Shipping & International Trade

Managing a complex portfolio of high-end shipping work throughout the region, in both “wet” and “dry” contentious matters, as well as in ship finance and other non-contentious matters, our maritime practice is quite simply the dominant force in Singapore within this highly specialised area.

With varied areas of expertise and a wealth of experience, coupled with keen commercial acumen, our shipping practice group continues to dominate the Singapore maritime scene – and increasingly to make its presence felt in the wider region. The group is consistently placed in the “top tier” and ranked as a “Band 1” shipping firm by independent legal directories.

Our partners are recognised by Chambers Global and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific as leading practitioners and experts in the maritime arena. Collectively and individually, we have won testimonials as Asian counsel of first resort in shipping and trade-related work.

A Team of Many Talents

Our Practice has grown steadily over the years, now comprising more than 30 lawyers. Specialists include lawyers with in-house and seagoing experience, as well as two qualified marine engineers. The team continues to diversify and add to its talent pool with foreign lawyers, dual-qualified advocates, and solicitors who are admitted to the English roll. In 2022, eleven of our team members have been recognised as Accredited Specialists in Shipping & Maritime Law by the Singapore Academy of Law’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme. The accreditation serves as a mark of recognition for lawyers who have gained professional excellence in this area of work.

A World-Class Client Base

Our depth of knowledge and intimate understanding of the maritime industry have enabled us to build a solid following of world-class clients both within Singapore and regionally. We have a significant practice in North Asia, particularly in China where two of our PRC-qualified lawyers are based at the firm’s Shanghai office. Korea and Japan count amongst the jurisdictions where we have a strong following of ship-owning clients.

A Reputation For Responsiveness

Our team’s strong reputation is grounded upon our responsiveness, the incisive ability of our advocates in both court and arbitration settings, and an ability to offer bespoke, timely, and insightful advice. Industry-attuned expertise and experience remain our forte in resolving conflicts and achieving the best results for our clients. We are ideally positioned to handle the escalation of disputes-work in the turbulent economic climate and steep decline in the shipping sector which has seen our participation in substantial arbitrations in Singapore, Hong Kong and London.

Serving Clients Worldwide

We serve an international clientele comprising major shipowners, shipping lines, operators, underwriters, P&I Clubs, shipyards and builders, energy and power generation companies, oil majors, commodities houses, port terminals and banks. We manage a complex portfolio of top-tier casework, advising clients and co-ordinating cases regionally and across most maritime jurisdictions. Our work is typically multijurisdictional, spanning the entire spectrum of general ‘dry’ shipping, casualty and ‘wet’ work, arrests and security-taking, ship finance, trade, and marine insurance.

A Seamless Service

Our overseas network of correspondents, including foreign lawyers based at our regional offices, enables us to advise clients, tap contacts, supervise foreign litigation, and instruct appropriate professionals at short notice to ensure seamless and efficient handling of cases across borders.

From Shipyard to Scrapyard

Traditionally, contentious work has been our strong suit. Our strengths are equally weighted between ‘wet’ work and ‘dry’ work. We pride ourselves in our ability to assist in every contingency “from shipyard to scrapyard”.

Within This Practice

Collisions And Marine Casualties

Led by “wet” specialists our collision and casualty response team handles a broad spectrum of casualty-related work. In fact, since the 1990s, we’ve been involved in virtually every major casualty occurrence in Singapore – including collisions, sinkings, explosions, fires, strandings, salvage and marine pollution.

The services we provide include casualty management, investigation and resolution of regulatory issues, advice on marine pollution liability, advice on rights and liabilities, choice of jurisdiction, and resolution of disputes arising from casualties, including representation of parties in collision and limitation actions.

Charterparties, Cargo Claims and Security-Taking

We advise on all facets of charterparties, bills of lading, cargo damage / loss claims, tug / tow matters and multi-modal transport issues, both in relation to drafting and problem-solving.

Our team members have extensive litigation experience in this varied area of work and handle all aspects of such disputes. We feature regularly in foreign litigation supervision and cross-jurisdictional asset-tracing and arrest-work. We pride ourselves on having delivered the desired results for our clients in numerous top-end disputes in court actions and arbitrations, both domestic and foreign.

