Committee Members

Profile:

Dato Benny Founded the firm of Joseph Tan Jude Benny LLP in 1988, and has been the architect of the firm’s growth over the years, including the successful establishment of a network of offices across South-East Asia.

Dato Benny has an extensive arbitration practice and sits regularly as an arbitrator in international and domestic disputes. As an international arbitrator, Dato Benny has presided as a sole arbitrator, as well as part of a panel, in references from the international Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the London Chamber of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Singapore Chamer of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) and numberous other ad hoc arbitrations.

With a wealth of experience in legal and commercial issues, acquired over the last 32 years, Dato Benny is well places to hear disputes in all areas of commercial practice, and is particularly well placed to handle complex and large commercial disputes in various jurisdictions.

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Academic & Professional Qualification(s) :

• LL B (Hons)
• FSIArb
• Fellow, ACICA

Professional Membership(s):

ACICA, APRAG ICDR, HKIAC, KLRCA (including maritime panel) , Korean Commercial Arbitration Board,
Seoul, South Korea, Maritime Law Association of Australia & New Zealand (MLAANZ), SCMA, SIAC

Career & Professional Experience:

• Called to the Singapore Bar in 1975 and admitted to practise in Western Australia and the Australian
  Federal Court in 1996.
• Practised as a specialist maritime and insurance litigator for more than 20 years, appearing as
  counsel in arbitrations, court trials and appeals, in cases involving, inter alia, charter parties, letters
  of credit, performance bonds and international trade.. In 2007 commenced practice as a professional
  arbitrator.

For Full CV click here

Professional Qualifications:

Master Mariner (Singapore, Class 1)
Issued by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, November 2000. (Renewed and remains valid)

Memberships:

• Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
• Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (FSIArb);
• Chartered Member of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CMILT);
• Full Member of the Singapore Maritime Arbitrators Association
• Member of the Singapore Nautical Institute
• Member of the Maritime Law Association of Singapore

For Full CV click here

Profile:

Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts’ 2nd Class Upper Honours Degree in law and upon being called to the English Bar at Gray’s Inn, Danny returned to Singapore where he commenced practice with Messrs Godwin & Co, then the leading Shipping & Maritime law firm in Singapore before joining Messrs Khattar Wong & Partners in 1989 where he was a partner and Head of the Shipping Department.

Danny joined Joseph Tan Jude Benny in September 1999 and is a Senior Partner in the firm. He was named by Chambers Global Directory 2000 and 2001 Editions as one of the “Leaders in their Field” of Shipping Law and was also listed in the Euromoney Legal Group Guide to the World’s Leading Shipping & Maritime Lawyers. Most recently, Danny was ranked as a Leading Individual in both The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2017/2018 Edition and Chambers Asia-Pacific Guide 2017.

Practice Areas:

Danny specialises in Shipping & Admiralty Law and his areas of work include shipping disputes on charterparties, Offshore Oil & Gas, casualties at sea, bunker disputes and contamination of liquid cargo, as well as shipping transactional work such as shipbuilding, ship financing, sale & purchase and registration of vessels.

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Practice areas:

Murali has extensive experience and expertise in commercial and shipping matters.  He has advised and acted in a wide range cases.

Civil and Commercial 

Company insolvency and judicial management, commercial contracts, joint ventures, distributorship and agency agreements, shareholders agreements, oppression of minority shareholders, breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud, tenancy agreements, employment contracts and professional negligence.

Shipping

Charterparties, cargo claims, marine insurance, collisions, shipyard claims (including claims relating to repairs costs, injury to workers), casualty claims, laytime and demurrage claims and the arrest of vessels.

Some Notable Cases

Litigation:

• Acted for an international bank in a claim against a shipowner for wrongful release of the cargo. The case is reported (BNP Paribas v Bandung Shipping Pte Ltd (Shweta International Pte Ltd and another, third parties) [2003] 3 SLR(R) 611; [2003] SGHC 111).
• Acted for the former Area President of an international shipping company in a claim by the company for breaches of fiduciary duty and/or his employment contract.  The case went to the Court of Appeal and is reported (Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd and others v Dafni Igal and others [2010] SGCA 45).
• Acted for a minority shareholder of joint venture vessel owing company in a claim against the company and other parties for fraud and oppression.
• Acted for a major sugar exporter/importer in Pakistan to set aside an international arbitration award against it in the region of USD15 million.
• Acted for a director and minority shareholder in a Singapore investment holding company in an oppression claim and a statutory derivative action against the company.  The case went to the Court of Appeal and is reported (International Connex Holdings Pte Ltd v Chan Shing On and others [2008] 1 SLR(R) 925; [2007] SGHC 228).
• Acted for a shipowner in a claim against a shipyard for the constructive total loss of its vessel due to the negligence of the yard.  The case is reported (The “Rainbow Star” [2011] 3 SLR 1; [2011] SGHC 35).
• Acted for a former director of a ship agency and brokerage company in a claim by the company for breaches of duty and fiduciary duty.  The case went to the Court of Appeal and is reported (Chin Siew Seng v Quah Hun Kok Francis and another appeal [2010] SGCA 44).
• Acted for a major international oilfield service company in a claim by a shipowner for damage caused to its vessel during the loading of clients’ cargo.  The case went to the Court of Appeal and is reported (Subiaco (S) Pte Ltd v Baker Hughes Singapore Pte (trading as Baker Hughes Inteq) [2011] 1 SLR 129).
• Acted for a shipping company in a claim against a slot charterer for failing to load cargo on the vessel. The case went to the Court of Appeal where the client succeeded substantially. The case is reported (Freight Connect (S) Pte Ltd v Paragon Shipping Pte Ltd [2015] SGCA 37).
• Acted for one of the largest Greek banks in the enforcement of a fleet mortgage with a claim value of approximately US$20 million where interveners applied to alter priorities. The case is reported (The “Posidon” [2017] SGHC 138).
• Acted for an international recycling company to obtain injunctive relief against the directors of its local affiliate. The case is reported (RGA Holdings International Inc v Loh Choon Ping Robin and Others [2017] SGCA 55).

