The Maritime Legal and Arbitration Services Sector

The Maritime Legal and Arbitration Services Sector
From its earliest beginnings, maritime law has kept the peace and safety of maritime trade by laying down the rules to resolve disputes among various parties with vested interests. The practice of maritime law has been part of Singapore’s legal landscape since its days as a British colony. Today in Singapore, there are some 30 law firms with maritime practice, including local and foreign law firms.

Broadly, shipping law can be divided into three categories: (i) “wet”, (ii) “dry” and (iii) shipping finance (See Table 1). Across these three broad categories of work, maritime disputes may occur amongst the contracting parties. The various means of dispute resolution include settlement through specialized admiralty or commercial courts or through private forms of dispute resolution, such as arbitration or Alternative Dispute Resolution, such as mediation.

Table 1:

	Type of Work	Description
(i)	“Wet”	Refers to traditional admiralty work relating to casualties at sea (salvage, towage and collision) as well as to total loss and pollution
(ii)	"Dry"	Includes charterparty, bills of lading disputes as well as marine insurance, shipbuilding, ship repair and sale & purchase disputes
(iii)	Shipping Finance	Covers all work relating to the financing of vessels and shipowning companies (e.g. sale & purchase, mortgages, mergers & acquisitions, public listing, etc.)

For parties who would rather settle their disputes out of court, arbitration allows them to look into the legal rights and wrongs of the dispute and come to a decision. Arbitration has been reported to have gained popularity. Privacy, speed and cost have been cited as some key factors that have raised the popularity of arbitration. It also offers the advantages of confidentiality of proceedings and choice of jurisdiction.

For many parties seeking an arbitration-friendly environment, Singapore offers many advantages, including a comprehensive legal framework based on an internationally accepted practice. The Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) which was set up in 2004 to promote maritime arbitration in Singapore, offers a platform for “institutionalized” arbitration, i.e. the conduct of the case is managed by a secretariat, and the arbitration is under the rules of the SCMA, as well as a network of internationally renowned arbitrators. Parties can also choose the applicable law at the time they conclude their contract. Besides “institutionalized” arbitration, parties may also seek ad-hoc arbitration in Singapore.