Despina Plomaritou

Legal Director

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Despina is a Legal Director at Stann. She is dually qualified as an English solicitor and a Greek lawyer. Despina is also a Certified Professional Negotiator. 

With a 20-year career spanning Europe and Asia, Despina has handled a wide range of disputes for shipowners, cargo interests, charterers and insurers and is particularly regarded for her dry shipping and marine insurance law practices.

Despina is regularly consulted by clients for her skill in drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts including pool, vessel sharing and management agreements, as well as charterparty and bill of lading clauses, sale of goods contracts and settlement agreements. She has advised on GDPR aspects and the development of internal compliance strategy and systems.

Despina also has substantial experience in major marine casualties and pollution incidents. She has advised insurers in relation to an on-board fire incident leading to a major H&M claim, and was closely involved in the precedent-setting 2002 Prestige oil spill.

Despina's Career Highlights

Emergency Response PlusMinus

Despina’s experience in this field includes:

  • Acting for Owners and Cargo Interests following LOF Salvage off West coast of France.

  • Engine room flooding incident on offshore unit in Southeast Asia resulting in one fatality and significant damage.

  • Allision between general cargo and bulk carrier vessels in Benin and allision incident with damage to terminal in Ghana.

  • Response involving arrests of Owners’ vessels by Indonesian Navy in the Malacca Straits.

  • Fire incident on board a drilling unit in Indonesia.

  • Acting for Owners in a matter involving stowaways discovered in a container on board a vessel.

Dispute Resolution PlusMinus

Despina’s experience includes:

  • Insurance and reinsurance High Court and Court of Appeal litigation: Bonner & Ors v Cox & Ors [2005] EWCA Civ 1512 (the “77 Energy cover).

  • Multi-million LMAA arbitration in relation to engine and cargo damage.

  • Representing a major ferry operator in dispute against main engine manufacturer in the Greek Courts.

Investigatations PlusMinus

Despina has been involved in the following investigations:

  • Investigation into cause of contamination of high value oil cargo(es).

  • Investigation into the cause of engine breakdowns on tanker (involving a fire and explosion) and container vessels.

 

Advisory PlusMinus

Despina’s Advisory experience includes:

  • Advising on various complex sanctions issues, including in particular US/Venezuela sanctions.

  • Negotiating and drafting complex contracts including ShipMan, novation agreements, tailored charterparty and S&P contract clauses.

  • Negotiating and advising on LOF and commercial salvage contracts.

  • Advising H&M and LOH insurers following an engine explosion and fire on board the insured’s vessel.

Consulting and Projects PlusMinus

Example’s of Despina’s experience in this area:

  • GDPR strategy including bespoke compliance plan and procedures for insurance brokers.

  • Negotiating release of vessel and crew following hijacking incident by security team member in High Risk Area.