Stephen Du

• Lakatamia Shipping Co Limited v Nobu Su [2021] EWHC 1907 (Comm). Acted for the Claimant in a four-week trial against Madam Su, the mother of the former billionaire shipping magnate, who was found to have conspired with her son to dissipate over €27m in assets.
• Net Insurance SpA v Torzi [2021] EWHC 26 (Comm). Acted with Richard Southern KC on behalf of an Italian insurance company against its investment managers who had allegedly misappropriated in excess of €26m of securities belonging to their principal.

Stephen has experience with arbitrations involving all major governing bodies such as ICC, CIETAC, LMAA, LCIA, SIAC and HKIAC and has conducted hearings in many foreign jurisdictions. Stephen has appeared as sole counsel, as well as lead by KCs and has appeared in a number of arbitrations unled, against KCs.

Recent examples of work are as follows:

• Acting as junior counsel in a HKIAC arbitration defending claims worth around US$700m brought against one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange companies in the world concerning a joint venture agreement to set up an exchange in Korea.
• Acting as junior counsel in a SIAC arbitration concerning a joint venture agreement for the construction and operation of two offshore platforms with a combined price in excess of US$600m.
• Acting as junior counsel in a LCIA arbitration concerning the termination of a 10-year Gas Sales Agreement in West Africa.
• Acting as sole counsel in an ICC arbitration bringing claims on behalf a Dutch offshore construction company concerning the rental of offshore piling equipment in Romania.
• Acting as sole counsel in a SIAC arbitration defending claims brought by a major financing company under various contracts of sale of iron ore which are alleged to be sham contracts.
• Acting as junior counsel in a Commercial Court claim worth over US$100m concerning late payments for oil deliveries from Nigeria to the national refinery of Cameroon.

• Instructed by a major Chinese corporation in an LMAA arbitration claiming in excess of US$20m relating to the delivery of steel slabs.
• Appeared as sole counsel in a HKIAC emergency arbitration hearing in Hong Kong on behalf of a buyer seeking urgent interim relief in a dispute regarding the sale of coal.
• Acted as sole counsel on behalf of Chinese buyers in a CIETAC arbitration regarding a series of contracts for the purchase of US corn and DDGS.

• The Russian Aviation Litigation. Instructed by Aircastle and FTAI, two major aircraft leasing companies, in claims in excess of US$500m regarding aircraft detained in Russia and Ukraine following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
• Greensill Bank v Zurich Insurance. Instructed to defend claims of around US$400m brought on behalf of Greensill Bank under a credit risk insurance policy following its high profile collapse in March 2021.
• Acting in an LCIA arbitration with Robert Bright KC in a US$15m claim under a credit risk insurance policy arising from the financial collapse of a Russian refinery.
• Acted with Peter MacDonald Eggers KC and Sarah Martin on a marine insurance claim concerning the detention of The Badr in Burgas, Bulgaria through fraudulent means.

• Instructed as junior counsel in a LMAA arbitration by the buyers in a claim concerning the construction of a US$500m semi-submersible drilling unit delivered with various defects.
• Instructed as junior counsel in a LMAA arbitration by a Chinese state-owned enterprise defending a claim in excess of US$9m for hedging losses arising from the non-delivery of marine fuel.
• Appeared as sole counsel against a KC in a LMAA arbitration hearing concerning the chartering of a Floating Storage Regasification Unit and a claim for over US$45 million in hire and related expenses.
• Acting as sole counsel for a buyer against a KC in a LMAA arbitration concerning the construction of a crane vessel claiming damages in excess of US$16m.
• Glory Wealth Shipping Pte Ltd v Flame SA [2016] EWHC 293, [2016] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 571. Appeared with Richard Southern KC in an arbitration appeal concerning breach of a contract of affreightment and whether the owners had suffered substantial loss.