Your lawyer will help you to understand the complex maritime laws and regulations that apply to ships and domestic commercial vessels. They can advise and represent you in any legal matter that may arise relating to an admiralty law issue including:

• the requirements for registering and owning your ship;
• the amount of reasonable reward that you should be paid or are required to pay in the event of a salvage exercise;
• liability that you may incur for a collision;
• other general issues in respect of damage to your vessel; and
• the arrest or detainment of your ship by authorities.

Your lawyer can also assist you with any commercial maritime legal and compliance issues you may experience such as:

• registering your vessel;
• your obligations concerning crew compliance;
• the availability and requirements of licenses and permits;
• risk assessments that need to be carried out in order to operate your vessel commercially; and
• disputes concerning charter parties.

Furthermore your lawyer can give you specialised advice on the structure and organisation of courts such as the Federal Court of Australia in the event you are party to an admiralty or maritime dispute. Your lawyer will comprehensively outline the processes involved in resolving such a dispute and can represent you on your instructions.