Maritime and Shipping Practice

1. Home
2. Industries
3. Maritime and Shipping Practice

STA's shipping and maritime law practice covers:

Finance: STA has a dedicated team of lawyers that focus solely on ship financing, Each attorney in our financing department has demonstrable experience, capability and knowledge to understand key issues and provide bespoke ship financing related advice to clients. Our lawyers advice on all types of vessel including bulk carriers, tankers, cruise ships, offshore rigs and support vessels.

Litigation: Our litigation team advises on litigation matters in areas such as contracts of affreightment, fires and explosions, maritime fraud, investigation and litigation, P & I defence work, competition law, unsafe port and berth disputes; ship sale and purchase disputes, arbitration and mediation, and defending masters, crew and ship owners. Our Shipping lawyers have the proven capabilities, and experience in representing clients before courts at all levels within the UAE including the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, arbitration bodies including Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), DIFC-LCIA and international venues including London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), German Maritime Arbitration Association (GMAA), Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA), and London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) to name a few.To read more on our litigation and dispute resolution practice, please visit here. 

Insurance: Our team provides comprehensive range of legal services, shipbuilding and offshore construction, mortgage interests, advising on hull, energy, business interruption and reinsurance matters and a wide range of other marine insurance matters.

To request capability statements for below practices, email us

Transactional Shipping: STA's global shipping and maritime team assists and advises clients on a broad range of matters including ship building contracts, ship breaking transactions, sale and purchase of second hand tonnage, joint ventures, investment agreement, pooling agreements, financing and technical management agreements.

Corporate and Commercial: STA’s corporate and commercial team has earned an outstanding reputation as trusted legal advisors who are closely aligned with our clients, who can add value and who are easy to work with on all corporate and commercial transactions and governance issues. Please read our corporate capability statement for detailed information.

Oil and Gas: STA's attorneys specialize in all areas of contentious as well as non-contentious discipline in oil and gas industry and advise on both upstream and downstream work.

Please feel free to request our oil and gas capability statement to know more about this practice.

We are not just commercially minded, we are entrepreneurial, clear and also result oriented. At STA, we render legal advice that is timely, practical and individually tailored to meet specific requirements of our clients. Get in touch with one of our senior shipping lawyers in Dubai or other office locations to find out more about us and how we can help you in your business.

Contact us for more information

If you would like to obtain a copy of our capability statement for this practice area, please contact us and one of our representatives will be in touch.

Related Publications

Company Formation in Luxembourg

Company Formation Services in Luxembourg provided by STA's team of lawyers in Luxembourg. Set up Luxembourg Company or Open a Luxembourg Fund. Understand the formalities involved in company formation in Liechtenstein and Luxembourg

Company Formation in Dubai and UAE

Company Incorporation in Dubai - A Detailed Overview of the United Arab Emirates, Statistical Information and Corporate Advisory on Company Formation in Dubai and the UAE. Copyrights Protected. STA Law Firm

Company Formation in Iraq

Company Formation in Iraq. Setting up New Business in Iraq. Understand the Different Forms of Legal Entities in Iraq. Company Formation Procedures have also been detailed in this Guide. Contact one of our Lawyers in Dubai today for more information!

Virtual Round Table - Company Formation in Dubai and More!

Interactive Online Interview by Zisha Rizvi, Partner at STA Law Firm on Company Formation in Dubai - Ms Rizvi discusses various forms of vehicles available for investors to register or start new business in Dubai and UAE. LLC Formation in…

UAE Insurance Law - Update

Detailed Guide on Insurance Laws in the UAE. Understand the Regulatory Aspects, Various Insurance Bodies such as Insurance Authority, HAAD, Dubai Mandatory Health Insurance, DIFC Insurance and DFSA Regulations Surrounding Insurance and More!

Strategic Priority of Oil & Gas Industry in the UAE in the Coming Years

Overview of UAE Legislation and Regulations Affecting Onshore and Offshore Natural Gas and Oil Activity across United Arab Emirates, the GCC and the Middle East. Ownership, Production, Exploration and Conservation of Oil and Gas Resources in UAE.

Energy Charter Treaty - International Trends Relating to Energy Dispute Resolution

The Energy Charter Treaty (the ECT) sets out a clear multilateral framework for energy cooperation internationally amongst its members. The treaty is a unique instrument aimed at promoting foreign energy investments and provides for extension of national treatment or MFN…

Oild and Gas Regulation in the United Arab Emirates

A comprehensive guide to oil and gas regulations in the United Arab Emirates. This Q&A extensively covers a high level overview of domestic oil and gas industry, access and concession rights, sale, purchase and trade in oil and gas and…

Related Articles

21 May 2015

Bail Fail? Liabilities of Bail Guarantor under the UAE Criminal Law

Liabilities of the Bail Guarantor under the UAE Criminal Law We’ve all seen the images of prisoners arriving at court for their hearings, seated in high-security vehicles with small circular windows, with photographers clamoring for a prime position in order…

08 July 2015

Can You Choose Your Own Judge?