Oil Trading and Transportation

We handle all aspects of disputes relating to oil and LNG transportation and trading, spanning Platts’ disputes to oil trading arrangements, contamination claims, and other quantity / quality issues. We represent oil majors, terminals, tanker fleet operators, and some of the world’s biggest independent oil-trading houses. Our team is attuned to the market’s need for prompt and cost-effective solutions.

Shipbuilding, Repairs and Conversion

We have been involved in the most significant shipbuilding and conversion disputes arbitrated in Singapore and London.

Over the years, the scope of our work in this field has widened dramatically. It’s no longer restricted to the ‘traditional’ issues of shipyard/ ship owner disputes but has matured into a complex and specialised practice involving a wide range of issues relating to the shipbuilding and repair disciplines – including work and task scheduling between the different construction disciplines, prolongation, disruption and acceleration costs, work variations and additional works and quality issues of newbuilding, repairs and conversion. A spike in disputes in this field with the downturn in the shipping market has seen active involvement by members of our group in substantial arbitrations.

Mortgage Enforcement and Ship Finance Disputes

Our team has extensive experience in the mortgage enforcement scene, and we are well equipped to resolve ship sale and purchase and other MOA-related or financing disputes.

Marine Insurance

This well established area of our practice encompasses cargo insurance, hull and machinery insurance, builders’ insurance and P&I cover. Our lawyers advise underwriters, brokers and insured parties on their rights and liabilities under the relevant marine insurance policies. We have acted as counsel in well-publicised marine insurance disputes litigated in the Singapore courts. We are also actively involved in the resolution of a variety of marine insurance disputes whether in court or by arbitration.

Commodity Trading and Trade Finance

The team’s specialist experience covers all aspects of trade finance transactions and disputes with an international trade context. In this key growth area, we advise a broad range of clients including banks, financial institutions, and commodity houses in trade finance documentation and litigation.

Our lawyers have extensive experience in managing FOSFA and GAFTA arbitrations and we are the counsel of choice for our expertise in advising banks and traders on both contentious and non-contentious aspects of trade finance including letters of credit, structured finance, warehouse finance, collateral management agreements, and international sale of goods.

Ship Finance and Non-Contentious Work

We have a robust corporate shipping & finance practice that is recognised as an outstanding market leader in its own right.

Our non-contentious shipping team is regularly involved in ship sale and purchase, sale & lease-back transactions and ship financing matters. We have acted for a wide range of local and international ship financing banks, on both bilateral and syndicated shipping loans.

Our team also handles the whole gamut of shipping corporate work required by shipowners and chartering interests, and routinely advise on financing and ownership structures, tax and related choice of flag issues, shipbuilding contracts, commodities contracts, berth/terminal leasing contracts and joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions involving ship-owning interests.

Recognition

9th time Winner – Maritime Law Firm of the Year

ALB SE Asia Law Awards (2024, 2018, 2013, 2012, and 2009 to 2005)
Top Singapore Law Firm – Maritime & Shipping Law

The Straits Times: Singapore’s Best Law Firms (2021 – 2024)
Band 1 – Shipping

Chambers Asia Pacific (2006 – 2024)
Tier 1 – Shipping

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (1999/2000 – 2024)
Tier 1 – Shipping

Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific (2018 – 2024)
Outstanding – Shipping

asialaw (2016 – 2024)
Shipping Firm of the Year

Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards (2021)
Aviation and Shipping Firm of the Year (APAC)

Asialaw Awards (2021)
"Renowned for the size and strength of its litigation team. The firm covers the full range of contentious matters... with clients benefiting from its regional network of offices in South-East Asia. The firm frequently advises international banks and commodity houses, as well as ship owners and judicial managers."

Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
"Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP’s well-established shipping practice advises on the gamut of matters across the maritime space... The team is well-versed in complex cross-border and multi-jurisdictional matters."

The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2024)
"Has a good understanding of maritime law and the shipping industry and has considerable experience in handling the cases and guiding the legal advice and compared to other law firms, they sympathize with the client’s needs and seek the solution in the client’s shoes."

The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2024)
"Rajah & Tann has a strong regional footprint that makes it adept at multi-jurisdictional dispute resolution, with strategic firm alliances across Southeast Asia that allow it to appear in local courts in China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar."

Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific (2024)