Waterson Hicks

Waterson Hicks is a well-established, City-based legal practice whose expertise in shipping law is renowned. Its teams of dedicated, skilful lawyers have successfully served an expanding client base since 1990 and some team members have almost 40 years’ experience in this market.

The firm: Waterson Hicks is at the heart of the shipping and commercial law worlds in both London and Piraeus, and delivers commercial and expert advice to each of its clients.

The firm’s highly specialised legal team offers an effective and speedy response to clients, with an emphasis on dry shipping, admiralty, marine insurance, commodities, ship sale and purchase, and transactional work. Clients include major shipowning groups, P&I clubs, state-owned organisations, leading oil companies, energy traders and insurers. The firm also has an office in Piraeus at the heart of the shipowning community.

Waterson Hicks’ commercially minded people and the firm’s commitment to quality of service enable it to deal successfully with the most substantial cases. The firm values a creative, pragmatic and cost-effective approach.

Types of work undertaken
Dry shipping: Waterson Hicks has a wealth of experience in dry shipping work which forms a substantial part of the firm’s practice. The team responds to the needs of major shipowners and charterers, their P&I clubs, cargo owners and their underwriters. It acts for both members and assureds, and on insurers’ instructions. Specialist areas include charterparty disputes; cargo claims; speed and consumption disputes; MOA disputes; contracts of affreightment; shipbuilding disputes and ship management.

Admiralty: the team has great experience managing the full spectrum of maritime claims. It advises on all areas of admiralty law. It has substantial expertise in collisions, salvage and towage; total losses; marine insurance disputes; general average; explosions, fires; groundings and strandings; oil pollution, environmental damage and wreck removal. The firm’s experience in marine crisis management is particularly suited to the tanker and dry cargo markets.

Ship sale and purchase: it has considerable experience in drafting and advising upon contractual documents and related financial arrangements associated with the following areas: sale and purchase of all types of second-hand tonnage for trading or scrap, including bulk carriers, tankers general cargo ships, rigs and yachts; ship and mortgage registration; dual and bareboat registrations; shipbuilding contracts for new buildings; loan agreements, deeds of covenants and security; refinancing; UK and offshore company formations and corporate registrations.

Insurance and reinsurance: Waterson Hicks has a highly respected background in dealing with major insurance claims and reinsurance disputes, acting for and against insurers in a wide variety of areas. Its expertise includes policy claims involving marine hull and liability; charterers’ liability; P&I; and reinsurance policies.

Commodities: clients include state oil companies, major trading houses, oil majors and smaller independents. Its work covers the sale and purchase of commodities in the international market, and includes physical commodity contracts, including shipment and delivery terms; trading terms and conditions commodity specific forms and dispute resolution forums such as GAFTA, FOSFA, LME, PORAM and other trade association arbitration; exchange regulatory advice; and economic sanctions regulations and other trade restrictions and hedging.

Transactional: the firm services all transactional requirements of clients’ trading. It advises on drafting specialist commercial agreements. Its areas of expertise include joint venture agreements, shareholder agreements and share purchase agreements, investment and participation agreements, corporate constitutional documentation, and agency and management agreements.

Other offices: Piraeus