The outbreak of war can have serious consequences on charterparties of all kinds and it is therefore no surprise that the industry has developed several standard clauses to clarify the parties’ obligations in such uncertain times.

The High Court decision last year in The Eternal Bliss changed the landscape for owners and voyage charterers by establishing that damages in excess of demurrage can be claimed by owners, even where the only breach was the failure to load and discharge within the laytime. Demurrage had previously been thought to be a complete code for damages caused by that breach. Judgment has now been handed down in the Court of Appeal overturning that decision.

Contract Law and Construction

Dispute Resolution

English Law

Environment, Climate, and Sustainability

ESG, compliance and risk management

Insurance Law

International Trade

Investigation and Crisis Management

Maritime and Offshore Emergency Response

Offshore

Oil and Gas

Sanctions and Export Controls

Shipping

Oil and gas

Shipping Offshore

Partner

Baptiste is a shipping and international trade specialist with extensive experience in resolving international disputes arising from charterparties, bills of lading, shipbuilding contracts, memorandums of agreement, ship management agreements, and marine insurance.  He also advises clients on other related sectors, with his practice spanning any issues in relation to the logistics, storage and transhipment of physical commodities (wet and dry), and the sale and purchase of the same. 

With a strong focus on the European market, he advises some of the biggest owners/fleets across all market sectors (wet, dry, container cargo, LNGs, and tug/tow). He has gained a reputation for his broad range of services, both litigation and advisory/contract drafting, and is seen as "a practical, hands-on lawyer, possessing not only good legal skills but also the commercial understanding to resolve issues".

Baptiste has also assisted several owners/operators in recent years with complex issues arising out of war risks and global sanctions, including in relation to Iranian, Venezuelan, Belorussia and more recently Russia. Baptiste also regularly advises clients on greenhouse gas and carbon intensity issues and regulations, including EEXI, CII, and EU ETS.

Baptiste is also multilingual.

London

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Baptiste specialises in shipping and trade, focusing mainly on international dispute resolution.

Baptiste Weijburg