Mr Andrew Chamberlain > HFW > London, England > Lawyer Profile
HFW Offices

8 Bishopsgate
LONDON
EC2N 4BQ
England
- Firm Profile
- Go to...
Mr Andrew Chamberlain

Work Department
Shipping
Position
Partner & Mariner
Career
Andrew is a former Royal Navy officer and specialises in “wet” shipping cases, including salvage (acting for salvors, as well as ship owners and their underwriters), collisions, fire and explosion, total loss and wreck removal. He also advises on both civil and criminal pollution liabilities, marine insurance coverage disputes and the full range of other shipping-related commercial and contractual disputes.
Andrew served at sea with the Royal Navy and also had a stint with the Hong Kong Squadron. He left the Royal Navy in 1990 and joined HFW in 1994. He was promoted to partner in 2003 and has been heavily involved in many of the largest casualties of recent years, including “ACONCAGUA“ and “CMA DJAKARTA” (both 1999), “PRESTIGE” (2002), “PELICAN 1” (2003), “THUNDERHORSE” (2005) which remains the most valuable property subject to a Lloyds Open Form salvage agreement to date, “MSC NAPOLI” (2007), “MSC CHITRA” (2010), “COSTA CONCORDIA” (2012), “SMART” (2013), the “NORMAN ATLANTIC” (2014), “MAERSK SEOUL” (2016), “SANCHI” and “MAERSK HONAM” (both 2018), “YANTIAN EXPRESS” and “GOLDEN RAY” (both 2019), “STELLAR BANNER” (2020) and “EVER GIVEN” and “X-PRESS PEARL” (both 2021).
Andrew is qualified in England and Wales.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Transport > Shipping
(Leading partners)HFW‘s shipping practice stands out as a leading player in the maritime sector, renowned for its comprehensive expertise across wet and dry, green shipping, and cybersecurity. Under the leadership of global head Paul Dean, the team excels in handling high-profile casualties, cargo claims, as well as transactional work. Noteworthy practitioners include Andrew Chamberlain, a wet shipping expert, and Jean Koh
, who specialises in dry shipping work and has extensive expertise in matters relating to the Asian market. Crisis management experts Claire Womersley and Richard Neylon, alongside maritime casualty specialist Michael Ritter, are pivotal in addressing major incidents. Core contacts for maritime disputes are Paolo Ghirardani
and Jim Cashman, while Alex Kemp excels in container ship casualties and war risk claims. Marine insurance matters fall under the advisory portfolio of Jenny Salmon, and Rory Butler is active across both dry and admiralty work. Elinor Dautlich left the firm January 2024.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Transport > Aviation
- Dispute resolution > Commodities disputes
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Transport > Shipping
Firm Rankings
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Insurance > Insurance and reinsurance litigation
- Insurance > Insurance litigation: for policyholders
- Insurance > Insurance: corporate and regulatory
- Transport > Travel
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Insurance > Professional negligence
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Finance > Transport finance and leasing
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Oil and gas
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Renewables
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency