Counting shipowners and charterer, P&I Clubs, alongside major shipyards amongst its key clients, the HFW practice has ‘comprehensive knowledge’ in cross-border contractual disputes and complex insurance matters. The team advises high-profile collisions and pollution claims, in tandem with bilateral debt financing and capital raising affairs, with Hong Kong-based co-head Christopher Chan specialising in maritime arbitration proceedings. The other co-lead, Nicholas Poynder, covers both contentious and transactional work from the Shanghai office, Patrick Yeung primarily focuses on disputes arising from personal injury and shipbuilding scenarios, and Henry Fung covers crew claims, enforcement, and ship mortgages from his base in Hong Kong. Jenny Chester stands out for her work on maritime casualty-related claims.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘First class service from Nick Poynder, Jenny Chesters, and Thilo Jahn who know their clients, know the markets, and know the law.’
‘The Company considers HFW one of the best shipping law firms to work with. HFW exhibits comprehensive knowledge of the shipping businesses and outstanding professionalism in advising shipping-related commercial transactions. In view of the long-term cooperation, HFW is well aware of the Company’s core values and business objectives. The team is therefore able to provide realistic risk assessment and usually impresses the Company by giving innovative recommendations in tackling legal and commercial issues in various commercial transactions. The remarkable capability to provide the Company with feasible plans to achieve desired outcomes makes them stand out from other firms.’
Key clients
- CMA CGM Asia Shipping Pte. Ltd. & CMA CGM Asia Pacific Liner Pte Ltd
- Bright Shipping Limited (Owners of SANCHI)
Work highlights
- Advised and represented CMA CGM in a multi-jurisdictional slot charterparty dispute involving a fire on MV ‘APL CAIRO’, resulting in damages of approximately US$4 million.
- Represented Bright Shipping Limited, the owners of oil tanker SANCHI, in a high-stakes (US$160 million) multi-jurisdictional maritime dispute following a collision with bulk carrier CF CRYSTAL.