Malcolm Jarvis

Full Profile

Malcolm is an employed barrister specialising in commercial disputes arising in the energy, marine and natural resources sectors. He has extensive experience handling shipping and commodity disputes before the courts and in arbitration proceedings (including ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, LMAA, GAFTA and FOSFA). He also specialises in upstream and offshore energy and ship building disputes.

Malcolm acts for shipping, trading and energy companies. Much of his work relates to the trading and carriage of oil, gas and petrochemical products as well as other commodities. His shipping practice includes advice on all aspects of voyage and time charters and bills of lading.

Prior to joining Clyde & Co he practiced as a barrister at the bar in London where he was ranked in The Legal 500 UK Bar for energy, shipping, commodities and commercial litigation.

Malcolm is proficient in French and Dutch.

Qualifications

He is a member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN), the Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) and is a supporting member of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA). 

Experience

Marine

• LMAA Arbitration: Termination of MOA on grounds of force majeure.
• LMAA Arbitration: Claims for sums due under, and for damages following wrongful termination of, ship design contract.
• Arbitration: Unsafe port claim arising out of the grounding of a bulk carrier at a loading terminal.
• Fehn Schiffahrts GMBH & Co KG v Romani SpA [2018] EWHC 1606 (Comm); [2018] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 385: title to sue for loss caused by unauthorised fumigation of a cargo of organic wheat and sunflower seeds; assignment of claim under bill of lading; whether assignee seeking to recover more from owners than assignor could have done had there been no assignment.
• Paiwan Wisdom (Taokas Navigation SA v Komrowski Bulk Shipping KG) [2012] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 416: construction of CONWARTIME 2004 clause in relation to refusal to proceed on a voyage to Kenya where no material change in the risk between date of charterparty and date of order; whether the owners had accepted the risk of trading to Kenya.

Trade & Commodities

• GAFTA Arbitration: Appeal concerning the proper interpretation of the ‘lapse of claim’ provisions in the GAFTA Arbitration Rules and of the Board of Appeal’s discretion to admit a lapsed claim under those Rules.
• Soufflet Negoce SA v Fedcominvest Europe SARL [2014] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 537: proper construction of the “Notices Clause” in GAFTA Contract no 64 – whether provision that notice received after 16:00 is deemed served on following business day applies in all cases or only in the case of resales or repurchases.

Energy and Natural Resources: 

• Arbitration: Dispute concerning multipurpose support vessel for underwater survey in connection with the laying of an underwater gas pipeline.
• Arbitration: arising out of the cancellation of a contract to design, build and deliver a semi-submersible drilling rig.
• Arbitration: Acting for owners of offshore support vessels in disputes under Supplytime 89 charterparty.
• ICC Arbitration: Acting for oil company in claim arising out of and in connection with a farmout agreement in respect of interests in two petroleum blocks offshore Brazil.
• Acting for owner of power station in claim against oil major for damages for failure to supply quantities of natural gas nominated pursuant to a long term contract for the sale of natural gas.
• UNCITRAL Arbitration: Acting for international oil company in tax dispute with host state under Production Sharing Contract.
• Arbitration: Acting for oil trading company in dispute following default in performance of a crude oil marketing services agreement.
• Arbitration: Acting for trading company in US$7 million claim for breach of a long-term coal sale agreement on the Standard Coal Trading Agreement (SCoTA) form.
• Petromec Inc v Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras [2013] EWCA Civ 150: litigation arising out of the upgrade and then sinking of the oil rig, “Petrobras-36” off the coast of Brazil in 2001. Construction and effect of deviations to specification for upgrade of semi-submersible oil rig.