Ukrainian Interlegal helped a client minimize losses from the shelling of a ship by the Houthis

The law firm Interlegal told how it helped a shipowner whose vessel was attacked by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden.

“Modern shipping is always a challenge when the vessel is exposed to risk at all stages of transportation. Unfortunately, this is exactly the trouble that befell our client, a shipowner whose vessel was attacked by three missiles fired by the Houthis while passing through the Gulf of Aden,” Interlegal said.

The lawyers noted that the attack caused a large-scale fire. The fire quickly engulfed not only the vessel, but also the cargo, which, unfortunately, almost burned down.

“Our team responded promptly, providing comprehensive real-time consultations and helping to make important commercial decisions at critical moments. Legal support covered insurance issues, General Average, wreck removal and rescue operations at sea,” the experts said.

The Interlegal team helped the client to legally understand all the nuances of the case and form the right approach to minimizing losses. As a result, the client:

• Received a clear legal vision of the situation for making commercial decisions;

• Significantly minimized financial losses associated with the consequences of the incident;

• Got out of a difficult situation with the vessel and cargo with the least possible losses.

“This case is a vivid example of the fact that Interlegal’s legal expertise covers not only issues related to damage to vessels due to Russian aggression in the Black Sea, but also other global incidents that occur with vessels around the world. We work internationally and our experience goes far beyond Ukrainian ports,” Interlegal noted.

A team of leading lawyers Taras Dragan, Mykyta Kocherba, claims handler Oleksiy Bannykh, and junior lawyer Dmytro Karetnikov worked on the project under the leadership of associate partner Karina Horova.