Our services

Logistics are indispensable for the international trade of goods. Merchants can become entangled in a contractual web that goes much farther than the mere contracts of sale and purchase. Whether the buyer or the seller procures for transport of goods, both can face dire consequences when the goods are damages, contaminated or delayed unexpectedly. The contractual chains with logistical service providers can be very long and often cover more than one jurisdiction. General conditions of freight forwarders, warehouses and carriers play more often than not key-roles in ensuing disputes: given the immense amount of daily transactions and the immense range of values of various cargoes these service providers need to avail of the protection these conditions offer to keep their businesses insurable at all. These conditions and the international conventions applicable to the various modalities of transport generally work with all sorts of limitations of liability and relatively short time bars for filing claims. This all serves legal certainty, which is of benefit to all in the end, but may also lead to disappointing outcomes for the merchants or their insurers.

Hoek Sinke Ten Katen has the specialised expertise necessary to advise clients and to litigate on their behalf. We act on behalf of carriers, freight forwarders, stevedores, shipbrokers, charterers, storage companies, container depots and cargo interested parties and their insurers. We understand logistics.

Hoek Sinke Ten Katen avails of a fine-meshed network of reliable correspondents in jurisdictions worldwide who can advise on particulars of their local laws and jurisdictions or who can take over cases altogether if the case calls for it. Conversely, our firm is also often instructed by lawyers from abroad, and often returning as they know how we work.

With the construction and repairs of a vessel a wide range of issues can be involved, from contractual disputes, technical construction problems to  all sorts of liability issues.

Resolving these issues not only requires legal knowledge, but also a good understanding of the technical matters at play. Only then can made-to-measure advice be delivered.

Hoek Sinke Ten Katen have extensive knowledge and experience with shipbuilding and repair contracts, relating to both blue and brown water. They have acted for many years on behalf of shipyards domestically and abroad, as well as on behalf of principals, owners and insurers in contractual issues with shipyards. In addition, our firm has extensive experience in technical disputes concerning the operation and conformity of all kinds of technical installations.

Under Dutch law, pledged goods can be sold judicially by public auction or by private sale, if allowed for by law and the contractual relationship at hand. We have extensive experience in organizing auctions and private sales.

As with the arrest of ships, Dutch auction proceedings are straightforward and pragmatically organised. Overriding principle is that the enforcing party must take head of the interests of all creditors and this is simply done by organizing the auction in such a way that a maximum price is reached. This objective is usually reached by applying the rules of the so-called Dutch auction. The bailiff is conducting the auction, the bidders are usually represented by their Dutch advocates who are doing the actual bidding. For the bystander it appears to be a rather nerve wrecking process and some costly mistakes have been made in the past. Stakes are literally high.

The system is as follows: first the high price is set. The bailiff calls out a certain amount, usual the minimum amount against which the vessel is to be sold. The advocates then engage in bidding over this amount, until an amount is reached that no one wants to overbid.

The highest bidder does not win the vessel yet, but he does win a premium of a certain percentage of the purchase price. This premium is for rewarding his bravery in setting the highest price. Let us imagine that the bailiff commenced bidding at US$ 9 mio, and that the highest bid is US$ 15 mio. All present know that a reasonable price for the vessel would be US$ 11 mio.

The second part of the auction commences. The bailiff is calling out an ever lower price: “US$ 15 mio, US$ 14.9 mio”, and so forth. The first bidder to shoot out “mine!” after the price has been called out has won the auction.

As there are two varieties on this type of auction, mistakes may be made. One variety adds the price as fixed in the first round to the price accepted in the second round. This means that in our example, the advocate shouting “mine” at US$ 10 mio has won the auction for a price of US$ 15 mio plus US$ 10 mio.

As the awarding of the vessel is mentioned in a court decision, usually available in writing on the same day, or the day after the auction, the registrars of ships worldwide are accepting this court decision as evidence that transfer has taken place. The bidder is under no obligation to disclose his principal to those present at the auction.

Our firm has hands on experience in organizing auctions and participating in the bidding process.

Any cross-jurisdictional transaction involves transport and difficult question of private international law. Our firm advises both merchants on their rights and obligations, as well as the service providers instructed by them. Because of this we know exactly what is going on in the market and what it is the market players are entitled to expect from each other.

Our firm stood at the basis of a vast amount of recent case law on vesting and enforcing security rights on commodities. We know the law, we know of the contractual interplay of letters of credit, bills of lading and the involvement of insurers, banks and other service providers.

Each trade has its peculiarities. Hoek Sinke Ten Katen knows of the dangers of condensation in the cocoa trade, the threat seawater poses when shipping stainless steel and the dangers of non-pierced cylinders in the scrap trade.

One of the most appealing maritime sectors is the world of break bulk. From goods that are a bit too large to fit into a container to entire factories, there is hardly any routine in break bulk. Dedicated service providers are orchestrating the most awesome transports to all corners of the world.

