Practice area
Maritime law
Nigeria’s maritime trade runs on contracts, cargo and tight deadlines.
We advise shipowners, charterers, cargo interests, agents and other participants in Nigeria’s maritime sector. Our work spans the commercial agreements that move goods by sea and the disputes that follow when a voyage does not go to plan, including proceedings in the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
How we help
- Charterparties and contracts of carriage
- Drafting, reviewing and advising on charterparties, bills of lading and related shipping contracts, and on the obligations each party takes on.
- Cargo claims
- Claims for loss of or damage to cargo, including recovery against carriers and insurers, and defence of claims brought against our clients.
- Admiralty proceedings
- Actions in the admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, including arrest and release of vessels and the security that goes with them.
- Regulatory and compliance
- Advice on Nigerian maritime regulation, including cabotage requirements and dealings with NIMASA and the Nigerian Ports Authority.
- Casualties and incidents
- Advice following collisions, groundings, pollution incidents and other casualties, and representation in the investigations that follow.
Our approach
Maritime matters move quickly and are rarely confined to one jurisdiction. A vessel may be alongside for a matter of days, and the window to secure a claim can close with it. We give early, practical advice on what can be done and what it will take, so that a client can decide while the decision is still available to them.
Where a dispute can be settled commercially, we say so. Where it cannot, we prepare it properly.