ZBA is a boutique firm best known for its banking, shipping, dispute resolution and debt capital markets capabilities. The firm specialises in complex commercial disputes, with a focus on maritime law. It works with owners, offshore contractors, banks, mortgagees, charterers, cargo underwriters, insurers and reinsurers, protection and indemnity clubs, shipyards, commodity traders and financial investors. Managing partner Zarir Bharucha is a respected figure for shipping disputes. He is often nominated as an arbitrator for shipping-related arbitrations in the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and he is a member of the maritime sub-committee of the IBA.
The lead partners running the disputes group are Bharucha and Niloufer Lam.
The team acted for Banque Cantonale De Geneve in a case against the owners and parties interested in the vessel MV Polaris Galaxy. This matter is connected to the global Gulf Petrochem fraud saga, where global trade financing banks financed the purchase of fuel oil by Gulf Petrochem for transportation on a vessel and onward sale to a third party, while retaining the original bills of lading as security for the financing. The present case is one where, without the instructions of the client, which is the named consignee in the bills of lading, the ship mis-delivered the fuel oil to a stranger without production of original bills of lading. Thus, the client instituted an admiralty action in the Madras High Court for mis-delivery of cargo and sought and obtained arrest of the vessel MT Polaris Galaxy.
