Dry shipping, commodities and transport form a substantial part of Nichola’s practice. As a result, she has developed a wealth of experience in these fields. Her latest quote: "Her attention-to-detail is outstanding, she is highly personable, and is a persuasive orator."; “Nichola pays exceptional attention to detail and has an excellent memory; she is very valuable on long-running matters involving complex facts and multiple expert disciplines.”
Dry Shipping
Nichola is frequently instructed in disputes under charterparties, long term contracts of affreightment and bills of lading. She has acted for owners, disponent owners, charterers (demise, time and voyage) and receivers in a variety of claims associated with such contracts. Her experience includes disputes with the added complications of litigating/arbitrating in multi-party and/or multi-jurisdictions or governing laws.
Her extensive experience of cargo claims includes claims for misdelivery, claims for damage including alternative liability in tort and bailment, claims for declarations of non-liability by owners, cases involving the effect of the Hague, Hague-Visby and Hamburg Rules and claims for apportionment for cargo damage between owners and charterers under the NYPE Inter-Club agreements.
Other dry shipping cases in which Nichola has been instructed have raised legal issues of misrepresentation, charterparty construction, frustration, force majeure and wrongful termination/ cancellation/repudiation. She has also been instructed in a cases which have raised a variety of factual and technical expert issues such as unseaworthiness, proper stowage and carriage techniques, manning and crew training and as to the causes of the particular types of cargo damage.
In addition to the above, Nichola has undertaken other shipping- related work, ranging from claims for indemnity arising out of the UK Standard Towage Conditions to claims brought by crew members against their employers/owners. She also has experience of tort and contract claims brought by and against port and harbour authorities, marinas and ship yards and repairers.
Recent and current dry shipping cases have included the following types of disputes:-
- Unsafe port/berth claims and unsafe cargo/dangerous goods claims.
- Claims for damages/ indemnity under NYPE time charter in respect of hull-fouling and related issues affecting performance.
- Laytime/ demurrage and despatch claims under various voyage charters including issues of validity of Notices of Readiness, allegations of owner’s fault, frustration and of contract renunciation.
- Charterparty time-bar disputes for demurrage, cargo and indemnity claims.
- Liens on freight and sub-freight disputes and advising on English legal principles on extinction of maritime liens.
- Speed/performance claims and off-hire claims including construction of off-hire clauses and contractual or equitable deductions from hire for cross-claims for damages for (amongst others) crane breakdowns, breach of maintenance obligations, fire, detention of the vessel by port authorities and refusal to permit a vessel to enter US waters due to crew matters.
- Hire claims including those leading to withdrawal of the vessel and compliance with anti-technicality clauses.
- Claims arising out of delivery/redelivery obligations and questions of the proper quantum of damages for early/late redelivery of a vessel under a time charter.
- Claim of repudiation of charter following a failure to load a cargo after a change in cargo export procedures in country of loading raising issues of restraint of princes, frustration and force majeure.
- Claims in which BIMCO piracy and war risks clauses have been invoked by owners to refuse to comply with orders and/or claim additional security and insurance costs as a result of risks of piracy and/or other alleged war risks including political risks.
- Claim involving the impact and effect of US/ EU and UK sanctions against Iran on the validity of voyage orders given by charterers.
- Claims for indemnities under the NYPE 1996 Inter-Club agreement following settlement of cargo interests’ claims by owners or charterers.
- Bills of lading claims involving loss of or cargo damage to various types of cargo including containerised, bagged and bulk cargoes and cases involving challenges to the jurisdiction and issues of charterparty incorporation into the bills of lading.
- Claims for contributions to general average and under average bonds/guarantees.
- Claim brought by harbour authority against vessel owner for damage caused to harbour lock gates/ flood defence system.
- Claims for stevedore damage when using ship’s cranes.
In terms of led work, a selection of her most recent dry shipping cases includes the following:-
- Junior to Luke Parsons QC in claims under an NYPE time charter in unsafe port arbitration arising out of the grounding and sinking of a bulk carrier in Richards Bay, South Africa with an approximate value in excess of US$150 million and associated claims under a sub-voyage charter.
- Junior to David Goldstone QC in arbitration claims for repudiatory breach/ wrongful termination and counterclaim alleging misrepresentation/ conversion of bunkers and speed/performance claims over the duration of an NYPE charterparty. Collective value of claims in excess of US$10 million.
- Junior to David Goldstone QC in a demurrage and additional port clause claims in LMAA arbitration involving issues of contract construction of the relevant contractual time-bar provisions and documentary requirements/ validity of notices of readiness when a demurrage claim arises in the context of ship-to-ship transfer operations. Subsequently instructed to defend application for permission to appeal the award.
- Junior to Luke Parsons QC in an arbitration claim for wrongful termination, off-hire deductions and breach of trip time charter on NYPE form following US Coastguard’s refusal of entry into US waters of a Syrian-crewed vessel because none of crew had US immigration visas. A settlement sum was paid to clients before the arbitration hearing.
