Commercial shipping

Commercial advice is part of Hill Dickinson's leading range of legal services to the maritime industry. We provide specialist commercial advice to a wide spectrum of maritime clients, including:

• agents (forwarding, liner, ship etc);
• bunker suppliers;
• charterers;
• commodities traders;
• funders (including banks, hedge funds, etc);
• ports;
• ship owners and managers;
• shipyards;
• support services;
• suppliers;
• the offshore sector;
• the cruise industry; and
• the yacht sector.

Commercial shipping legal services

From our offices in the north west of England, London, Piraeus and Singapore, our specialists provide a wide range of client services, reflective of the diverse and challenging demands of the maritime industry. Services include:

• specialist commercial shipping services; including drafting and advising upon specialist contracts and transactions - such as bills of lading, commodity contracts, charter parties, passenger contracts, shipbuilding contracts, ship sale and purchase, marine finance, marine projects, insurance coverage issues, port regulatory issues, flaggin and crewing issues; and
• general commercial services for the maritime industry; including banking and finance, commercial property, commercial contracts, competition law (UK and EU), construction, corporate, employment and industrial relations, intellectual property, procurement, projects, regulatory (including blue collar crime and fraud) and state aid.

The commercial shipping team

Hill Dickinson's commercial shipping team consists of 25 experienced and dexterous lawyers specialising in maritime and mercantile matters. The team is able to draw on the expertise of the firm's wider areas of specialism - including property, employment, insurance, construction, corporate, tax, competition, IP, regulatory - where required, creating a bespoke solution to all sectors of the maritime industry and those organisations that support it.

Our lawyers are fully up-to-date on current maritime issues, and have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the industry. Many of our team are well-known within the industry, and are active members of maritime industry focus groups and charities; for example, Mersey Maritime, and the Society of Maritime Industries.

Recent experience

• Introducing an existing offshore support services client to another existing marine client; we provided advice in relation to their joint venture arrangements and the contracts relating to the building of a new specialised vessel. All arrangements are firmly in place and working to the benefit of both.
• Acting on behalf of ship managers who were threatened by strike by crew members. We urgently ascertained the legality of the threatened strike, and supported the client’s HR team in successful negotiations with union representatives.
• Acting for the state owned shipping company of an oil exporting nation on its fleet renewal programme involving the purchase of 13 modern oil tankers of various descriptions.
• Acting for an Italian bank in the financing of a new building platform supply vessel to be operated in the North Sea.
• Acting for an Australian Bank in a revolving US$15 million working capital facility for a Singapore-based tanker pool manager.
• Acting for a Middle Eastern state owned shipping company in the dissolution of three joint ventures relating to VLCC  owning companies.
• Acting for a European shipyard in the renegotiation of its order book as a prelude to privatisation.
• Acting for numerous owners and lenders in the acquisition and financing of super yachts.
• Acting for an LNG tanker operator on the purchase of a third share in an LNG shipping project in Angola.
• Acting for a cross-channel ferry operator on an appeal of port dues and on representations to the Secretary of State on trust port privatisation.
• Advising a new entrant to the 'small ticket' ship finance market on their standard form documentation and numerous financings of yachts and smaller commercial vessels.
• Acting for a Thames riverboat operator on the purchase and finance of a newbuild river cruise vessel.
• Advising clients regarding the acquisition of the operating businesses and freehold property interests of major ship repair and conversion yards in the north east and south west of England.
• Advising a major shipping line in respect of issues arising from the threatened change of legal status of an existing port, including advice in respect of competition, employment and state aid issues.
• Acting for forwarding agents in respect of police inquiry into serious criminal activity by key personnel.
• Acting for a major UK bank in respect of a due diligence exercise for funding, to facilitate a long term contract between a major fast craft manufacturer and the Dutch Government.
• Acting for a consortium of international ships’ agents to set up joint ventures to provide a worldwide global service to major shipping operators and shippers.
• Advising a municipal authority in respect of their legal obligations for unsupervised moorings, and steps to be taken to set up legal harbour authority to supervise the proposed new marina.
• Advising a major PLC regarding a £500 million joint venture project to develop a resource recovery park, including an eco-industrial park and the redevelopment of a berth on the Manchester Ship Canal.
• Advising a major PLC in respect of its joint venture with UK Coal to develop a series of energy-from-waste plants across the UK.
• Acting for a major oil and gas exploration company in purchasing a production jack-up rig.
• Acting for a leading international cruise operator to provide advice in relation to selling inclusive fly/cruise holidays to Florida.  The instructions are to assist in managing the project; including advising upon booking conditions, e-branded tickets, etc.