Philip Aspin

Shipping (and related) work is at the heart of Philip’s practice. He is ranked as a “Leading Junior” in this practice area by the Legal 500 and has acted (both led and unled) in a wide variety of charterparty, COA, bill of lading, shipbuilding and ship sale, and other marine disputes.

• Sea Consortium Ptd Ltd & ors v Bengal Tiger Line Ltd & ors “The X-Press Pearl” (AD-2021-000165). Acting for the Government of Sri Lanka in Admiralty Court limitation proceedings arising out of one of the most notorious marine casualties of recent years, the loss of the container ship “X-Press Pearl” which caught fire and sank off the port of Colombo in May 2021, resulting in massive environmental damage along the Sri Lankan coastline. (Led by Peter MacDonald Eggers KC and Charles Holroyd).
• Acting (as sole counsel) for owners in a complex and high-value LMAA claim following an IED attack on an oil tanker, involving issues relating to demurrage, general average and UK-Russia sanctions.
• Acting (as sole counsel) for the claimant in an LMAA arbitration arising out of the repudiation of a contract for the sale of a tanker.
• Acting (as sole counsel) for the disponent owners of a bulk carrier in an LMAA arbitration involving a chain of charterparties on the NYPE form. The case arises from the infestation of cargo by a “nuptial flight” of red ants at a Chinese port and features claims for offhire, breach of the safe port warranty and implied indemnity.
• Acting (led by Stephen Kenny KC) for vessel operators in a claim against a terminal operator for negligent stowage of containers leading to the collapse of container stacks at sea.
• Acted for the claimant buyers in an LMAA shipbuilding arbitration arising out of contracts for the construction of two LNG carriers of novel design. After the defectiveness of the vessels had been established at an 8-day preliminary issue hearing in 2021, the matter proceeded to a further three-week trial in September 2023 on issues of liability and quantum at which Philip’s clients were successful on almost every point, resulting in an award of almost US$300m in damages. (Originally with Robert Bright KC and Adam Turner, subsequently with Simon Birt KC and Kyle Lawson).
• Acted (with John Bignall) for the claimants in a complex multi-party dispute in LMAA arbitration relating to an LPG carrier which was subject to a chain of bareboat charters. The respondents were alleged to have used the vessel to load cargoes of Iranian origin in breach of US sanctions. The case featured an array of complicated legal and factual issues, including AIS ‘spoofing’, the effect of US-Iran sanctions, and whether the termination of the head bareboat charter had the effect of automatically terminating the sub-bareboat charter.
• Acted (as sole counsel against a silk) defending a US$4 million LMAA arbitration claim brought by the bareboat charterers of a fleet of chemical tankers against the vessels’ former managers.
• Acted (as sole counsel) on behalf of voyage charterers in US$6.5 million LMAA arbitration arising out of the unseaworthiness of a VLCC and consequent delay to loading of a cargo of crude oil, raising issues including the carrier’s duty of due diligence, limitation under the Hague-Visby rules, and remoteness of loss.
• Acted (led by Richard Southern KC) for the successful owners in a three-handed LMAA arbitration arising out of an unperformed COA for the carriage of iron ore out of Sierra Leone, defeating charterers’ defence of force majeure based on the alleged effects of the Ebola outbreak.
• Acted (led by Richard Southern KC) for charterers in LMAA arbitration arising out of an unperformed COA for the carriage of iron ore from Australia, turning on issues of force majeure and frustration.
• Acted (led by Robert Bright KC) for time charterers in a three-handed LMAA arbitration arising from the detention of a bulk carrier, defending a $20+ million claim for cargo damage brought by voyage charterers and claiming up the chain against disponent owners. The case raised issues of construction of the exceptions clause in the Norgrain charter, the Inter-Club Agreement and the Hague Rules time-bar. (Settled favourably on the eve of trial).
• Acted (led by Gavin Geary) for claimant owners in an LMAA arbitration arising from the repudiation of a COA, involving consideration of the ‘minimum performance’ rule in assessing damages.
• Advised (as sole counsel) on a US$ 20m+ claim arising out of a bunker barging contract, raising issues of contractual variation, res judicata, estoppel by convention and duress.
• Advised on procedural issues relating to enforcement of an LOF salvage award.
• Advised on liability in negligent misstatement and deceit for false statements in a cargo survey report.
• Advised on the measure of damages under a time charter for owners’ breach of the obligation to present with clean holds ready for loading, causing a shipment window to be missed.
• Advised on the availability of a claim under English law for wrongful arrest following the arrest of a tanker in South Korea on the basis of a claimed right to pierce the corporate veil.
• Instructed in relation to a claim for cargo damage resulting from a collision between a cruise ship and a tanker in the Dardanelles, involving complicated questions of assignment and limitation.
• Acted for disponent owners in assigned claim against shipper for freight due under bills of lading, raising issues concerning the incorporation of charterparty terms into bills of lading.
• Settled pleadings in demurrage claims under charterparties on the BPVOY 4 and Gencon 1994 forms.
• Acted for owners in claim for late redelivery, raising issues concerning the identification of the relevant market for assessing damages.
• Instructed in relation to an application to dismiss an arbitration claim alleging breach of a safe port warranty for inordinate and inexcusable delay.
• Advised on merits of a claim by owners under a charterparty on the Gencon 1994 form following purported termination by charterers after stevedores refused to load.
• Acted for charterers in dispute raising numerous issues, including damages for early redelivery, underperformance, offhire, and liability for delay arising from master’s refusal to accept bunkers.
• Advised owners on a demurrage dispute arising from a charterparty on the Synacomex 2000 form.
• Acted for time charterers defending disponent owners’ safe port/implied indemnity claim in LMAA arbitration.
• Acted for owners against time charterers in LMAA arbitration, involving a claim for unpaid hire and bunker shortfall on redelivery and a counterclaim alleging breach of a ‘no Iran calls’ warranty and misrepresentation as to the vessel’s history.
• Advised in relation to claims for misrepresentation and breach of implied terms of quality and fitness for purpose under a contract for the hire-purchase of a fishing vessel.
• Acted for claimant shipbrokers in claim for unpaid brokerage under a time charter.