Eleanor Coates

Full Profile

Eleanor offers counsel to National Oil Companies, Energy companies, and commodities trading clients on a wide range of commodity disputes, covering oil, gas, refined products, petrochemicals, and various other commodities. She possesses substantial expertise in handling charterparty and bill of lading disputes within this domain.

Clients appreciate Eleanor's responsiveness and commercially oriented legal guidance, backed by a track record of success in challenging cases.

In addition to dispute resolution, Eleanor provides advisory services to commodity traders and cargo interests regarding the drafting of international sale and purchase contracts, general terms and conditions, and charterparty terms. Her experience in resolving disputes arising from such contracts equips her with valuable insights into drafting issues.

Eleanor consistently receives high rankings from prominent legal directories for her expertise in Commodities and Shipping.

Eleanor is described as "terrific," possessing excellent judgment, and emerging as a notable figure in the field. She is noted for being “pleasantly formidable” with a “strong business orientation” by Chambers, Commodities: Physicals, 2024

Experience

• CSSA Chartering & Shipping Services SA v Mitsui OSK Ltd, "The Pacific Voyager", [2018] EWCA Civ 2413 – Representing CSSA in a landmark case, in which both the High Court and Court of Appeal clarified and extended the obligation on shipowners to commence the approach voyage in good time to meet the ETA or ERTL or equivalent which may be identified based on the parties' intentions.
• Acting for an oil trader in a claim against shipowners for market and hedging losses arising out of the breakdown, and subsequent delay, of the vessel. The claim was successfully settled at mediation.
• Successfully defending a claim for general average contribution by owners in respect of a ransom paid to Somali pirates that had hijacked the vessel on board which our trading company client's soya bean cargo was being carried; and pursuing a claim for cargo damage resulting from the delay caused by the hijacking.
• Successfully acting for a national oil company in respect of an invoice fraud. Its buyer had been defrauded into paying USD28m to a fraudster and sought to avoid paying our client for the petrochemical cargo it had received.
• Representing a Japanese trading company in a claim against a bank that had refused to pay out under several 'on demand' guarantees. A full recovery was made.
• Representing the defendant charterer in a claim before the High Court for an indemnity in respect of an alleged pollution incident.
• Advising a major petrochemicals trader in respect of various sanctions issues.
• Representing a trading client in ICSID proceedings brought in respect of the expropriation of its products from a storage facility by an African government.
• Advising a commodities trader on the maritime risks associated with their expansion into spot crude trading.
• Updating an oil major's standard form trading and chartering terms.
• Advising shipping and trading clients on issues including demurrage, off-hire, performance warranties, exercise of lien over cargo and freight, claims for loss and damage to cargo, missed laycans, cancellation of charterparties, vetting, unsafe port and unseaworthiness