Stephenson Harwood

Maritime, Insurance, Commercial Disputes

Partner

Saif is a bilingual (Arabic and English) partner based in Dubai with deep knowledge of the UAE shipping industry, given his experience in representing major clients in both litigation and arbitration proceedings.

He primarily focuses on big-ticket shipping disputes in the region, including wet claims (collisions, casualties, fire, salvage, grounding, and oil pollution) and dry claims (charterparty disputes, cargo claims, crew claims, ship arrests, trade finance disputes, enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitration awards, and insurance coverage issues). Furthermore, Saif is regularly instructed by international P&I Clubs and their members to assist with the repatriation of abandoned crew members.

Saif has established himself as a leading maritime lawyer in the market by successfully setting up precedents before the local courts in complex civil law disputes. He recently managed to set up – for the first time in the history of civil courts in the region- a limitation fund for the owners of a Ro-Ro Cargo vessel before Aqaba Court – Jordan, following a major oil pollution incident. He also recently resolved one of the most landmark cases in the history of the UAE judicial system, whereby the Dubai local court applied the English law principles and awarded the client full recovery of legal fees, loss of profits, and consequential losses as a result of the insurers acts in delaying the settlement of a CTL claim.

In addition to his shipping practice, Saif's expertise extends to civil and criminal disputes related to fraud, regulatory and cybersecurity issues.