The repeal of Regulation 4056/26 has brought the whole of the shipping sector under EC jurisdiction. Our deep knowledge and experience of shipping, our international network and our strong EC and dispute resolution practices provide one of the leading shipping regulatory practices in Europe.
Our clients are divided into the following categories of shipping:
- Liner shipping: we represent shipowners and their various co-operative arrangements, such as liner conferences and consortia agreements. We also act for a number of international liner operators individually
- Non-liner shipping: we represent pools of gas carriers, chemical tankers and ‘heavy lift’ carriers
- Ferries and short-sea shipping
We advise on terminal arrangements including joint terminal facilities. We also advise shipowners on how to structure joint ventures in an EC compliant way, including joint servicing, space sharing, pools and joint terminal use. By assisting our clients with compliance and prevention, we aim to resolve issues before they reach investigation by EC regulators.
In cases where our clients face investigation and even prosecution, the fact that we are one of the UK’s leading dispute resolution practices gives us the experience to choose the correct strategy for our clients.
Our recent EC litigation experience includes:
- Representing liner conferences in landmark cases before the EC Court of First Instance and the European Court of Justice
- Representing individual shipowners and consortia in several EC investigations
We are equipped to handle large complex multi-jurisdictional cases and investigations.