Richard is an experienced litigator, specialising in shipping and yachting disputes, including shipbuilding, ship sale, charterparty and bill of lading disputes as well as collisions, groundings and general average disputes. He acts for ship and yacht owners, shipyards, banks, charterers, P&I clubs, H&M underwriters and cargo interests.
Richard speaks English, Greek, French and German and he is qualified in England & Wales and Greece.
Expertise
- Shipbuilding disputes
- Ship sale disputes
- Ship management disputes
- Charterparty disputes
- Cargo disputes
- Ship collisions
- Ship groundings
- Ship salvage
- General average
- Marine insurance cover disputes
Experience
Ship Sale Disputes
- Advised on an indemnity claim against the producers of a calcium hypochlorite cargo following an explosion on board a ship.
- Advised on the enforcement of a mortgage against a ship, including judicial sale of the ship and negotiating with other creditors.
- Advised on a dispute arising from alleged negligence under a ship management contract which was resolved via mediation.
- Advised on a collision involving an anchored, allegedly unlit ship.
- Advised on a dispute under an MOA regarding the condition of the vessel upon delivery and alleged misrepresentations regarding the vessel’s condition.
Charterparty & Bill of Lading Disputes
- Advised on a cargo claim involving a rejection of corn cargo by overzealous local port authorities in circumstances where the cargo was not damaged by reference to the bill of lading obligations.
- Advised on a cargo claim and consequent charterparty indemnity claim arising out of the issuance of fraudulent bills of lading.
- Advised on charterparty claims arising from the alleged theft of bunkers on board the vessel.
- Advised on charterparty claims arising from the provision of off-spec bunkers.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from a PSC detention and charterers’ consequent loss of a subcharter, involving issues of seaworthiness and the measure of damages.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from orders to sail to a high-risk piracy area in West Africa and a dispute arising from a failure to cancel a trade allowance which resulted in the loss of a subsequent fixture.
Shipbuilding Disputes
- Advised on a dispute under a shipbuilding contract involving the interpretation of contractual clauses triggering payment obligations.
- Advised on a dispute relating to the condition and performance of a vessel after delivery under a shipbuilding contract.
Enforcement
- Advised fund on the enforcement of a mortgage against a ship, including judicial sale of the ship and negotiating settlements with other creditors.
- Advised bank on the re-negotiation of loan terms in order to avoid enforcement action.
- Advised yacht builder on the re-possession and sale of a superyacht abandoned by the buyer.
Arbitration
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from a PSC detention and charterer’s consequent loss of a subcharter, involving issues of seaworthiness and the measure of damages.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from orders to sail to a high-risk piracy area in West Africa and a dispute arising from a failure to cancel a trade allowance which resulted in the loss of a subsequent fixture.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from allegedly defective design and installation of scrubber systems on board vessels.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from the condition of a vessel upon delivery under an MOA and alleged misrepresentations regarding the vessel’s condition.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from a shipbuilding contract involving the interpretation of contractual clauses triggering payment obligations.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from the sale of off-spec bunker fuel.
- Advised on a London arbitration arising from the rejection of cargo by overzealous local port authorities in circumstances where foreign court proceedings were commenced in breach of the arbitration agreement and the tribunal’s jurisdiction was disputed.
- Obtained an anti-suit injunction against foreign court proceedings in favour of London arbitration.
Other
- Advised on a grounding in a port navigation channel giving rise to allegations that the port was unsafe.
- Advised on a dispute about liability following a fire.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised by The Legal 500 2023 for Commercial Litigation: Mid Market
Career
Richard qualified as a solicitor in 2010. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2019, he worked at the following firms:
- Watson Farley & Williams
- Holman Fenwick William