Legal Services Team

David qualified as a solicitor in the 1990s. As a result of having previously worked as in-house counsel for one of the largest independent oil traders, he now specializes in petroleum shipping and trading claims. He also handles cargo recovery claims involving both petroleum and other commodities, as well as port and terminal disputes.

Besides acting for the cargo insurance market, his clients include refiners, oil traders and oil majors whom he assists with their sale contract and charter party disputes (principally demurrage and additional freight claims). He also provides guidance on the drafting of tanker charter party additional terms.

David is a regular speaker on matters such as laytime and demurrage, interim port and STS clauses, petroleum loss and sale contract terms. David is a fluent French speaker.

Pequod London
Coppergate House,
10 Whites Row,
London,
E1 7NF

Ritchie has nearly 40 years experience in Shipping claims including Demurrage, freight and time charter recoveries. He is an ACCA qualified accountant and has an MBA. His previous roles include Global Commercial Support Manager at BP Shipping where he spent 30 years. He was later the Global demurrage Manager for Noble Clean Fuels Ltd and more recently spent 2 years at Shell as a demurrage and freight claims consultant.

Ritchie has extensive charter party and oil sales contract & general terms and conditions knowledge and was part of the team that produced the BPVOY4 charter party. He is well versed in handling all types of chartering and sales contract disputes.

Ritchie was a speaker at the 2017 Asdem conference. He has also run a number of in-house training courses at BP, Noble & Shell for both onshore and seagoing staff on all aspects of commercial shipping claims.

Pequod London
Coppergate House,
10 Whites Row,
London,
E1 7NF

After successfully completing his A-Levels and an internship at Pequod, Sam joined the company in November 2019. His primary day to day role now involves handing demurrage and additional freight claims for oil traders at various levels. He is a committed and enthusiastic worker with a meticulous eye for detail.

An area of business development for Pequod has been handling the day to day demurrage function for oil traders as an outsourced demurrage team. Sam’s role involves issuing outgoing claims to trading counterparties, receiving incoming claims from shipowners and trading counterparties, lodging the financial details of these claims, negotiating and settling the claims and then helping to provide monthly reports on the overall claim’s position.

As well as working primarily within the demurrage and legal services team at Pequod, Sam also undertakes cargo recovery claims.

Pequod London
Coppergate House,
10 Whites Row,
London,
E1 7NF

David has over 40 years experience in the oil industry including Shipping claims for Demurrage, freight and time charter recoveries. His previous roles include demurrage team leader in BP’s International Supply and Trading group in London and as a demurrage consultant for Hess Energy Trading Company. More recently he has been working with a Dubai based trading company, remotely handling their demurrage claims.

David advises companies on demurrage and insurance claims and on the implementation of improved back-office claims procedures and handles speed and performance claims. Some projects he has been involved in have included redrafting General Terms and Conditions for a Terminal and Pipeline company, assisting Company Administrators in the recovery of outstanding debts of a Ship Management company, assessing speed and performance claims for the shipping arm of a Major International Trading company and for a Chinese Oil Major the drafting of their Barge Terms and Conditions and reviewing and advising on their trading contracts terms.

David is an occasional guest lecturer for METL (Maritime Education & Training Ltd), a long-established private college providing preparation to examinees of the global Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and previously with The National Maritime College of Ireland in association with GAC. David has regularly presented courses and workshops in laytime and demurrage and tanker chartering in Africa, the Middle East, Far East and Russia, he has also provided bespoke training courses for both UK and International clients and was part of a team that organised the bi-annual European Barge Conference in Rotterdam.

David is a member of the Baltic Expert Witness Association and the Energy Institute.

Pequod London
Coppergate House,
10 Whites Row,
London,
E1 7NF