rla@richardsonlawrie.com +44 (0)20 3386 9413

    • EXPERT WITNESS
    SERVICES

    Expert Witness Services

    Our Expert Witnesses, some of whom are members of the Baltic Exchange of Expert Witness Association ( BEWA), are seasoned professionals who can provide an experienced, well thought out and appropriate resolution or course of action to any maritime transportation issue you might encounter. A reasoned opinion is given via written reports and/or by personal verbal witness testimony as a part of formal legal proceedings. This includes operational matters and issues of quantum as well as documentary advice

    To get a sense of the kind of cases we are usually approached with, please look at the case study below.

    Challenge:

    A recent project saw us acting for the Charterers of a vessel. It involved the vessel having to wash the cargo holds on a voyage within a “Special Area”; later being forced to discharge the wash water to shore reception facility by the harbour master, incur substantial expense, even though the wash water was held in a dedicated storage tank onboard and that the next voyage would have allowed the vessel to discharge the wash water at sea outside the Special Area. We were asked to provide an expert witness report on the applicable MARPOL and EU regulations related to discharge of Cargo Residues and Operational wastes in cargo hold cleaning wash water in a “Special Area” and if the harbour master was justified in forcing the vessel to discharge the wash water ashore.

    Solution:

    Based on our in-depth knowledge of international maritime rules and regulations and our teams further extensive research on the applicable EU and local rules and regulations, we were able to assist the Charterers (our Client) argue that the harbour master’s decision to force the vessel to discharge the wash water at the load port was unjustified under the governing rules and regulations given the fact that the wash water was held in a dedicated holding tank; the vessel would have left the “Special Area” enroute to her next discharge port and that the wash water was declared as non-harmful to the marine environment.

    If you wish to discuss our Customised Solutions and how we could help your company, do get in touch with us using the contact form below. We would love to hear from you.