

01 October 2007

Allen & Gledhill LLP is one of two firms to find three of its partners in this chapter. Vivian Ang co-heads the maritime and aviation group and is “first class”, according to our sources. Her high-profile litigation practice in this area is due in part to her recent work on behalf of Glencore International regarding the recovery of claims for lost cargo in excess of US$21.9 million in the Cherry and Others case, as well as on major collision cases such as Hyundai No. 105/Kaminesan and APL Dubai/ APL Almandine. Among the most highly regarded individuals in the research overall, she is “one of the top local practitioners” in the eyes of our sources. Gina Lee-Wan co-heads the maritime and aviation group and “stands out at the top of the field” for her shipping finance practice. Known for her work on ship construction, sale and purchase, she counts all of Singapore’s major banks and shipowners among her clients and is a “preeminent authority in the region”. Harold Or is the third partner from the firm to be included. He comes recommended for his “outstanding” non-contentious work, acting for banks and shipowners. His transactional, charterparties and shipbuilding contract work was highly praised, and his inclusion here contributes to Allen & Gledhill’s “formidable reputation” in this area.

Rajah & Tann matches its rival’s showing, with three lawyers on our list. The firm is recognised for both ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ work. Managing partner Steven Chong SC was particularly well supported in the research, and his dispute resolution skills in particular stood out – he also appears in our litigation chapter. “One of the top lawyers in the region”, his maritime dispute work includes acting for the Maritime and Port Authority in connection with the collision between the Evoikos and the Orapin Global and the subsequent clean-up of oil pollution. He also worked for the Ministry of Defence in relation to Singapore’s largest naval accident to date, the collision of the RSS Courageous and the ANL Indonesia. In addition, he acted in the legal aftermath of the two worst passenger liner incidents in Singapore’s history, involving the sinkings of the Royal Pacific and the Sun Vista. Jainil Bhandari impressed our sources with his work, and his marine disputes experience includes appearing in both local and Malaysian courts. His casualty work includes handling matters arising from the sinkings of the ICL Vikraman and the Singapura Timur in the Strait of Malacca and the Everise Glory off Singapore, and his oil pollution and chemical contamination claim work was also regarded as “top notch”. Leong Kah Wah was praised for his “very fine” disputes work. He has appeared before the High Court and Court of Appeal of Singapore, and has acted in arbitrations before tribunals administered by the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, the New York Society of Maritime Arbitrators, the International Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

At other firms, Prem Gurbani, founding partner of Gurbani & Co, is a “fantastic disputes lawyer”. Highly rated for his litigation work, he is also known as an “arbitration expert” – as counsel and arbitrator. He is a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and a SIAC-accredited regional arbitrator. His colleague S Mohan was described as a “very effective counsel”, both in arbitrations and in front of the local courts, and he also makes it onto our list. From Haridass Ho & Partners, the “very experienced” Haridass Ajaib is among the leading individuals in this area. Recognised for his transactional, disputes and insurance work, he is said to be “immensely knowledgeable” and also sits as arbitrator and mediator. Partner Thomas Tan is well known for his litigation work, especially for charter-party disputes, collisions and salvage, as well as in marine insurance matters.

Jude Benny of Joseph Tan Jude Benny is “one of the leaders in Singapore”, and is “certainly the person I’d go to”, according to one corporate source we spoke to. Renowned for his work on the first international arbitration at SIAC for United Engineers Berhad against a Norwegian company, he also represented the Jacques Cousteau Foundation regarding the sinking of the Calypso, as well as Bethlehem Shipyard concerning the delivery of the world’s first floating hotel to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. His involvement in the Ming Galaxy/Herceg Novi and Tai He/Nordic Explorer ship collision trials led to high levels of recognition, and he is seen as a “legend in this field”. His colleague Danny Chua heads the firm’s shipping and general litigation practice. Chua works across the full spectrum of disputes work, and was also consistently recommended for his marine insurance and fraud expertise.

Several other local lawyers came in for high praise. Loo Dip Seng at Ang & Partners was described as “very visible and particularly experienced”. Known for his admiralty litigation practice, he has represented owners, charterers, operators and P&I Clubs in various disputes. Timothy Tan at AsiaLegal LLC is also “in the top echelon of local experts”. His finance practice “is tremendously impressive”, particularly in mortgage enforcement actions. On the litigation side, he is known for having advised the owners of the Kaminesan on issues arising out of a collision involving three vessels and cargo claims in excess of US$120 million, as well as a range of issues relating to a fire on board the Hanjin Pennsylvania.

Drew & Napier LLC is home to the “very switched on” Ian Koh. Head of the shipping and international trade business group, he comes recommended for his litigation and arbitration work both domestically and internationally, as well as for his representation of marine underwriters and port and terminal operators. He worked on the largest oil spill in Singapore history, that of the Evoikos, and also counselled a global carrier following the collision between the ANL Indonesia and navy vessel the RSS Courageous. “It’s hard to think of anyone better,” as one source puts it. Elsewhere, Kenneth Tan SC of Kenneth Tan Partnership was described as “one of Singapore’s top advocates”, and was repeatedly recommended by our sources.

There are high levels of shipping finance expertise in the local offices of international law firms. Stephenson Harwood finds two of its partners in the following pages. Managing partner of the Singapore office Martin Green is an “outstanding finance lawyer”. Praised for his international experience, he has acted for banks, arrangers, shipowners and operators. Iain Young is similarly well regarded, both for his work on the financing of ships and also offshore installations. We recognise Clyde & Co LLP’s John Champion as an insurance expert elsewhere in this publication, but his maritime and energy practice also impressed our sources: he recently advised the insurers of a rig building programme in Singapore following the collapse of a crane during construction.

Bill Kerr of Holman Fenwick & Willan has a “good name in the market”, and has a background in this area as a former deck officer and a master mariner, as well as working for the UK Chamber of Shipping and OT Africa Line. At Ince & Co, Richard Lovell is a highly-rated litigator and has “been a fixture in the local market for a long time”, having been based in Singapore since 1988. His marine casualty practice was especially well regarded by his peers. Gervais Green is head of Norton Rose LLP’s shipping practice and “one of the leading foreign lawyers in Singapore”. Particularly well known for his limited recourse project financings in the off-shore oil and gas and shipping sectors, he also appears in the banking chapter of this book. Finally, Paul Barfield of Thomas Cooper was picked out for his “most impressive” casualty work. In addition to his marine disaster practice, he was also recommended for his hull insurance knowledge.

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