Superyachts: Insurance, Litigation & Arbitration

We handle all aspects of dispute resolution and insurance claims/recoveries, including:

• Yachtbuilding and product liability

• Warranty claims for defect rectification

• Insurance claims for damage repair and for (constructive) total loss

• Sale & purchase and charter disputes (including MYBA / IYBA)

• Commission disputes between brokers and/or brokers and owners

• Commercial and technical management disputes

• Enforcement of maritime security / liens / arrests and release of arrest

• Distressed assets including divorce/debt sales and asset location

• Expert witnesses (valuations / technical / condition)

Recent examples include

• Andrew France v Discovery Yachts [2019] EWHC 3552 (Comm)

• PSV Limited v Langdon [2021] EWHC 2475 (Ch)

• Advising owners on an insurance claim for the total loss of their motor-yacht in which their insurers disputed the claim, including negotiations with the insurers, commencement of proceedings, technical/expert evidence, analysis of insurance warranties and conditions, conduct of settlement negotiations and concluding settlement agreements

• Acting for the owner in a disputed insurance claim for the total loss of a motor yacht, a case involving detailed technical issues arising from a complex policy wording, particularly in relation to manning and management warranties

• Advising a charter broker on a disputed owner’s claim that break-down of their yacht had cancelled their MYBA charter for “force majeure”, a case involving complex analysis of technical data which was headed-up by the team’s senior master mariner

• Acting for the owner of a sailing yacht in a dispute with the builders in relation to building quality issues and fitness for purpose

• Handling a multi-million-dollar product liability case for two builders, involving co-ordinating the input of lawyers across three jurisdictions

• Acting for a sale and purchase broker in a dispute with a central agent in connection with the sale of a yacht and the non-payment / under-payment of the broker’s share of the commission. Making a substantial recovery for the broker in question at minimal cost

• Acting for a charter broker to resolve a dispute with an owner in respect of the stakeholder and other services to be provided under the scope of the central agency arrangement

• Acting with network lawyers in Italy to resolve English law aspects of an insurance dispute concerning negligent repair works carried-out to a yacht, where the damage in question manifested itself much later and where causation was complicated by subsequent, structural alterations to the yacht

• Advising prospective purchasers of two iconic high-profile yachts that were each distressed assets due to civil and regulatory asset-tracing procedures. Our involvement included a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction analysis of the risk of future arrest and seizure, following a judicial sale