Maritime law
Relationships between shipowners, charterers, carriers, cargo interests and insurers give rise to specialised, often cross-border, obligations. Disputes in this field may concern charterparties, bills of lading, cargo damage, ship arrest, freight or shipping operations. Ghazaal Majdzadeh Legal Practice advises and acts in maritime and transport matters, with close attention to the contractual documents, the applicable rules and the operational facts.
Services
Owners’ and charterers’ obligations, demurrage and delay, trading and employment terms, and breaches of charter.
Carrier and cargo-interest liability for damage to, loss of or late delivery of cargo.
Assessing maritime claims, the prospects of an arrest and the steps needed to release a vessel under the law of the forum.
Freight claims, charges for maritime services and other obligations arising from carriage.
Transfer of ownership, related contracts, registration status, mortgages and third-party interests.
Carriers’ contractual liability and disputes over goods carried by road, rail or multiple modes of transport.
Assessing a maritime dispute means reviewing a set of documents, from the charterparty and bills of lading to operational correspondence, surveyors’ reports and port records. Determining the governing law, the competent forum and whether a decision can be enforced in other jurisdictions is part of the strategy from the start.
How we work
Charterparty, bills of lading, correspondence and reports.
Governing law, competent forum and where a decision can be enforced.
Negotiation, arbitration, litigation or arrest, weighed against one another.
The matter is pursued to its outcome with regular reporting.
They may concern hire or freight, laytime for loading and discharge, demurrage, the vessel’s seaworthiness, or the performance of owners’ and charterers’ obligations. Allocating liability requires a review of the type of charter, its terms and the operational records.
Ship arrest depends on the type of claim, its connection to the vessel and the law of the place of arrest. Not every commercial claim qualifies for maritime arrest, so the legal basis, the court’s jurisdiction and any security requirements must be checked before acting.
Depending on the contract of carriage, the bill of lading, the cause and timing of the damage and the applicable rules, liability may fall on the carrier or on others. Transport documents, surveyors’ reports and the condition of the cargo on delivery are key to establishing liability.
A charterparty is usually the contract for the use or hire of the vessel, governing the relationship between owner and charterer. A bill of lading may, depending on the circumstances, act as a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and a document of title that can be transferred.
The first step is to review the arrest order, the court that issued it, the basis of the claim and the conditions for release. Action in the country of arrest usually requires locally qualified counsel and urgent coordination with everyone with an interest in the vessel.
Yes, many maritime contracts contain an arbitration clause. Whether and how a dispute is arbitrated depends on the validity of the clause, the seat, the chosen rules and the subject of the dispute.
The charterparty, bills of lading, operational correspondence, cargo condition reports, invoices and port records may all be needed. The documents depend on the dispute, and the final list is settled after the first review of the case.
Ship arrest is a powerful tool for securing maritime claims, but without checking ownership, counter-security, upkeep costs and the release route, it can backfire on the claimant.
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Related: Ship Registration & Reflagging · UAE & Türkiye Disputes · International Trade & Arbitration
This page is general information, not legal advice. The answer in any particular matter depends on its own documents and circumstances.
