Robert Veal

Associate

Robert mainly provides assistance in charterparty disputes and cargo claims, both in the High Court of England & Wales and in LMAA Arbitrations including but not limited to:

• Laytime / Demurrage disputes
• Hire / Off-hire claims
• Delivery / Redelivery / bunker claims
• War risks, safe ports and the implied indemnity
• Cargo claims
• Disputes relating to the operation of the Inter-Club NYPE Agreement
• International trade disputes on GAFTA termsli

In recent years, Robert has developed a portfolio of consultancy work in the field of remotely controlled and autonomous ships, for a range of maritime authorities and private clients; principally offering expertise on matters of law reform, regulatory compliance, and liability. Robert is a member of the Comité Maritime International Working Group on Unmanned Ships, and has represented the NGO at both the Legal Committee and Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) (MASS Working Group).

Robert is a contributing author to “Autonomous Ships and the Law”, Informa, 2020.

Before joining Winter Scott in 2021, Robert was a Lecturer in Maritime Law at the University of Southampton and an Academic Member of the Institute of Maritime Law (IML). During this time, he taught both students and maritime professionals across a range of areas, but principally wet shipping and admiralty. Robert remains a Visiting Member of the IML.

Robert read law at the University of Southampton, graduating in 2011 before taking a distinction in his LLM in Maritime Law also at Southampton.
Robert completed his Legal Practice Course with distinction from the University of Law in 2023.

Robert has been the recipient of numerous awards and prizes from academia, the Inns of Court and industry. In 2018, he was awarded the Claes Isaacson Scholarship from Gard P&I for his research on autonomous vessels.

Robert has delivered guest lectures, talks and seminars in maritime law all over the world including:

• International Maritime Organization LEG 106, London, UK (2019);
• Tulane Admiralty Law Institute, New Orleans, USA (2020);
• Comité Maritime International, New York, USA & Genoa, ITA (2016/17)
• World Maritime University (WMU), Malmo, SWE (2018)
• International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), Malta (2021);
• Board of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco (2018);
• North of England P&I, Newcastle, UK (2017);
• Institute of Maritime Law Annual Maritime Law Short Course, (2018 - )

Some of Robert’s publications include:

• R Veal, ‘The IMO MASS Regulatory Scoping Exercise: what have we learned? [2021] 21 LSTL 5 1
• R Veal, ‘Liability and Regulation in Autonomous Shipping: a panoptic view’ (2020) 45 Tul Mar LJ 101
• R Veal and M Tsimplis, ‘The integration of unmanned ships into the lex maritima’ [2017] LMCLQ 303.
• R Veal and A Serdy ‘The legal status and operation of unmanned maritime vehicles’ [2018] Ocean Dev’ Int’ Law, 1.
• R Veal and H Ringom ‘Unmanned ships and the international regulatory framework’ [2017] 23 2 Int’ Mar’ LJ, 100 · Jul 1, 2017
• R Veal, ‘Introducing GAFTA’s Prevention of Shipment Clause’, [2014] 8 LSTL 1.

Robert has also provided in-house legal training for a number of clients, including a comprehensive 10-part lecture series on the law of charterparties for a leading P&I Club