EXPERTISE
MARITIME AND TRANSPORT LAW
ARREST OF VESSELS
OFFSHORE & CONSTRUCTION
Wet and Dry shipping
Seizure and execution
Infrastructure, construction and engineering
Our team is highly skilled in the niche areas of maritime and transport law. Our unsurpassed reputation for handling matters in relation to collisions, salvages, accidents, casualties, cargo claims and other incidents at sea has seen our partners work on some of the most important maritime litigation matters in Belgium, including notable and high-profile capsize and sinking cases. On the dry side, the firm is regularly involved in very high-value claims, often with precedent-setting potential for Belgian transport law.
Belgium is by virtue of its location and ports an active ship arrest venue. Kegels Advocaten is recognized as an institution when it comes to the arrest of seagoing and inland vessels. Under Belgian law, a seagoing vessel is considered to be the guarantee for all maritime claims related to it, irrespective of the identity of the debtor of the claim. In other words, even if the owner is not the debtor and is not bound personally, his seagoing vessel serves as a guarantee for maritime claims in this respect.
The team provides services to all involved parties in on- and offshore construction matters. Clients include the project developers, general and
marine contractors, (marine) consultants, construction managers, architects,
(maritime) engineers, brokers, insurers etc.'
Our services include drafting and negotiating contracts, advice before, during and after the execution of the project, survey assistance and litigation.
LOGISTIC SERVICE PROVIDERS
COURT SURVEYS
INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL LAW
The entire logistics spectrum
Our Firm is considered one of the leading names for handling complex and important matters in this area, where we represent a wide range of companies whose operations involve all aspects of transportation and carriage (sea - rail - road - air), freight forwarding, intermediaries, insurance, logistics, distribution, customs etc.
Fact Finding
Most, if not all disputes find their causes in facts. Rarely do parties however agree on these facts or damages. Proper collecting and presenting the relevant facts is therefore the essence for a court to be able to correctly apply the law. Our Firm is highly practised in assisting clients facing major incidents where time is of essence to establish joint fact-finding measures. Those proceedings are considered to be a good instrument enabling a grip on the facts easily at a cost which is a fraction of similar investigations in other countries.
Complex commercial matters
Our team offers the full range of services in commercial, corporate, banking, finance and insurance law, and is highly sought-after for its ability to handle very high-value matters that are often extremely complex and highly contentious. Most of the work we handle is of the utmost importance to the operations of our clients and this means that we have become a trusted partner to many of the most important players in Belgium’s transport industry.
Discover our Firm’s recent contributions:
Shipping Laws and Regulations Report 2023 Belgium (iclg.com)
Shipping 2023 - Belgium | Global Practice Guides | Chambers and Partners