Shipping
Asia-Pacific Guide 2025 : Malaysia
Band 2
About
Provided by Skrine
Our Maritime and Shipping practice is placed to support the diverse needs of clients within the maritime industry with solutions. As a full-service firm, we are well-positioned to draw on our collective experience in various practice areas to provide clients with comprehensive and timely solutions.
Siva Kumar Kanagasabai heads the practice and he is “widely viewed as a prominent figure in the market, regularly assisting clients with maritime disputes such as cargo and charter party claims and ship arrests.” (Chambers Asia-Pacific).
Our disputes team has acted in arrests of vessels, charterparty disputes, oil pollution claims, vessel detentions, cargo claims, Incoterm contracts and enforcement of ship mortgages under conventional and Islamic facilities.
Our advisory team, headed by Fariz Abdul Aziz, is experienced in dealing with ship registrations, ship sales, leasing, flagging, charterparties, and advising on structuring and other aspects within the maritime and shipping industry. Tan Shi Wen advises on the financing of construction and purchase of vessels, FPSO and other maritime structures.
The firm has won the Malaysian Maritime Law Firm of the Year by Asian Legal Business. Our Maritime and Shipping practice has also been praised for possessing "not only technical capability but also the ability to translate legal advice to practical application" (Chambers Asia-Pacific) and for providing “quick answers and appropriate legal assistance” (Legal 500 Asia-Pacific).
Chambers Review
Skrine's notable shipping law practice in Malaysia combines contentious and non-contentious expertise. The department's areas of expertise include mortgage enforcements, as well as cargo, shipbuilding and charter party disputes, and ship arrests. The firm also handles vessel purchases and financing. The team is able to draw on the firm's wider strength to advise on mandates involving insolvency, banking, and oil and gas.
Work Highlights
- Skrine acted for Penang Port in an in rem action against a vessel causing a security breach entering without authorisation from relevant authorities.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"The team at Skrine has the necessary knowledge and expertise to handle our matters."
"The team at Skrine has the necessary knowledge and expertise to handle our matters."
Notable Practitioners
Siva Kumar Kanagasabai is experienced in Malaysia's shipping legal market, frequently acting for clients in disputes relating to ship mortgage enforcement, among others. He is particularly adept at advising banks and shipping companies, and also has expertise in employment law.
"Siva Kumar Kanagasabai is a client-centric lawyer able to provide comprehensive and practical solutions to our legal issues."
