Voyage Charters Masterclass

Chris has broad experience with maritime liens, ship arrests, maritime attachment and garnishment remedies, transport and sale of goods contracts, cargo claims, shipping casualties, and marine pollution. For energy companies, Chris has experience with upstream and midstream commercial disputes and casualties, offshore and onshore, and with eminent domain condemnation cases for pipelines, including disputes arising from joint operating agreements, gas processing and gas measurement, mineral leases, and various conveyances of royalties and oil and gas interests.

Chris has been a speaker for BIMCO and author for presentations and articles on topics including offshore drilling, coastwise trade laws, OSV charter parties, and many maritime law issues.

Chris is admitted to practice in Texas, in the US District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, in the US Courts of Appeal for the Fifth and Tenth Circuits, and in the US Supreme Court. Before practicing law, Chris sailed as a professional mariner.

Utsav is a Partner, commodity trading, shipping, and offshore energy lawyer based in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Houston office. Utsav’s practice spans disputes (litigation and arbitration), regulatory, and certain transactional work.

Utsav represents energy companies and commodity traders on disputes arising from physical commodity trading activity and any related marine, pipeline or rail transportation activity. He also advises on pre-disputes issues and assists traders in resolving contentious matters prior to initiation of litigation or arbitration. Utsav also acts on charter party disputes, pollution incidents, Rule B and C proceedings, cargo claims, collisions, allisions, and other marine casualties. Utsav routinely assists commodity trading and energy clients avoid disputes and mitigate risks by advising on and negotiating the slate of contracts typically implicated in commodity trading, storage, and transportation activity.

Utsav also assists financial institutions and lenders enforce security interests against vessels through mortgage foreclosure litigation under the Commercial Instruments and Maritime Liens Act.
Utsav has represented energy companies with upstream, midstream, or downstream commercial litigation matters.

In addition, Utsav advises clients on significant offshore energy projects. He has represented developers, contractors, and vessel owners on US offshore wind projects, with particular emphasis on unique Jones Act, Cargo Preference Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and US general maritime law issues related to such projects. Moreover, he has assisted clients on a variety of other energy infrastructure projects, including the construction of crude oil pipelines, deepwater
ports, FPSO charter/O&M agreements, and LNG-fuelled offshore power generation facilities. He has advised companies on litigation risks related to subsea pipeline construction, relocation, and ruptures. Utsav routinely advocates for clients on matters involving the US Coast Guard, US Customs and Border Protection, and US Maritime Administration. Public companies and private investors also consult Utsav on structuring investments in the US Jones Act shipping market.
Utsav’s exposure to the maritime industry began early in life as he descends from a family of mariners and has spent time at sea.

Shelley’s practice encompasses both transactional and litigation aspects of maritime law, including maritime contracts, torts, liability claims, creditor’s remedies and marine insurance matters. She has been recognized by her clients and colleagues as one of the leading maritime lawyers in Canada.

Shelley drafts and advises on a wide array charter parties, contracts of carriage, moorage contracts, insurance policies and other agreements that arise in maritime and transportation law, including ice pilot (navigator) contracts. She has also advised many users and suppliers of marine services on their obligations and liabilities under Canadian maritime law, including on the carriage of dangerous goods and bunkering operations.

Shelley has handled hundreds of casualties, including collisions terminal damage cases, cargo losses, and pollution events. She has resolved many passenger injury and death claims, including ones subject to the Athens Convention. She has dealt with dozens of vessel arrests and many maritime liens and limitation of liability proceedings. Shelley is a frequent advisor to marine insurers on coverage matters. She also has a particular interest in Canadian Arctic shipping, having worked with a number of clients who operate in that region. 

Shelley’s clients include commercial vessel owners and operators, P&I Clubs and marine insurers, ports and terminals and maritime service providers. 

She frequently meets with government representatives regarding the development of maritime law matters in Canada.

Shelley has represented clients in the provincial, supreme and appellate courts of British Columbia, Alberta and the Federal Court of Canada. She has also achieved numerous successful results for clients through mediation and arbitration.

Lindsey is an energy lawyer based in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Houston office. Lindsey cultivates a value chain practice and advises conventional and renewable energy clients on transactional and regulatory matters related to: project development and financing; mergers, acquisitions and divestments; joint venture structuring and corporate structuring and restructuring; and commodity  trading, storage, and marine and pipeline transportation activities. She also advises US and  international clients regarding risk allocation and mitigation related to operations, commercial activities and financings in the energy sector, including exploration and production, gathering and processing, LNG liquefaction and offtake, and joint development and operation of upstream properties.

Lindsey has significant experience working alongside engineering and business teams and counsels clients in the negotiation and documentation of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements, construction and asset management agreements, operation and maintenance and other service agreements, offtake agreements, feedstock supply agreements, joint operating agreements, joint venture arrangements (including corporate structuring and compliance considerations), shared facilities agreements and asset and share purchase and sale agreements.

Prior to joining Norton Rose Fulbright, Lindsey worked in-house at a major international integrated energy company.

Thomas Damsgaard is BIMCO’s Head of Americas. He started an exciting shipping career in 1990 and has earned his stripes in a succession of increasingly challenging roles within senior management and leadership for maritime market leaders. He has led several maritime start-ups and turnarounds and acted as an external advisor on leadership, strategy and optimisation to global maritime, logistics and PE organisations. He has served on professional boards within shipping and logistics. An active member of the Houston maritime community, he fills leading roles including for the Houston Maritime Arbitrators Association, the Advisory Board at the University of Houston; he co-founded the Danish American Chamber of Commerce and a not for profit maritime scholarship fundraiser.

Thomas holds an MBA in Shipping & Logistics (Blue MBA) from Copenhagen Business School