Maritime Law & Shipping Lawyers Ireland

Maritime & Shipping Expertise

Our Maritime Law team has extensive local and international experience of all aspects of maritime and shipping law.

We advise on both contentious and non-contentious work. The development of our team reflects Ireland’s rapidly growing national and international marine and shipping industry.

On the contentious side, we have successfully represented clients in all forums of dispute resolution including the High Court, arbitration and mediation. We represent a broad range of interests, including harbour companies, banks, contractors, underwriters and liner and cargo companies. Having acted for the entire range of stakeholders in maritime and shipping assets and projects, we are experienced in providing comprehensive commercial and solution-driven advice, paying particular attention to risk analysis and the early identification of issues that are relevant to clients.

In our non-contentious work we provide a full range of financing solutions for maritime infrastructural and shipping investment including the use of traditional secured bank lending, state funding and private equity. In addition, we advise on the procurement and construction of harbour and port development.

We advise on the following contentious issues:

All means of enforcement of marine mortgages and other maritime security; including arrest of vessels, appointment of receivers and sale of vessels and licence capacity (tonnage).
Port/harbour construction, procurement, and planning disputes;
Charterparty issues, bills of lading and freight disputes;
Salvage claims;
Damage to cargo claims;
Shipbuilding, ship conversion and ship repair disputes;
Ship management agreement disputes;
Destruction / reconstruction of port and infrastructure by vessels;
Off shore pipe line construction disputes; and
Marine insurance claims.

We advise on the following non-contentious issues:

Ship finance transactions;
Construction contracts for port development, including contracts for dredging, pipe laying, construction and installation of topsides and sub-sea systems and tunnels;
Tonnage tax and related taxation issues;
Maritime regulatory issues;
Drafting and negotiation of shipping contracts to include charterparties, bills of lading, ship management agreements, crewing agreements, supply vessel agreements and shipbuilding contracts; and
Registration of vessels on Irish registry.

Advised an international shipping company on a claim against an Irish freight forwarding company

Advised a harbour company on the redevelopment of its harbour.

Advised a bank and appointed joint receivers on enforcement of complicated marine security over a fishing vessel and licence capacity (tonnage).

Advising a bank on the appointment of receiver and subsequent auction sale of two passenger ferries. Also advised on the defence of numerous claims against the ferries, including attempted arrest proceedings.