Li Ming practises in the area of commercial litigation and arbitration, focusing on shipping, commodities, international trade, shipbuilding and energy disputes.

She graduated from the National University of Singapore and was placed twice on the prestigious Dean’s List for outstanding academic performance. It was at NUS that her interest in shipping, commodities and related fields first developed. Upon graduation, and building on her interest in these topics, she started her career in Rajah & Tann’s market-leading shipping practice, where she is now Partner of.

Li Ming constantly seeks to add value and find solutions for her clients. She offers practical advice and is results-oriented. She has substantial experience before the Singapore Court as well as in arbitration (SIAC, SCMA, LCIA, LMAA, HKIAC and ICC etc.).

Her experience includes:

• A wide range of commodity and energy work, concerning electricity, coal, steel, oil etc
• Advising and acting for shipowners and P&I insurers on a full range of matters including bills of lading, charterparties, defence work, collisions, incidents at sea, operational incidents and limitation actions
• Charterparties, covering a wide range of issues such as force majeure, performance claims, detention, breakdowns and early termination
• Carriage of goods including damaged/lost cargo, liens, and abandoned cargo
• Ship arrest, enforcements and obtaining of interim reliefs

Notable Cases & Transactions

Commodities, Energy, Trade

• Successfully acting for and advising buyer in coal quality dispute claim
• Successfully acting for and advising commodities trading company on claim against seller for supplying contractually non-compliant coal
• Acting for and advising coal commodities trading house on claim for non-delivery of cargo
• Acting for and advising Malaysian trading conglomerate on claims by French multinational investment bank for cargo misdelivery
• Acting for and advising Japanese group of chemical companies on claims arising out of long term electricity retail contracts
• Acting for and advising bunker suppliers on contamination / off-specification claims
• Acting for and advising shipowners and buyers on the 2022 bunker fuel contamination incident in Singapore port
• Acting for and advising buyer in claim for non-delivery of engines built by Korean shipyard
• Advising trading house on delivery obligations under steel supply contract

Shipping / Maritime Related Work

• Acting for and advising shipowner on cable-cutting incident in European waters and limitation of claims via limitation action
• Advising charterers and vessel operators on claims arising out of fire incident on board vessel
• Acting for and advising P&I Club and shipowners on various crew incidents (injury, death) and accidents on board vessels
• Acting for and advising P&I Club on recoverability of wage payments made to seafarers under the Maritime Labour Convention as Sheriff’s expenses
• Acting for and advising one of the largest players in the container shipping industry on cargo claims and recovery under the Inter-Club Agreement
• Acting successfully for a container line in a series of cargo abandonment cases
• Advising cruise service provider on recovery of claims against vessel owners
• Advising various vessel interests on liabilities and responsibilities arising out of container stow collapse incident
• Advising charterers and vessel operators on liabilities and responsibilities arising out of container stow collapse incident
• Acting for and advising shipowner in charterparty dispute on infectious diseases clause and its implications

Shipbuilding

• Successfully acted for a Singapore listed shipyard in two arbitrations for conversion works of two offshore drilling rigs
• Acting for and advising Eurasian shipowner (oil and gas, LNG transporter) in disputes with Korean shipyard for wrongful cancellation of shipbuilding contracts
• Acting for and advising Eurasian / Japanese joint venture companies in disputes with Korean shipyard and charterers arising out of shipbuilding contracts
• Acting for and advising Singapore / Chinese joint venture companies in disputes with Chinese shipyard

Shipyards workplace safety

• Acting for and advising shipyards in workplace health and safety matters

Reported Decisions

These are some of the cases that Li Ming was involved in:

• Seraya Energy Pte Ltd v Denka Advantech Pte Ltd and another suit (YTL PowerSeraya Pte Ltd, third party) [2019] SGHC 2; [2020] SGCA 119
• The “Posidon” and another matter [2018] 3 SLR 372
• Toptip Holding Pte Ltd v Mercuria Energy Trading Pte Ltd and another appeal [2018] 1 SLR 50; [2017] SGCA 64
• Pan-United Shipping Pte Ltd v Cummins Sales and Service Singapore Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 198
• Toptip Holding Pte Ltd v Mercuria Energy Trading Pte Ltd [2016] 5 SLR 243; [2016] SGHC 173
• The “Chem Orchid” and other appeals and another matter [2016] 2 SLR 50; [2016] SGCA 4
• Gimpex Limited v Unity Holdings Business Ltd and others and another appeal [2015] SGCA 17 
• Gimpex Ltd v Unity Holdings Business Ltd and others and another appeal [2015] 2 SLR 686; [2015] SGCA 8
• The “Vinalines Pioneer” [2015] SGHCR 1
• The Orinoco Star [2014] SGHCR 19
• Gimpex Ltd v Unity Holding Business Ltd and others [2013] SGHC 224

Memberships/Directorships

• Member, Law Society of England and Wales
• COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 Assessor, Ministry of Law