International Arbitration:

• Acted for a major German engine manufacturer and repairer in a claim by a shipowner for faulty engine repair.  The case involved complex engineering concepts and principles.
• Acted for a major Indian energy company in a claim against a US company in relation to a port and general services agreement.
• Acted for a major international coal trading company in a claim by an operator of floating cranes in Indonesia.
• Acted for charterers in a claim by shipowners for exceeding the charter duration. The case involved the concept of good faith where the charter period was given without guarantee.
• Acted for a Korean construction firm in a claim against its Korean employers under a contract for the supply and installation of a SPM Calm Buoy.

Appointments:

• Member of the Firm’s Exco since 2006 where he was closely involved in the administration and management of the Firm including HR, strategic planning, business development, client development and marketing, knowledge management, IT, continuing education programme for lawyers, staff performance, salary reviews and discipline.
• Appointed Deputy Managing Partner on 1 January 2013. Appointed Managing Partner on 1 July 2013.
• Appointed Director, JTJB Myanmar Co Ltd in 2013.
• Marine, Offshore, Oil and Gas Association of Singapore – Committee member (2008), Honorary Treasurer (2009)
• Singapore Indian Association – Chairman, Board of Games (2007 – 2013)
• Law Society of Singapore – Member of the Inquiry Panel (Current)
• Appointed by Tuvalu Ship Registry to practice Tuvalu law (February 2015)

Seminars:

• Draftsman Beware – Distributorship and Agency Agreements (Ahrals Centre for Business Forums)
• Ship Arrests – The Right of Arrest, Sistership Arrest and Damages for Wrongful Arrest (Lexis-Nexis 2nd Annual Maritime Law & Practice Conference)
• Common problems relating to Notices of Readiness and Laytime (Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers)
• Ship Arrests in Singapore (2^ndGeneva Trade & Shipping Forum)
• EMPLOYER BEaWARE – Employment & HR Masterclass (Crown Leadership International Group)
• Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Business (JTJB Seminar Series)
• Duty of Disclosure in Insurance Contracts (JTJB Insurance Seminar)
• Common Areas of dispute in the Palm Oil Trade (Malaysian Palm Oil Council Pointers Seminar)
• Restraint of Trade – Employment & HR Masterclass (Crown Leadership International Group)
• Interim Relief in Litigation: The Mareva Injunction (International Business Law Conference, Bali)
• Walking the Plank: Practical and Legal Implications of Piracy (ADVOC 2nd Maritime Conference, Singapore)
• Maritime Arbitration – Dispute handling & solutions (Asia Pacific Maritime & Offshore Conference)
• Doing Business in Myanmar – Succeeding in Myanmar (SBF-WDA Internationalisation Series)
• Laycan, Laytime, Demurrage and Despatch (JTJB Eastern Maritime Seminar 2015)
• Restraint of Trade: Effectively Protecting your Trade Secrets, Confidential Information and Business Goodwill (SCCA Lunchtime Seminar)
• International Sanctions (3^rd ADVOC Maritime Conference 2015)
• Enforcement of Arbitration Awards in Singapore (The 13th Annual ShipArrested.com Conference, 2016)
• Challenges in Enforcement of Arbitration Awards (Asia Pacific Marine Conference, 2016)
• Practical and Legal Implications of Piracy (SNI 6th Forum on STS Best Practices, 2016)
• Ship-to-Ship Transfers: Potential Legal Issues & Risk Management (SNI-IKMAL Joint Forum on STS Best Practices, 2016, Kuala Lumpur)
• Restructuring in the Offshore Marine Sector (Offshore Marine Breakfast, SeaAsia 2017, Singapore)
• STS Operations Involving Oil Tankers: The Law and Potential Liabilities (SNI-IKMAL 8^th Joint Forum on STS Best Practices, 2017, Singapore)

Educational/Professional Memberships:

Master Mariner, L.LM (Cardiff Law School), Associate Member Chartered Institute of Insurance (ACII), Chartered Insurance Practitioner (CIP), Chartered Arbitrator (UK), Accredited Mediator of HK, Approved Tutor of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Fellow of Singapore Institute of Arbitrators and panel arbitrator of SIAC, HKIAC, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, China Maritime Arbitration Commission, Beijing Arbitration Commission, Fellow of the Institute of Petroleum (UK), Principal Mediator, Singapore Mediation Council, Specialist Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Centre, Accredited Adjudicator Malaysia.

Professional Experience:

Have been a loss adjuster and risk assessor for the last 40 years dealing with all types of marine insurance claims for ships and cargoes on behalf of Singapore, Norwegian and other Asian insurers. Have been involved in extensive investigations for piracy, comprehensive liability, loss of use, sinking and grounding, collision of ships and other fraudulent claims. Besides insurance claims investigation and recovery work, was called upon to conduct on behalf of various insurers risk assessment of privatized ports and terminals, logistic chains and shipyards and high security warehouse. Started the arbitration career in 1994.

Have conducted more than 10 cases of ad-hoc and institutional mediations.

Arbitration Experience:

Chairman, sole arbitrator and co-arbitrator in over 130 cases of international arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and London. Arbitrations involving disputes in charter party claims (both voyage and time charter parties); disputes over Sale of Goods contracts, ship building contracts, ship repairs, quality and quantity of goods delivered; insurance claims, personal injuries, etc.

For Full CV click here