Rob Collins

Partner

With 5 of his 17 years in the marine industry at an International Group P&I Club, Rob brings a commercial, practical approach to shipping and trading disputes in both court and arbitration. He has acted for a range of shipowners, charterers and insurers in relation to a variety of wet and dry matters, often involving complex, multi-jurisdictional issues and direct action claims against insurers.

Rob has recently acted on a series of important cases involving casualties, and has particular expertise in vessel groundings, collisions, dock damage, vessel fires, general average, container stack collapse and cargo defence.

He is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Experience

• Assisting Owners and their insurers with a vessel grounding in Oman. Dealing with all aspects of salvage, wreck removal and cargo issues, including meeting with Omani authorities to negotiate the release of the refloated vessel.
• Acting for Owners and their insurers in investigating the sinking of a vessel in the North Sea, negotiating the wreck removal with salvors, liaising with authorities and defending the cargo claims.
• "Yusuf Cepnioglu" – Advising Charterers in relation to a container vessel grounding, defending the cargo claims across multiple jurisdictions as carriers and dealing with the indemnity claim from Owners and their insurers.
• Atlantik Confidence" – Advising on the total loss of a bulk carrier and its cargo following a fire in the engine room. We have been acting for the owner to establish a limitation fund in the English courts, using a P&I Club letter of undertaking.
• Assisting a container line and their insurers in relation to numerous container loss/damage claims.
• Both bringing and defending claims involving grounding/vessel damage in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
• Advising clients in relation to sanctions related force majeure and defending against alleged contractual breaches.
• Assisting South American clients with disputes under an oil supply agreement and contract of affreightment.
• Advising in relation to a US$4m sale and purchase dispute for Turkish buyers for off-spec cargo rejected by authorities at the discharge port.