Emergency Response: +44 20 7781 0130
Managing Associate
Joe is a Solicitor and Managing Associate with significant expertise in wet shipping disputes, including casualty response.
Joe regularly works for owners and their insurance interests. Prior to joining Stann he trained and practised at an International London law firm, primarily in their Admiralty group.
Joe has a strong background in casualty response and is sought by clients for his confident handling of emergency response incidents in the initial stages, and his forensic approach to the legal proceedings that follow. He brought the Ever Smart (No. 1) to the Supreme Court, the first collision case to be heard at that level, in which the decisions at both previous instances were overturned and the priority of various rules in the collision avoidance regulations were settled. He has successfully defended various cargo claims, represented owners in salvage cases, and handled General Average cases.
Joe also has broad experience in dry shipping matters such as charterparty disputes, disputes under contracts of carriage, and marine insurance matters including hull and machinery coverage wordings. He regularly acts in the English High Court and in arbitration, and has substantial knowledge of various forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Joe prides himself on offering a service that combines commercial sensitivity with the ability to work analytically under pressure to protect clients’ interests.
Joe's Career Highlights
Examples of major incidents handled by Joe include:
A mine attack on a tanker in the Straits of Hormuz.
A grounding and salvage off Bari, involving the sale of the vessel to salvors.
A grounding and salvage off Haifa, involving negotiating the sale of damaged cargo to local buyers.
An allision between a vessel and a bridge in Japan.
Examples of disputes handled by Joe include:
The “Afra Oak” [2023] EWHC 2978 (Comm) – Acted for the successful Owners defending an Arbitration Act appeal concerning the availability of the Article IV.2(a) exemption in breach of orders cases.
The “Ever Smart” No. 1 [2021] UKSC 6 and No. 3 [2022] EWHC 206 (Admlty).
High value ad hoc charterparty arbitration involving allegations of bribery, unseaworthiness, and breach of unsafe port warranty allegations.
Collision Arbitration involving a collision at Chittagong anchorage.
Advising on various Hull & Machinery and War Risk coverage disputes.
A number of soya bean cargo claims for Owners.
Examples of investigations led by Joe include:
Attending in China to investigate the theft of MGO bunkers whilst a vessel was at anchor.
Supporting war risk underwriters in investigating sensitive coverage issues
Attending a vessel in a European port following the discovery of a cache of narcotics.