Limitation of liability: the Court of Appeal rules that a marina is a “dock” and can limit liability

Holyhead Marina Ltd v Farrer & ors [2021] EWCA Civ 1585 Overnight on 1 – 2 March 2018, Holyhead Marina was destroyed by Storm Emma, leading to the total loss of 89 vessels moored on the floating pontoons from which the marina was constructed. The total claim value was in the region of £5 million […]

3rd November 2021

Anti-suit injunctions: foreign proceedings in breach of an (alleged) English jurisdiction agreement.

In HAPPY LUCKY -v- FESCO VOYAGER, James Watthey successfully defeated an anti-suit injunction application in the Commercial Court in September. Judgment was given ex tempore and the transcript has just been approved. The application arose out of a collision off Vietnam. There were negotiations over applicable law, jurisdiction and security, but in due course owners […]

12th October 2021

James Watthey has been newly appointed to the Attorney General’s London A Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown

4 Pump Court is delighted to announce that James Watthey has been appointed to the Attorney General’s London A Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. The panel consists of junior counsel who undertake civil work for all government departments. Members of the A Panel are instructed in the most complex and high profile government […]

11th August 2021

London International Shipping Week 2021

London International Shipping Week logo 2021

London International Shipping Week 2021 is a week long global shipping and maritime event that is being held during the week of September 13-17, in person and virtually, attracting audiences from jurisdictions globally. LISW21 offers over 150 industry functions and unique networking opportunities for leaders across all sectors of the international shipping industry – regulators, charterers, […]

Farrer v Holyhead Marina goes to the Court of Appeal

On 11th January 2021, the Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal from the decision of Teare J in Farrer v. Holyhead Marina [2020] EWHC 1750 (Admlty) in which it was ruled that a marina constituted a “dock” for the purposes of section 191 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and that the marina operators […]

11th January 2021

Urgent out of hours commercial injunctions: an excellent advert for the English courts

In ETC Export Trading Company SA v APLAS Importer & Berhan Bank SC [2020] EWHC 3229 (QB) (26 November 2020), James Watthey (instructed by a multi-jurisdictional team from Baker & McKenzie LLP) obtained an urgent without notice injunction after an out of hours hearing on Microsoft Teams before Pepperall J. In order to preserve the […]

26th November 2020

Can marina operators limit liability under s.191 Merchant Shipping Act? Holyhead Marina Ltd v Farrer &ors [2020]...

James Watthey appeared in this case before the Admiralty Judge involving a very rare dispute on the right in principle to limit under s.191. The case provides the only authority for the timebeing in English law on the main point in dispute: whether a marina is (or can in certain circumstances be) a “dock” for […]

7th July 2020

Freezing injunctions over ships: Crowther v Crowther & ors [2020] EWCA Civ 762

James Watthey appeared in this rare re-marriage (or perhaps collision) of the Divorce and Admiralty jurisdictions in the Court of Appeal. Mr and Mrs Crowther formerly ran a business which specialised in chartering out offshore support vessels but they are now in the process of heavily contested divorced proceedings. Mrs Crowther alleges that the couple […]

16th June 2020

Substituting a New Claimant After a Limitation Period Ends: AIG Europe Ltd v McCormick and RSA Insurance PLC

James Watthey recently appeared in an interesting procedural wrangle on CPR Part 19.5(3)(a) and (b) in AIG Europe Ltd v McCormick Roofing Ltd & Ors [2020] EWHC 943 (TCC). This is a TCC claim where proceedings had been commenced in the name of the wrong claimant, and an application was made to correct the error after […]

1st May 2020

James Watthey appointed to Council of the London Shipping Law Centre

We are pleased to announce that James Watthey has been appointed to the Council of the London Shipping Law Centre (LSLC) as of 1st July 2019. The LSLC is a centre of excellence in shipping law and delivers seminars and debates on maritime legal, commercial and technical issues. Supported by the judiciary, and generously hosted […]

2nd July 2019

James Watthey in “The Rejoice” [2019] EWHC 776 (Admlty): Duties of care to self-employed crew and...

The latest edition of our Maritime Bulletin features the case of Lambert v VJ Glover Ltd & Friday in which James Watthey acted for the successful skipper and owners of the MFV REJOICE, instructed by Keoghs LLP. The claim arose out of a serious injury to a share fisherman onboard a Brixham based scalloper. The […]

28th March 2019

‘Russian’ to Judgment: the English Court grapples with an arbitration clause in Russian

James Hatt comments on how the recent case of A Limited v B Limited [2018] EWHC 1370 (Comm) illustrates the complications that can arise when a contract is not expressed in clear English – or in clear Russian. The case was a s.67 application in which James Watthey of 4 Pump Court acted for the […]

18th July 2018

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