Kishore Sharma

Kish has in depth experience of commercial fraud and consequential proprietary constructive trust and asset tracing claims, including: recovery of sums diverted through “phishing” scams; fraudulent drawing down of extensive trade credit facilities (£4 million and US$15 million) using false shipping documents; and proceedings involving constructive trust claims against banks, such as Casio v Sayo (approximately £30 million), and Sybron Corporation v Barclays Bank (approximately US$ 125 million).

Kish’s extensive experience in Energy & Natural Resources, gained in particular whilst an employed barrister / consultant at top City maritime and commercial solicitors’ firms, includes very high value disputes in arbitration and in the Commercial Court relating to a long term drilling contract in Venezuela and a joint venture for the exploration, development and exploitation of oil and gas fields on the North Sea.

Kish has broad and deep experience, gained both at the Bar and as an employed barrister / consultant at top City maritime and commercial firms, of all types of claims, issues and disputes (including coverage issues) arising under, or in relation to contracts of marine insurance (particularly cargo open covers) and all types of contracts of reinsurance / retrocession concerning all classes of insurance business.

Kish’s experience in this area goes back over 30 years and takes in, as well as countless cases involving cargo open covers: advising and acting for two different groups of insurers under two different marine cargo open covers on very high value claims (approximately US$405 million and approximately US$ 70 million) arising out of the Qingdao / Penglai “lock down” of warehoused metal in 2014; advising reinsurers in a dispute inter se relating to the allocation of losses between towers and layers of a programme that covered the 2015 Tianjin explosions; representing quota share (re-)reinsurers in an arbitrated dispute arising out of the Pan Atlantic casualty reinsurance programme; the legs of “the Lloyd’s Litigation” relating to the Outhwaite and Warrilow Syndicates; political risks insurance / reinsurance matters such as Yona International Ltd v La Reunion Francaise and ors. [1996] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 84; Punjab National Bank v De Boinville FT 1.2.1991; and war risks matters such as Attaleia Marine Co Ltd v Bimeh Iran (The “ZEUS”) [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 497.

Kish has acted and / or appeared in very many arbitrations under LMAA rules, as well as LCIA and ICC arbitrations and various commodities’ arbitrations under the auspices of trade bodies. The subject matter has usually been maritime or international trade or reinsurance related, but extends to high value disputes under other commercial contracts, partnership agreements and joint venture / consultancy / share sale and purchase arrangements of considerable complexity.

In addition, Kish has extensive experience of, and expertise in, all forms of arbitration claim in the Commercial Court including applications to appeal from or challenge awards, applications for anti-suit injunctions, applications for relief under s. 44 Arbitration Act 1996 and applications to enforce awards .

Notable cases in this regard include:

– Obtaining an urgent order in the Commercial Court on behalf of vessel owners for sale of a perishable bulk cargo (virally infected bulk wheat) under s. 44 Arbitration Act 1996, where the authorities at the destination port had required the vessel to leave national waters without discharging the cargo, and the charterers and receivers were unable to organise its discharge / disposal elsewhere;

– E-Star Shipping and Trading Co Ltd v. Delta Corp Shipping Ltd (the “ESHIPS PROGRESS”) [2023] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 595. Application for and anti-suit / anti-enforcement injunction under s. 37(1) Senior Courts Act 1981 and for an interim order preserving assets under s. 44 Arbitration Act 1996 in an unusual and complex multi-partite shipping dispute;

– HC Trading Malta Ltd v Tradeland Commodities S.L. [2016] 1 WLR 3120 (Jurisdiction of the Court to make a declaration as to the existence of an arbitration agreement prior to commencement of reference)

Kish has broad and deep experience, gained both at the Bar and as an employed barrister / consultant at top City maritime and commercial firms, of all types of claims, issues and disputes relating to international sales contracts (particularly for the sale of bulk commodities or goods on FOB / CIF / CFR terms) as well as banking and security transactions associated with such contracts (i.e. bankers’ documentary credits, on-demand guarantees and negotiable instruments). Examples include:

– HC Trading Malta Ltd v KI (International) Ltd and ors. [2022] EWHC 1387 (Comm) – enforcement of cheques for US$ 7 million given by Singaporean drawer as security for payment of the price of bulk cargoes of steam coal due under CFR and CIF contracts;

– HC Trading Malta Ltd v Savannah Cement Ltd [2020] EWHC 2144 (Comm) (Summary judgment for breach of obligations to open documentary credits and to refer demurrage claims to expert determination, under settlement agreement of disputes relating to CFR contract for multiple shipments of bulk clinker.

Almost all of Kish’s practice is international and / or multijurisdictional and frequently raises points of private international law in particular under the Rome I and Rome II Conventions. For example, in the context of claims arising out of the Qingdao / Penglai “lock down” of warehoused metals, for the purpose of determining whether the assured had an insurable interest therein, the question of which law will govern the efficacy of purported subsequent dispositions of (or interests in) metals that had earlier been the subject matter of “repo” sale to which the assured was a party.

Kish frequently acts in claims under the CMR in the Commercial Court and the London Circuit Commercial Court.

Shipping, particularly dry work and especially cargo claims, is the core of Kish’s practice in which he has some 17 years’ experience both at the Bar and “at the coal face” as an employed barrister / consultant at top City maritime firms.

Kish has been designated by the Legal 500 as a Leading Junior at the London Bar for Shipping; and ranked by Chambers & Partners for Shipping and Commodities London (Bar). He is well versed in all issues, claims and disputes (in Court and arbitral proceedings, particularly under LMAA terms) arising out of, or relating to, all forms of contracts for the carriage of goods by sea (especially in bulk) including bills of lading, sea waybills, voyage / time / consecutive voyage charterparties, “COAs”, time charter trips etc. His expertise also ranges to Admiralty claims, including collision actions.