For a variety of reasons, it is highly likely that most people’s instincts would incite them to answer “no”! However, if we peruse UAE legal texts we will find that actually, in most cases, the answer will be “yes”!  Litigation…

21 July 2014

Crash and Splash - UAE Shipping & Maritime Law

Crash and Splash - UAE Shipping and Maritime Law 1. What is maritime collision? A maritime collision is when there is physical contact between two vessels. This can be classified as one of three categories: i) fault of one vessel, ii)…

09 March 2015

Cross Border Crime and Extradition

Cooperation in International Financial Investigations Apparently “money talks” but “crime doesn’t pay”. It, therefore, follows that financial crime is rife, yet the methods in place to control and reduce it are effective.  The evolution of banking means that there are…

17 December 2014

Cross-Border Crime and Extradition (Part I)

They say that crime doesn’t pay. But whether it pays or not it certainly sells, at least with Hollywood movies, computer games, fictitious novels all reaping the benefits of the public’s general fascination with the subject. Generally, the term “crime”…

10 July 2015

Cross-Border Crime and Extradition (Part II)

UKBA vs Bribery and Corruption   According to ex-UK Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke, “Bribery blights lives… The wider victims are government and society, undermined by a weakened rule of law and damaged social and economic development. At…

26 November 2015

Enforcing Foreign Judgments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Introduction With the spread of globalization, technical and technological evolution, changes in communication means and transportations, economic freedom and free trade around the world have reinforced the idea that businesses and commercial dealings need protection.  Hence, as there is an…

29 December 2015

Enforcing Foreign Judgments in UAE- Part II

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS GOVERNING THE ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGMENTS IN THE UAE    To continue with our previous article, the second part deals with the various agreements in place between the United Arab Emirates and various countries and how they are…

05 September 2014

Fraud and Deceit under the UAE law

“Fraud and deceit abound in these days more than in former times”1    Lord Coke could have been talking just as easily about the modern day. Hundreds of thousands of people fall victim to fraudulent activities each year. A number…

21 May 2015

Implications of Bounced/Dishonoured Cheques under UAE Law

Reforms in Police Cases against UAE Nationals and Foreigners If you think about it, “bounced” is a strange choice of word to apply to a failed cheque. “Bounce” implies lively, rejuvenated, excitable, energetic – a collection of adjectives which certainly…

23 September 2014

INDIA UAE Extradition Treaty

INDIA UAE Extradition Treaty When former Central Intelligence Agency employee and National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the details of the secret surveillance program of the United States, he had to flee the United States under…

08 June 2016

OW Bunker Dilemma

OW Bunker Dilemma Who to pay when the bunker supplier becomes insolvent 1.   Introduction The collapse of OW Bunker group (the OW) has been extensively reported worldwide. OW has been one of the world’s largest bunker suppliers filed for bankruptcy…

11 April 2016

Project Financing - a Primer

Project Finance as the technique of financing any development idea is rapidly increasing in developing countries due to their drive to gain industrial development and improve infrastructural amenities. The infrastructural projects or projects relating to energy industry are usually funded…

22 May 2014

Shipping and Maritime Laws (Part 1)

Introduction Travel and transport by the sea is the earliest recorded channels of commerce. Dispute resolution that involved maritime trade was developed much earlier in history than any other. Maritime law has undergone significant transformations since then. Though each nation…

11 April 2016

Trade Finance - Letter of Credit in UAE Context

  Trade Finance - Letter of Credit in UAE Context  A documentary credit or a letter of credit is usually used to finance international trade. Judges have referred to documentary credits as the “lifeblood” of global commerce. Most documentary credits…

06 March 2016

Travel ban vs. Deportation order - UAE Criminal Laws

“Walk where your heart leads you, there are no restrictions and no burdens.” Howsoever good you might find the above quote, the truth is that such a thing is not always a reality in this world. But international conventions, rules,…

20 January 2016

Vessel Arrest - Overview of Dubai and UAE Laws

Maritime trade has been carried out since ages, and it remains to be the backbone of the world economy by hauling around 80 to 90% of world trade. UAE being the place in between Asia and Europe has been a…