A Hull UK based law firm whose long involvement with the local maritime industry has evolved to now include services for the offshore wind farm industry is exhibiting at Seawork 2011.
Since it was established in the Port of Kingston Upon Hull in 1874, Andrew Jackson has been serving the ever changing and developing needs of the maritime and commercial industry. The firm’s shipping and transport department now act not only for the local maritime industry, but owners, shipyards and marine insurers throughout the world.
The Hull and the Humber Estuary’s history as a centre for the fishing industry helped the firm become one of the very few firms with in depth knowledge of fishing licensing, quotas and national, European and international fisheries law. In recent times this expertise has expanded into marine environmental law, marine spatial planning and the marine consents regime.
The firm was also heavily involved in the expansion of the southern North Sea for oil and gas exploration, so acquired in depth experience and knowledge of the offshore stand-by and support industry.
The lifeblood of the shipping industry is the operation of ports and harbours and again the firm has developed considerable expertise in respect of port and harbour law, pilotage, towage and other conservancy issues. In addition the firm acts for a number of port authorities in respect of property law matters.
In the last two years all of this experience has come together as the firm has increasingly acted for clients involved in the renewables industry. As a result a specialist renewables unit has been established to coordinate the firm’s activities and provide a full service renewables offering to its clients.
Partner Andrew Oliver has been appointed Head of Off-Shore Renewables. “My traditional sea fisheries practice has rapidly expanded into marine environmental matters, he said. “I am now regularly advising in connection with marine consents, regulatory issues, and environmental protection. Recent work has included port and harbour developments, coastal protection works, undersea cables and pipelines as well as storage caverns.”
Oliver is now acting for the developers of five wind farms in respect of fisheries compensation agreements. He is also representing port authorities in connection with the conservancy issues arising from wind farm developers. “Another growth area is in connection with wind farm operations and maintenance. We have always advised on vessel sales, purchases, chartering and financing. We are now seeing a large number of instructions to advise on charter agreements and ship building contracts for wind farm support and construction vessels. We also act for a number of UK and International banks who are financing these vessels, and have seen an upturn in such instructions.”
“A great advantage we have is that in addition to our traditional marine law specialism we can pull together a team of lawyers to advise on other commercial issues such as property law and commercial agreements. Getting your commercial terms and conditions right is one of the most important steps a business can do to protect its interests. Another important issue is in respect of R & D and the protection of intellectual property rights. By bringing our specialist lawyers together in one team we can provide a comprehensive legal service to the renewables industry.”
Andrew Oliver and members of the team can be found on the Team Humber Marine Alliance Stand R2 at Seawork 2011.
( seawork )
[mappress]
Source: seawork, June 13, 2011; Image: andrewjackson