A dispute that has been in arbitration for more than a decade has been concluded with a €350 million settlement.

Denton Wilde Sapte has advised Swiss shipping group Allseas throughout its dispute with Sembawang, a subsidiary of the Singapore based SembCorp Industries.

The dispute arose over the termination of a contract between Allseas and Sembawang for the conversion of the Solitaire, one of the most sophisticated pipe laying vessels in the world.

The contract was initially made in 1993 but was terminated in 1995 after a series of delays. Allseas claimed that it had had no assurance that Sembawang would complete the conversion to the requisite quality within a reasonable timeframe, and towed the Solitaire to the Swan Hunter shipyard in Tyneside, where it was completed in 1998.

The progress of the dispute was stalled by a number of circumstances, including the resignation of two arbitrators and the death of another. After a series of several lengthy hearings, a tribunal found that Allseas had lawfully terminated the contract and was entitled to recover all costs incurred in completing the conversion at Swan Hunter.

“We are delighted that this arbitration has finally been concluded to the satisfaction of our client,” says Dispute Resolution partner Philip Chong.

"Our legal team had to grapple with complex technical and engineering issues in addition to enormous amounts of information. Several of our team are already putting these skills to good use on similar cases, for example an oil platform project in the Persian Gulf."

Philip led the team, working with partners Caroline Bell and Raichel Hopkinson, senior solicitors Matthew Vinall, Luke Hibbert and Jake Brown and a team of other solicitors, counsel and paralegals.

Denton Wilde Sapte instructed Nicholas Dennys QC, Andrew Goddard, Stephen Walker and Christopher Lewis, all of Atkin Chambers.