Today’s ship owners, operators, charterers and suppliers face a shifting economic landscape marked by consolidation, environmental concerns, pressure from competitors and new technologies. It’s imperative to have a skilled legal team that understands the distinctive challenges faced by businesses involved in shipping law and can advise on potential risks.
With over a century of experience, offices across Canada and a worldwide client base, we are Canada’s only law firm with a dedicated, fully-integrated national shipping practice. We provide expert legal advice and dispute resolution services to safeguard clients’ interests and ensure compliance with the applicable legal and regulatory frameworks.
Our lawyers have the knowledge and experience to effectively and efficiently negotiate the most sophisticated shipping transactions and resolve the most complex disputes.
We assist clients with:
- dispute resolution/litigation and arbitration
- advice on legal and regulatory frameworks
- commercial transactions and financing of shipping assets
- marine casualty response
- inquiries/investigations by Canadian authorities
Our team provides dispute resolution and litigation services, including:
- casualty investigations, including groundings, collisions and personal injury
- ship arrest, detention and judicial sale
- charterparty disputes
- salvage and general average
- cargo claim defence
- pollution and other environmental prosecution
- ship building and repair disputes
- recognition and enforcement of foreign bankruptcies, judgments and arbitration awards
- limitation of liability proceedings
- stowaway and deserter issues
- personal injury claims
- freight and demurrage claims
We also offer transactions and regulatory advisory services for the following:
- autonomous vessels and technology
- charterparties, booking notes, bills of lading and other contracts of carriage
- importing vessels, re-flagging, coasting trade and Transport Canada regulatory compliance
- ship construction, conversion and repair contracts
- ship finance, sale and purchase
- terminal operations and stevedoring agreements
- ship management agreements
- privacy and intellectual property rights in the shipping sector
- tax planning and customs issues
- marine insurance and coverage issues
- bankruptcy and insolvency restructuring
- transportation of dangerous goods
- immigration, including intra-company transfers and crewing issues
Our lawyers are involved in the leading judicial decisions that form the essence of Canadian shipping law and the key transactions that shape Canada's shipping industry.
We are the preferred counsel to:
- ship owners, charterers and managers
- steamship lines
- P & I clubs and transportation insurers
- terminals
- freight forwarders
- logistics providers
- ports
- warehouses
- cruise lines
