Kevin Chan

Full Profile

Kevin is dual-qualified in Singapore and England & Wales, and is an Accredited Specialist in Maritime and Shipping Law appointed by the Singapore Academy of Law. 

He specializes in shipping, maritime, international trade and commodities disputes, and regularly advises shipowners, charterers, traders, cargo interests, insurers, P&I clubs and financial institutions on complex cross-border disputes. Kevin represents clients before the Singapore Courts and in international arbitrations, including arbitrations under the ICC, SIAC, CIETAC and HKIAC Rules, as well as ad hoc arbitrations conducted under the SCMA Rules and LMAA Terms.

On the marine front, Kevin's practice is centered on charterparty disputes. He regularly advises on disputes arising under various charterparties, including claims relating to laytime, demurrage, detention, off-hire, freight, unseaworthiness, liens, force majeure, sanctions, war risks, safe port obligations, hull fouling, port congestion, hold cleanliness, notices of readiness, speed and consumption warranties, repositioning voyages, deviation, early and late redeliveries, and the assessment of damages. He has particular experience advising on disputes under industry-standard forms such as NYPE, GENCON, ASBATANKVOY, SHELLTIME, LNGVOY, SHELLLNGTIME, TOWCON, SUPPLYTIME, and BARGEHIRE. 

In addition, Kevin also advises on disputes involving bills of lading, contracts of affreightment, vessel arrests, limitation of liability, cargo shortage and contamination claims, damage to refrigerated and temperature-sensitive cargoes, misdelivery, dangerous goods, shipbuilding and ship repair contracts, and the supply of goods and services to vessels.

In the commodities and international trade sector, Kevin represents clients in disputes involving crude oil, refined petroleum products, coal, metals, agricultural commodities and other bulk cargoes. He advises on a wide range of trade disputes, including quality and quantity claims, rejection of goods, force majeure, price review and price adjustment disputes, documentary compliance under letters of credit, delayed delivery, non-performance under sale contracts, and disputes concerning the assessment of market losses, hedging losses and damages.

Experience

Maritime / Admiralty

• Acted in the arrest of the ASHICO SYMPHONY in Singapore in 2026 following a dispute concerning a shortage of gold concentrate cargo. 
• Advised on various contract of affreightment disputes concerning demurrage, force majeure and frustration arising from weather-related disruptions to coal shipments to power plants in Malaysia.
• Advised shipowners and charterers in charterparty disputes arising from the conflict in the Middle East and hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz in 2026. The issues included vessel detention, compliance with employment orders, off-hire, allocation of additional war risk premiums, indemnity claims, and responsibility for physical damage to vessels.
• Acted for a shipowner in London arbitration proceedings in 2025-2026 involving claims under a charterparty arising from a grounding incident and disputes concerning hire. 
• Advised on issues arising from the arrest of the MV ALPHA (which was carrying a perishable soybean cargo) in Singapore in 2025.
• Advised sub-charterers in 2025 on the consequences of sanctions imposed on an intermediate charterer after a laden oil tanker had commenced its voyage. 
• Acted in several Singapore court proceedings involving reefer cargo claims arising from the carriage of refrigerated seafood, including disputes concerning temperature excursions and resulting cargo damage.
• Acted for the owners of the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland in relation to the highly publicized incident where the anchor of the NEWNEW POLAR BEAR damaged the Balticconnector in October 2023. 
• Acted for shipowners in SIAC arbitration proceedings concerning force majeure issues arising from an alleged inability to supply fertilizer cargo following regulatory changes in India.
• Acted for a shipowner in London arbitration proceedings involving allegations that cargo loaded on board was of sanctioned origin.
• Represented a shipowner in a dispute concerning the assessment of recoverable losses arising from damage to a telecommunication cable in Singapore waters.
• Acted for charterers in London arbitration proceedings in 2021 where force majeure was raised in response to claims arising from COVID-19 restrictions affecting cargo loading operations at Ningbo.
• Acted for a Maltese state-owned entity in Singapore court proceedings initiated by a shipowner seeking to limit its liability under the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC). The case involved significant claims for damages caused by the ship's dislodged anchor to a subsea cable, which triggered a nationwide power outage in Malta.
• Acted for a shipowner in Singapore court proceedings involving a dispute with a telecommunication service provider over allegations of disruption in broadband connectivity, which involved issues of liability and quantification of recoverable damages.
• Acted for a bank in Singapore Court proceedings where its entitlement to the sale proceeds of a vessel was contested by a bunker supplier. 
• Acted for a logistics service provider in SIAC arbitration proceedings relating to a claim for various losses incurred due to delays in a multimodal transportation of chemical reactors.
• Acted for the owners of the vessel DREAMSTAR in a Singapore High Court trial relating to her collision with the vessel MEGHNA PRINCESS: The "DREAM STAR" [2017] SGHC 220

Trade / Commodities / Cross border transactions

• Represented a trader in arbitration proceedings before the Sugar Association of London concerning claims arising under a contract for the sale and purchase of sugar. 
• Represented a supplier in CIETAC arbitration proceedings involving claims exceeding USD10 million under a contract for the supply of fabric production machinery. 
• Acted for various traders in disputes arising from contracts for the sale and purchase of LNG, crude oil and refined petroleum products affected by the conflict in the Middle East and hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz in 2026. Issues included force majeure, frustration, refinery shutdowns, export restrictions, quantification of market and hedging losses, causation, mitigation and allocation of market risk.
• Acted for a metals trader in contesting a seller's force majeure declaration based on an alleged inability to supply coal sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to an earthquake and regulatory developments in 2025-2026. 
• Advised on two ongoing SIAC arbitrations with amounts in dispute exceeding USD 63 million. Both arbitrations arise from trading and financing arrangements involving the sale of oil products through an intermediary structure, with the enforceability of a tripartite agreement being central to the dispute.
• Acted in SCMA arbitration proceedings concerning liability for demurrage under contracts for the sale of Indonesian coal. 
• Acted for Indonesian coal miners and traders in Singapore arbitration proceedings relating to the failure to supply coal. Issues included force majeure arising from COVID-19 outbreaks, flooding and severe weather conditions.
• Acted for a Chinese state-owned entity in SIAC arbitration proceedings relating to the supply of electronic components for an Indian power plant project.
• Acted for Vinmar in relation to a sale of goods dispute where a stay of Singapore Court proceedings in favour of the English High Court was successfully achieved. The Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision in Vinmar Overseas (Singapore) Pte Ltd v PTT International Trading Pte Ltd [2018] SGCA 65 overruled 4 of its previous decisions and restated the principles on exclusive jurisdiction clauses in Singapore.
• Acted for a manufacturer of micro-electronic chips in a dispute worth over USD 50 million relating to the sale of chips for Indonesia’s national identity card project. The dispute culminated in a month - long trial in-volving issues of fraud and conspiracy: PT Sandipala v ST Microelectronics & Ors [2017] SGHC 102; [2018] SGCA 17

Publications & Thought Leadership

• Author of “A New Era of Maritime Arbitration – Ex Machina Awards”, Journal of International Arbitration, Volume 40 (5) (2023)
• Author of “Robot judges-not a question of legitimacy but of choice”, The Business Times, August 2023
• Co-author of the Maritime Law Handbook on Judicial Sales of Vessels and Priority of Claims (2021 Edition)
• Contributor to Halsbury's Laws of Singapore on Shipping (2016 Edition)