18 April 2024
Nicholas is a Senior Associate at HFW, where he focuses on international commercial dispute resolution, specialising in offshore oil & gas, energy, and marine. He focuses on disputes arising from installation contracts, charter parties, bills of lading, shipbuilding, rig disputes, towage, collisions, salvage, general average, groundings, total loss, and limitation. Clients he advises include: energy companies, cable owners and operators, contractors, shipowners, charterers, shipyards, ship managers, brokers, and insurers / P&I Clubs. His experience extends to all the major arbitral institutions including LCIA, ICC, SIAC, SCMA, LMAA, ad hoc arbitration, and the English courts. Nicholas has particular experience of drafting and negotiating a range of contracts in the offshore energy and marine sectors, including BIMCO SUPPLYTIME, TOWCON and BARGEHIRE, LOGIC contracts, and other standard contracts, as well as bespoke contracts. Since joining HFW, Nicholas has undertaken secondments in Australia (to HFW's Perth Office with a focus on the Offshore / Oil & Gas / Commodities sectors), to the in-house legal team of a major international tanker owner, to an International Group P&I Club / Insurer, and a leading insurance broker. Nicholas is qualified in England and Wales.
05 October 2023
The BIMCO Documentary Committee (DC) will be meeting on 11 October. The agenda includes six projects up for adoption: CII Clause for Voyage Charter Parties, Ship Sales Further Trading Clause, ETS Allowances (ETS) Clause for SHIPMAN, Quiet Enjoyment Letters, SYNACOMEX and WRECKSTAGE.
18 April 2024
Chris joined HFW in 2008 and, after training for a period in Hong Kong, qualified into HFW’s London Shipping Litigation team in 2010, advising on both “wet” and “dry” disputes. His primary focus is on issues arising from marine casualties including collisions, fires and groundings. In recent years, Chris has been heavily involved in a number of high profile containership casualties arising from carriage of declared and undeclared dangerous goods. In doing so, he has acted for Owners and also for Charterers advising on all aspects of the casualty response including issues including of limitation of liability, jurisdiction, salvage and general average as well as the underlying liabilities, both in tort and related contracts of carriage/VSA/slot charter arrangements, including unseaworthiness and unsafe port claims. In 2016 Chris increased his “dry” experience by completing a secondment to the legal department of a major German power company based in the UK, advising the freight trading and chartering operations desks. During that period he advised on a range of issues from the initial chartering process, through to speed and performance claims, bill of lading disputes, sales contracts, letters of indemnity, and off-spec cargo claims. Christopher is qualified in England and Wales.