- Junior to Jeremy Russell QC on claim brought in the High Court (Commercial Court) for indemnity for loss of vessel and personal injury claims under the UK Standard Towage Conditions. This claim involved a wide range of issues of expert/technical issues ranging from seaworthiness of the tug, pilotage and navigation of the tow to allegations of negligence of port authority’s practices and procedures. It also required cross-jurisdictional discussion with Scots lawyers where personal injury actions and statutory inquiries were ongoing. The English claims were settled before trial.
- Junior to David Goldstone QC in the successful defence of claim in arbitration for fraudulent misrepresentation by (admitted) ante-dating bill of lading on causation/inducement grounds and subsequent section 68 Arbitration Act application (withdrawn) and section 69 Arbitration Act application (rejected).
Nichola has advised on the validity and effect of assignments on ongoing LMAA arbitral proceedings and arbitral awards and been instructed in upholding and making challenges to LMAA arbitration awards pursuant to sections 67, 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
Although most of her dry shipping work is in arbitration, Nichola’s reported cases in the field of shipping include:
- African Fertilizers & Chemicals Nig Ltd (Nigeria) v BD ShipsNavo GmbH & Co Reederei KG (The Christian D) [2011] 2 Lloyds Rep 531 – successfully defended application to set aside judgment granting permission to enforce an arbitration award on jurisdiction in claim for general average against cargo interests following the obtaining of the underlying declaratory arbitration award and injunctive and declaratory relief from the English court in support of those arbitration proceedings in circumstances where cargo interests were bringing foreign proceedings in breach of an arbitration clause in bill of lading. This case was referred to and the judgment approved by the Court of Appeal in West Tankers Inc v Allianz SpA & Another [2012] EWCA Civ 27 in upholding enforcement of a declaratory arbitration award. In this case, prior the declaratory arbitration award, Nichola had applied for and successfully obtained an anti-arbitration injunction against the respondent.
- Parker v Levy (trading as Essex Marina) (2007) 151 SJLB 1166 – successfully defended at trial a claim by user against a marina for injuries sustained when using a finger pontoon which was allegedly dangerous and/or defectively designed.
- Anton Durbeck GmbH v Den Norske Bank ASA (The Tropical Reefer) [2006] 1 Lloyds Rep 93 – junior to Luke Parsons QC in successful defence of claim against mortgagee bank brought by third party cargo owner for interfering with performance of bill of lading contracts by arresting the vessel.
Commodities.
Nicola has advised on GAFTA and FOSFA disputes and has also been instructed in cases concerning long-term commercial contracts for the sale and supply of other commodities suas oil, coal and aluminium, other metals and related storage agreements. Her more recent cases include successfully defending a scrap metal claim in an LCIA arbitration in which the claimant was alleging fraud, misrepresentation and breach of contract in relation to the quality of the scrap provided.
Transport
Nichola has experience of disputes in carriage of goods by road (domestic and CMR) including a number involving high-value thefts of goods. She has also advised on freight forwarding, other transportation agreements and in warehousing disputes involving UKWA terms.
Wet Shipping
Nichola acts in a number of disputes which fall within the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court.
In addition to those appearing below, she has been instructed in admiralty claims concerning ownership of a vessel, ship mortgages (including seeking application for sale), for personal injury and crew wages and claims in respect of goods and materials supplied to a ship. Nichola also has experience of ship arrests and judicial sale (particularly to enforce mortgagee's rights).
Collision
Nichola has been instructed in a number of collision cases and is familiar with the procedural, jurisdiction and limitation issues that arise in connection therewith.
A selection of the collision cases in which she has been involved include:-
- The Paola icw The Mineral Venture involving allegations of fraudulent invoices submitted in support of claims and quantum led by Charles Macdonald QC.
- The Cape Passero icw The Fino advising on quantum of claims and offers to settle in collision cases.
- The CT Longford icw AHT Primus claim against tug following fouled propeller by line during unmooring operations from floating storage platform.
Towage
Nichola has advised on towage contracts including TOWCON and contracts on the UK Standard Towage Conditions or similar terms in foreign jurisdictions but subject to English law.
Nichola was junior to Jeremy Russell QC on claim for indemnities for loss of vessel and personal injury claims under the UK Standard Towage Conditions following the sinking of the Flying Phantom tug in the River Clyde. The dispute raises issues of seaworthiness of the tug, pilotage and navigation of the tow and allegations of negligence of the port authority’s practices and procedures. The case settled before trial.
Pollution
Nichola was second junior instructed on behalf of Milford Haven Port Authority following the Sea Empress grounding in the claim brought by the IOPCF raising issues of pilot training, oil pollution and as to the liability of the port for the economic and physical consequences of the oil spill.