Our firm is advising warehouses on all sorts of matters. Warehousing is a legal field with its own peculiarities, rarely recognised by most practitioners. Good results can be made by seeing the warehousing contract for what it really is, both from the merchant’s as the warehouses’ point of view.

Our team is advising, contracting and conducting legal proceedings in all sectors of international trade, always combining thorough knowledge of the law with our unique knowledge of the latest trends in these sectors – legal, technical and commercial.

Hoek Sinke Ten Katen are partnering with Kloosterman Advocatuur, of whom Jelle Kloosterman is the go to lawyer for (maritime) labour disputes.

Contact
jelle@kloosterman.nl
+ 31 (0)6 246 69 453

The jurisdiction of the Netherlands has been labelled an arrest haven for its pragmatic system of arresting seagoing vessels. Local courts and members of the maritime bar are well aware of the tremendous consequences of an arrest. The unspoken rule “vessels are meant to sail” is leading when the court is to weigh the position of parties involved.

The proceedings are surprisingly straightforward: the advocate drafts the petition to the court – this may be done in hours or less, depending on the availability of information. The court may decide within a day or even immediately on the petition. For unusually pressing matters outside office hours, there is always a judge within reach for the maritime bar.

Attached to the petition are some skeleton exhibits, evidencing parties, the claim at stake and the basis of the claim. There is no need to pay a guarantee into court. The court will put up a time bar for the arrestor to instigate proceedings on the merits of the case which can be in any jurisdiction, be it arbitration or court proceedings.

After the arrestor has obtained permission from the court, the bailiff will board the vessel to serve the court order. The port agency is informed on the arrest and this is barring tugs, boatmen and pilots from servicing the vessel automatically.

The Netherlands are party to the Brussels arrest convention 1952, so the arrest cannot be made for just any claim. The pragmatic, straightforward and ex parte-nature of the procedure seems adverse to owners, but it is not. It is counterbalanced by the strong and fast rule that should the claim be successfully challenged in the applicable arbitrational or court proceedings, the arrest will count as a tort, making the arrestor liable for damages incurred by the arrest. A party will therefore have to think twice before effecting an arrest.

Owners confronted with an arrest have three options to set the vessel free.

For one they may simply settle the claim for which the arrest permission has been granted. Alternatively, they can put up a bank guarantee or club letter, replacing the arrest. In Rotterdam we are gratefully making use of the Rotterdam guarantee form (download pdf). The arrestor can draw under the guarantee when he wins the case on the merits of the case before the competent court or arbitrational tribunal, and as soon as this decision is no longer subject to appeal. As such the arrestor seems better off with the vessel as underlying security, since he can have the vessel auctioned off as soon as he has an enforceable decision, whether still subject to appeal or not. On the other hand, owners may be bankrupted and ships may perish before the arrestor has the claim awarded, so the arrestor will be better off with a Rotterdam Guarantee form. It is give and take, and again resulting in a well-balanced system. The form has proven its worth and it does away for the need to negotiate the formal wording of the guarantee.

The third option open to owners is to try their luck in court; they will then have to instigate summary proceedings against the arrestor. The claim will be to have the arrest lifted or the guarantee returned. Our firm has conducted these proceedings successfully on behalf of owners within the day the arrest was effected.

The court will order the arrestor to lift the arrest, if the arrestee has convinced the court that the claim is lacking substance or that certain formalities have not been met. The presiding judge may give the order to have the arrest lifted speaking from the bench in very pressing matters. The release from the arrest is informal: usually some telephone calls will have to be made, maybe some confirmations by e-mail. It can be done within minutes.

For claims against time charterers a creditor may consider to arrest bunkers. There are also arrests to be made when information is needed, for instance on bunker consumption or cargo handling: electronic data (engine room logs) may be “arrested” and a surveyor may board the vessel under a court order to read out, or at least to copy and preserve electronic data.

Rotterdam is a major player in the global shipping industry and plays a crucial role in the transportation of goods by sea. As the largest port in Europe and one of the largest ports in the world, Rotterdam acts as a major hub for the import and export of goods.

As a law firm specializing in maritime law, we are aware of the important role Rotterdam plays in the carriage of goods by sea. Our lawyers therefore have extensive experience in advising clients involved in the Rotterdam shipping industry.

In addition to the important role Rotterdam plays in the global shipping industry, the domestic waters of the Netherlands are also very important for the international carriage of goods by the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt-rivers. The Netherlands additionally have an extensive network of often manmade waterways which provide an efficient means of transportation.

We understand the complexities and challenges involved in the carriage of goods by sea as well as by the inland waterways and count amongst our clients owners, charterers and cargo interested parties, and all other parties involved in the logistical chain.

The lawyers of Hoek Sinke Ten Katen have ample experience in the field of insurance. Profound knowledge of the insurance industry combined with extensive expertise and experience in international trade and transport law allow us to provide astute and practical advice to the insurers, claims handlers and insured parties that we act for.

Our insurance expertise includes liability, assessment of insurance policy provisions, coverage disputes and subrogation.