4 Pump Court is a ‘great set for shipping disputes‘. Members are well known for appearing in Hong Kong, China and Singapore in complex, long-running disputes in the maritime sector, and are equally adept at advising on a broad range of commodities matters. Sean O’Sullivan KC is singled out for his strength in handling commodities and dry shipping disputes. Alexander Wright KC‘s busy practice includes charterparties, bills of lading, contracts of affreightments, commodity sale and purchase agreements and shipbuilding matters. At the junior end, Rani Noakes is ‘a powerhouse‘, and Andrew Stevens is regularly instructed by Chinese owners and charterers in shipping mandates.

With a reputation for having the ‘best strength in depth for shipping work‘, Quadrant Chambers‘ ‘simply brilliant‘ barristers ‘have a deep understanding of the shipping industry and their legal acumen is exceptional‘. In a prominent example of the set's expertise demonstrated before the English courts, Simon Rainey KC and Tom Bird represented the appellant before the Court of Appeal in the longrunning case of K Line Pte Ltd v Priminds Shipping (HK) Co Ltd, known as The Eternal Bliss. The case involved a major point of shipping law, namely the availability of damages in addition to demurrage arising from a charterer’s failure to complete cargo operations. The Court of Appeal ruled that demurrage liquidates the whole of the damages arising from a charterer’s breach. The Supreme Court granted permission to appeal, however the case was settled in April 2023.

Part of The 36 Group, 36 Stone is very well known for its established strength in handling on a wide spectrum of matters concerning shipping contractual documents, as well as commodities issues within the shipping space. Vasanti Selvaratnam KC is highly regarded for her expertise in maritime law, and the ‘conscientious‘ Colin Ong KC regularly acts in high-value shipping and commodities arbitrations across multiple Asian jurisdictions. Colin Wright is ‘a confident and articulate advocate‘, and the ‘very responsive‘ Ravi Aswani counts dry and wet shipping disputes as a core pillar of his practice.

Twenty Essex ‘has the biggest stable of commodities counsel‘ and maintains a close relationship with the Singaporean legal market, with members bringing their expertise to complex litigation in the shipping space. High-value arbitration matters have also been prominent in the group’s caseload, an area in which the ‘strong and dynamic‘ Timothy Hill KC excels. Timothy Young KC has ‘a fearsome legal mind, and he is very creative on legal argument and strategy‘. The ‘sharp‘ Duncan Matthews KC advises on a range of shipping issues, including bills of lading, cargo claims and contracts of affreightments. At the junior end of chambers, Oliver Caplin specialises in handling dry shipping and commodities disputes.