Tony Riches

Partner

Tony Riches

Partner

Email Tony

+44 (0)20 7390 2321

London

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Sectors

Tony is a partner and ex-mariner in the London shipping team. He provides legal and practical advice to ship owners, charterers, salvors, P&I clubs and property insurers about marine casualties, charterparty disputes, salvage, general average, limitation and cargo claims.

Drawing on his experience as both a mariner and a lawyer, Tony routinely analyses navigational and ship-damage incidents and advises on legal liabilities arising from them, including groundings, fires, collisions, dock damage, towage incidents, ice damage, stowage failures and mooring incidents. He assists both owners and contractors to negotiate wreck removal agreements, drafts standard-form and bespoke contracts, and supports clients in finding solutions when problems arise during wreck removal projects.

By combining practical knowledge from life at sea with over a decade of legal experience, I can better assess shipping disputes and provide real-world advice to my clients. I focus on the details, during the initial collection of evidence right through to a resolution, enabling me to add real value to their decision making.

Tony Riches, Partner

Tony has particular expertise in advising on complex casualty situations.  He conducts casualty investigations, including interviewing witnesses, processing VDR data, obtaining documentary evidence and assisting owners and crew onboard in the aftermath of collisions and groundings. He is experienced in Admiralty and Commercial High Court proceedings and London arbitration, including Lloyd’s open form salvage arbitration, and has extensive experience of cases involving multi-jurisdictional proceedings.

A Royal Navy officer for over eight years, Tony served as Officer of the Watch on a variety of vessels including an aircraft carrier. He was involved in counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and has managed intelligence analysis teams. Tony is a member of the Nautical Institute.

Recent work highlights

Unsafe port claims

Defending unsafe port and ice damage claims successfully in arbitration on behalf of charterers.

Multi-vessel collision

Acting for a shipowner in Admiralty Court proceedings after a collision in the Suez Canal involving three vessels.

Ship grounding investigation

Investigating a grounding for a shipowner in the face of obstacles from local authorities, leading to general average claims and a significant unsafe port claim against the charterers.

Salvage claims

Acting for professional salvors in substantial LOF and common law salvage claims to obtain remuneration from shipowners and cargo interests.

Grounding claim dispute

Assisting a terminal operator to defend a claim by a shipowner after a grounding at a UK oil terminal.

Cargo claims

Advising a shipowner facing substantial cargo claims due to heavy weather damage incidents.

Fatalities investigation

Representing a shipowner under investigation by the MAIB, MCA and the police in the aftermath of fatalities resulting from a navigation incident.

Fatalities investigation

Representing a shipowner under investigation by the MAIB, MCA and the police in the aftermath of fatalities resulting from a navigation incident.

External recognition
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What people are saying

Its partners are proactive, always responsive and deliver a high-quality service. They are fully aware of all of the issues in the sector and have a huge amount of experience.

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