Legal, Commercial & Claims Advice (C Support).
C Support is the name given to a scheme providing legal advice and assistance to all those engaged in the shipping industry, on a fixed annual fee basis.
C Support provides:
Unlimited legal, commercial and claims advice on a 24/365 basis in respect of any problem or claim, not restricted to demurrage.
The handling of all problems and claims to the point where litigation or arbitration is commenced.
Review and advice of contract wording.
Advice on the collection and preservation of evidence.
Crisis, media and casualty response advice.
Appointment and liaison with salvage brokers, average adjusters and other experts.
Advice in connection with the preparation, formulation and submission of any claim on the Hull and Machinery or Protection and Indemnity policies.
Letters of demand/letter before action.
To whom the service is provided:
Ship owners; Bareboat, Time and Voyage charterers; Brokers and buyers and sellers of ships; Producers, buyers and receivers of bulk cargoes.
Mediation.
Where a dispute arises concerning the amount or validity of a claim, the dispute can be put to a C Demurrage's independent arbitrator to adjudicate the claim. This dispute resolution is performed as a paper review of the documents and any other submissions from either party, is performed at a low fixed cost of GBP 2,000 (with costs awarded against the losing party) and performed quickly. If both parties accept to have the claim adjudicated in this manner, they will also accept that the result is final, binding and not subject to appeal. No reasons will be given.
FAQs
Q. Is C Support similar to FD&D cover?
A. Similar to a retainer scheme, C Support provides legal, commercial and claims advice for a fixed annual fee up to the point that proceedings are commenced. We do not see C Support as an alternative to FD&D insurance.
Q. Is the number of enquiries or the amount of time spent giving advice capped?
A. No, there is no cap in terms of the number of enquiries or time spent. C Support provides unlimited advice on contracts governed by English law up to the point that proceedings are commenced.
Q. What is the annual fee?
A. A competitive annual fee is charged per vessel, subject to reduction on volume. Special terms may be considered for Clients wishing to cover more than one vessel or for charterers or traders who may be involved with more than one vessel during the period the scheme is in place.
Q. Who handles the claims?
A. C Solutions are appointed to deal with matters arising under the C Support scheme. They are staffed by lawyers, experienced claims handlers from the P&I and H&M sectors, Master Mariners and insurance industry professionals with nearly 200 years of collective experience. C Solutions has offices in London, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney.
Q. Is there a deductible?
A. There is no deductible.
Q. If additional costs are incurred such as a C Support employee having to travel, are these covered by the client or C Support?
A. Pre-approved disbursements incurred on a matter are charged at cost to the Client in addition to the annual fee.
Q. Are third party costs covered?
A. C Support only provides advice on contracts governed by English law. Where the appointment of a third party is required to advise on foreign law, that appointment will be pre-approved by the Client and the costs will be for the Client’s account.
Q. If litigation or arbitration is commenced we presume you will still monitor the exchanges and provide your guidance?
A. C Support provides advice to the point where proceedings are commenced. At that stage, C Solutions would usually offer their services to handle proceedings on concessionary terms to be agreed between themselves and the Client.