Trade and Transport

Legal 500

“The first port of call for marine claims.”

Who’s Who Legal

“Excellent industry knowledge.”

Legal 500

“Professionalism, efficiency and relentless hard work.”

     

Practice Group

The Trade & Transport team at Schellenberg Wittmer has more than 40 years’ experience in aviation, maritime and trade matters. Our experts have broad experience and extensive practice in all aspects of trade and transport law, including litigation, arbitration, trading, financing and insurance. The firm acts for several airlines and is a correspondent for Switzerland for several protection and indemnity insurance clubs (P&I), particularly within the UK market.

Expertise

Experience

Our specialist team covers all issues and aspects of international trade, aviation and marine matters, acting for every segment of the industry; e.g. owners, financial institutions, insurance companies, operators, brokers.

Transportation and insurance litigation cases

  • Marine and aviation cargo and liability
  • Matters relating to complex cargo-related multimillion VAT fraud cases involving courts/administrators across various jurisdictions
  • Matters relating to defects and damages in the context of high end yacht/ship building contracts with subsequent arbitration in London
  • Disputes arising out of LOI, bills of lading and transport arrangements
  • Casualty litigation or arbitration
  • Marine and aviation insurance (cargo/hull/liability/P&I)

Aviation & Shipping Regulatory Matters

  • Implementation and advice on regulatory requirements for marine and aviation activities in Switzerland for airlines, ship owners, aircraft managers
  • Regulatory framework for passenger services, obtaining route licenses, the commercial use of UAV
  • Ship arrests and aircraft repossessions
  • Aircraft and vessel registration
  • Trade sanctions/restrictions

Transactional Matters

  • Transport contracts/documentation (marine, aviation, road, rail, multimodal, NVOCC, volume contracts, charter agreements, freight forwarding)
  • Sale and purchase of aircraft and ships (multipurpose and tankers)
  • Financing of aircraft and vessels, including registration of security interests in the relevant registries
  • Aircraft charter and lease transactions
  • Trading/trade finance; e.g. issues related to letter of credits, bills of lading, LOIs, sales of goods
  • Supply chain management, establishment of worldwide distribution logistics structures, distribution agreements
  • Advice to several airlines in relation to their Swiss operations
  • Acting on behalf of numerous owners, financial institutions, operators, ship management companies, etc, in the sale, purchase and financing of aircraft and vessels
  • Negotiation and drafting of complex logistic contracts for a Swiss exporter and a US-based importer
  • Negotiation for insurers with insured relating to freight forwarder’s liability insurance cover
  • Complex arbitration involving ship owners and ship operators
  • Purchase of a fleet of vessels (multipurpose and tankers) with complex deal structure due to insolvency of sellers and involvement of government
  • Restructuring of a fleet of vessels involving the sale and purchase of numerous dry-bulk carriers and negotiation with financing banks
  • Liability defence for an aviation insurer and its insured operator after a plane crash in France
  • Representation in insurance and litigation matters, where we have advised public authorities and insurance companies in connection with several Aviation incidents/ crashes. In particular, our firm was appointed by Skyguide and its insurer AXA Winterthur following the Überlingen mid-air collision

Awards & Recognitions

The group and leading practitioners are highly recognised among leading law firms across international directories and publications:

  • Legal 500 in Transport
  • WWL Switzerland and WWL Trade and Transport international guides
  • Expert Guides

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