Simon leads the team, helping clients to make better-informed business decisions, offering advice and working to resolve their problems – from answering routine contractual questions to co-ordinating major incidents. Much of his work has been with operators in the tug and offshore support sectors, which are his particular passion.

Pooling his experience with other senior members of the legal profession, he has created a legal service that focuses exclusively on the tug and offshore support vessel sectors – TugAdvise.

The work includes LOF and SCOPIC, TOWCON, TOWHIRE, UKSCT ’86, BARGEHIRE, SUPPLYTIME, WRECKHIRE, WRECKSTAGE and WRECKFIXED for contractors, hirers and insurers.

Simon presents BIMCO’s Masterclasses on towage, salvage and wreck removal.

Plaudits from clients include:

“Even if an accident like this is very much undesired, it is a true pleasure to be supported by such dedicated competence, available when needed, during the entire process.”

“Your skillful handling of Members’ expectations and a notoriously difficult opponent led to a realistic solution and is much appreciated by the Club. Look forward to working with you again soon.”

His varied workload covers matters such as:

• Towage contracts
• Barge, semi-submersible and heavy-lift
• Salvage – from fishing vessels and yachts to large tankers and container ships
• ISU subcontracts
• Apportionment of salvage awards for crew
• Wreck removal contract negotiation
• Fires, collisions, allisions and groundings
• Safe port disputes
• Charterparty terminations
• Marine insurance coverage
• Knock-for-knock clause disputes
• Limitation of liability
• Cross-border litigation and forum shopping
• Ship arrests and attachments

Paul has spent 14 years working in shipping and Admiralty matters. Prior to this Paul was at sea for 16 years with the last 9 years in the offshore sector, including taking command roles in DP classed vessels.

Paul qualified as a solicitor in 2009 and advised on LOF and common law salvages around the UK as well as contractual disputes under the various towage contracts such as the UKSCT, TOWCON and TOWHIRE and equally SUPPLYTIME. He has regularly advised on the drafting and implementation of wreck removal contracts, acting for contractors as well as Clubs.

He also gives seminars to clients on the various BIMCO and ISU contracts to assist them in choosing the most appropriate contract for their particular circumstances.

Paul has recently been elected as the Secretary to the Admiralty Solicitors Group (ASG). The ASG is comprised of established maritime legal firms and was formed in 1972 to promote and preserve standards in the practice of maritime law in England. The ASG meets regularly to discuss recent issues and maritime practice.

Christofer Laskaris is a shipping and insurance lawyer.  His practice centres on London arbitration and English court litigation, and on shipping and yacht transactions.

Recent wet shipping matters include:

• Salvage for owners, charterers or salvors;
• casualty investigation;
• collisions;
• wreck removal; and
• towage and Supplytime contract issues.

Michael Howard KC joined in September 2019 bringing to TugAdvise his enormous experience both as an active Admiralty counsel and as a former Lloyd’s Arbitrator.

In addition to salvage and wreck removal he advises on ship sale or construction contracts, charterparties and marine policies.

As counsel, he has appeared in the Admiralty Court in disputes ranging from oil pollution to collision and limitation actions and in the Commercial Court in a wide range of contractual disputes, primarily of a maritime nature. In arbitration Michael has acted as advocate in salvage cases, charterparty and bills of lading disputes, marine insurance, general average, shipbuilding and ship sale disputes.

Michael has been the Leader of the Admiralty Bar of England & Wales since 2000 and also continues to practise from Quadrant Chambers.

Michael being part of this specialised team enables TugAdvise to provide a broader, seamless, focussed and efficient legal service to the tug and offshore vessel community.

“He is well-known for his longstanding experience in shipping work.”
Legal 500, 2020

“Extremely well regarded.”
Legal 500, 2019

“A silk with vast experience…”
Legal 500, 2017

Our business philosophy at TugAdvise is that, as lawyers, we should understand our clients and their needs, whether supporting them in contract drafting or the resolution of disputes and claims. Ian’s abundant knowledge, practical experience and his understanding of the industry’s contracts brings a unique depth to the work we do, saving clients time and money.

Ian is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers having worked at Stewart Offshore Services before being seconded to Mobil Oil as their advisor in the chartering and commissioning of a Rapid Intervention Vessel for the Beryl Oil Field.

From there he joined the Maersk Co. Ltd. in Aberdeen with responsibility for the chartering of their fleet of eighteen PSVs, AHTS vessels and a DSV.

He then joined Sealion Shipping as their chartering manager for its fleet of PSVs, AHTSs, ROV support vessels, Saturation DSVs, cable-layers and a well-testing vessel. Promoted to Commercial Manager in 2000, he assumed responsibility for the fleet’s contractual and legal issues overseeing, as a hands-on client, numerous LMAA arbitrations. In 2004 he joined Sealion’s board as the Commercial Director and de-facto Joint Managing Director with responsibility for their fleet and new-building program of PSV’s AHTS, ROV Support and DSV’s, for marine insurance, chartering, contracts and legal issues.

In 2009 he relocated to Hamburg after being appointed the Managing Director of ER Offshore GmbH’s fleet of 13 new PSVs and AHTS vessels.

Returning to the UK in 2015, Ian Perrott has since worked as consultant advising vessel owners, charterers, insurers, lawyers, financiers, government agencies and specialist brokers involved in the offshore support vessel industry. He continues to speak regularly at industry events and to participate in seminars world-wide on BIMCO’s offshore suite of contracts, including Supplytime.

Keith Harper graduated from Cardiff University; holds a British Foreign Going Master’s certificate; and is qualified as an English lawyer.

During more than 40 years in the Shipping Industry he has served at sea on a wide variety of vessels with P&O and the Swire Group (with whom he had command experience on several offshore vessels).  Keith then worked in private practice for Watson Farley and Thomas Cooper as a shipping lawyer in London.

From the year 2000 he was an in-house lawyer for Wijsmuller, then A. P. Moller – Maersk’s towage and salvage division, SVITZER, then Ardent.  He was based with SVITZER in the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands; where he also worked for Smit Lamnalco before returning to the UK in 2016.

He was the Director of Group Legal Affairs for SvitzerWijsmuller A/S in Copenhagen and on the Supervisory Board of SVITZER Salvage BV.  He has lectured to the Copenhagen Business School MBA in Shipping and Logistics; was a speaker at the WISTA conference in London at IMO, BIMCAT Bahamas and the Dublin Marine Claims Conference.

Keith has been involved in shipbuilding, sale and purchase and charterparty disputes and his areas of expertise are in tendering, salvage and towage.

His case experience also includes:

• Shipbuilding
• Sale and purchase
• Charterparty disputes
• Tendering
• Salvage
• Towage