Admiralty, shipping and marine insurance
“Many clients regard us as having the ‘best insurance practice in the country’. Its admiralty, shipping and marine insurance work is a key contributor to this excellent reputation. The firm has acted on many of the region’s largest marine casualties.” Legal 500 - 2010 Edition
Our local and international clients, from ship owners, charterers, commodity traders, hull, cargo and liability insurers and brokers, to container operators, warehousemen and stevedores defer to our team’s wide-ranging commercial and admiralty experience.
Because we find practical and commercial solutions to complex maritime problems, we are leading South African maritime lawyers and can offer expert advice on all aspects of trade and transport law, delivered by specialist shipping lawyers and a qualified master mariner.
The specialist services we offer include
- Arrest of maritime property to secure claims for arbitrations and foreign litigation
- Securing evidence for foreign proceedings
- Issuing protective writs
- Rapid response to marine casualties
- Advice in respect of insurance cover and subrogated claims recoveries
- Judicial ship sales and prosecuting claims against any fund established from the proceeds of that sale
- Cost-effective recovery actions against shipping lines, rail and port operators, road transporters and warehousemen
- Drafting appropriate commercial documents dealing with transport-related issues, such as contracts of affreightment, charterparties, warehousing contracts and road haulage contracts
- Effective resolution of customs issues
We offer
- An excellent record in marine casualty work having acted for local and international clients in every major maritime casualty off the South African coast for the past 20 years
- A full maritime legal service at every South African port
- Excellent relations with the best maritime law firms and marine surveyors globally
- The only South African law office to have a qualified Master Mariner as a director