Bazul Ashhab heads the firm’s dispute resolution team.
He specializes in commercial litigation, arbitration and mediation with an emphasis on shipping, insurance and international trade and finance. He represents clients in complex and technical disputes throughout various jurisdictions including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Solomon Islands, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Maldives, England, France, New York, Texas, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa.
Bazul’s expertise in shipping includes dealing with collision, salvage, general average, wreck removal, charterparty disputes, disputes arising from bill of lading and ship building disputes. He regularly receives instructions from major international shipping lines, P&I Clubs, hull insurers, cargo insurers and clients in the offshore oil & gas industry.
Some of the prominent shipping cases he has been involved in include: The “LIMBURG” - where he advised insurers on liability issues following a terrorist attack on a tanker off the coast of Yemen; and the “SELENDANG AYU” – where the vessel ran aground off Alaska and broke into two. He was instructed as lead Counsel in the only limitation action under the 1957 Tonnage Convention to have ever gone to trial in the Singapore High Court. He also acted for UCO Bank in the landmark case UCO Bank v. Golden Shore Transportation Pte Ltd [2005] 2 SLR 735 where the Court of Appeal clarified the law in Singapore on rights of suit under a bill of lading. He has assisted clients in investigation, defence and prosecution of claims involving crude oil contamination exceeding US$20 million. His extensive dispute resolution experience often secures instructions to work with the firm’s corporate department in the drafting of joint ventures and transport documents to protect clients’ exposure in potential disputes. He was involved in the joint venture deals valued in excess of US$100 million for major Japanese Shipping lines. Bazul is recognized by the Asia Pacific Legal 500 as one of Singapore’s leading shipping lawyers.
Bazul is experienced in all aspects of marine insurance including hull and cargo. He has over the years assisted marine underwriters to restructure their claims departments and to streamline their claims handling procedures. Over the years he has built very close working relationship with marine insurers and advises them on policy wording, liability, recovery and reinsurance arrangements including facultative and treaty reinsurance. His advice has helped insurers in reducing loss ratio for their marine line.
Bazul acts for major trading houses in resolving their disputes involving commodities including palm oil, coal, sugar, grain, pulses, iron ore, animal feed, petrochemical and timber. Apart from handling quality disputes he has also involved in a complex arbitration involving Governmental trade embargos.
Bazul regularly advises banks and traders on trade finance issues. He has been involved in several trials in the High Court of Singapore involving LC fraud, duties of negotiating banks and documentary discrepancies. His experience includes advising clients on ICC DOCDEX dispute resolution and successfully defending an LC issuing bank on claims in China.
Bazul is also regularly instructed on complex cross-border litigation. He has acted for a multinational in relation to employee fraud and tracing of assets across jurisdictions. He often represents clients requiring urgent injunctive remedies and worldwide freezing orders. He has advised and litigated employment matters including restraint of trade clauses and has also advised multinational companies on employment law and employee guidelines. He acts for banks in insolvency cases and has successfully challenged scheme of arrangements.
Bazul has handled arbitrations in various jurisdictions including London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and India. He has previously acted in a New York arbitration against a national airline for a US$38 million claim. The matter involved obtaining in a number of jurisdictions anti-suit injunctions and orders to compel the airline to participate in the New York arbitration. He has handled arbitrations under various regimes including the ICC, KLRCA, UNCITRAL, SIAC,SCMA, HKIAC, LMAA, GAFTA and PORAM rules.
Legal 500 (2009/2010 Edition) described Bazul Ashhab as admired by clients to be “a spectacular lawyer” with “astonishing speed and strategy.
Chambers and Partners has cited Bazul as an “exceptional lawyer” who “always understands immediately what [the client] wants to achieve and goes after it in the most efficient way possible."
