Wotton Kearney has launched a dedicated marine, trade and commodities capability in Asia, adding a Singapore-based team with experience spanning marine insurance, sanctions and cross-border disputes at a time of heightened complexity across global shipping.
Partner Karnan Thirupathy (pictured right) joins from Kennedys alongside special counsel Charlene Sim (pictured left) and their team, who will work across Wotton Kearney’s Singapore and Thailand offices. The group will advise insurers, P&I clubs, commodity traders, vessel owners, charterers and other businesses operating across maritime, logistics and international trade.
The expansion puts greater specialist legal capacity behind a marine insurance market facing pressure from both growing Asian exposure and a more volatile claims environment. The International Union of Marine Insurance’s latest statistics show global cargo premiums reached US$22.64 billion in 2024, up 1.6%, while premiums in Asia grew 8.8%.
At the same time, the region remains heavily exposed to shipping losses. Allianz Commercial’s 2026 shipping safety review identified South China, Indochina, Indonesia and the Philippines as the leading global hotspot for total vessel losses both in 2025 and over the past decade, recording 255 losses across the 10-year period. Hull claims costs per vessel were also 33% above pre-pandemic levels.
Marine claims are increasingly shaped by overlapping questions of coverage, contract interpretation, sanctions and jurisdiction. Recent disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, for example, has forced marine brokers to reassess war-risk exposure, including the availability, pricing and structure of cover around vulnerable trade routes.
Thirupathy has worked in Asia for 25 years, specializing in international arbitration and multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes across commodities, shipping and insurance. Qualified in Singapore and England and Wales, he represents clients in arbitrations seated in London, Singapore and Hong Kong and accepts appointments as an arbitrator.
His practice also covers sanctions compliance and related regulatory issues for shipping and commodities businesses, an area that has become more prominent as geopolitical restrictions increasingly intersect with vessel operations, trade flows and insurance payments.
On the other hand, Sim has been in practice for 11 years, most of that time working with Thirupathy. Her experience covers commercial disputes and international arbitration involving LNG and commodity sale and purchase contracts, contracts of affreightment, charter parties and marine insurance policies.
The team joins after securing more than US$140 million for a global energy trader against a state-owned energy company in an LCIA arbitration concerning an LNG supply dispute, according to Wotton Kearney.
Ben Nicholson, managing partner for Asia at Wotton Kearney, said the appointments were part of the firm’s continued regional expansion.
“Marine, shipping and international trade are fundamentally cross-border, and clients need advisers who understand both the legal complexity and the commercial realities of operating across the region. Karnan and his team bring deep sector knowledge, strong regional relationships and substantial dispute resolution experience. Their arrival significantly strengthens the support we can provide to clients across Asia Pacific,” Nicholson said.
The hires are part of a broader build-out of specialist marine expertise in Singapore. Marsh Risk Asia made three senior marine and cargo appointments in July, including an Asia P&I leader, while Lockton added a regional marine and transportation growth leader.
Wotton Kearney has also been expanding its marine footprint across the region. The firm integrated specialist maritime firm Oceanlaw in New Zealand in August, following its entry into Singapore in 2024 and the subsequent opening of a Bangkok office.
