Maritime

“This international firm is a bona fide titan of maritime law.”
— Client feedback, Chambers USA 

Shipping remains the most important means of moving goods around the world. With over 90 percent of cargo imported to the United States moving through seaports, maritime laws and regulations affect most businesses either directly or indirectly. Increased global trade, rising fuel costs, ongoing environmental regulation, overcapacity in the industry, the prospects for autonomous shipping, and cyber risks have converged to make this industry alter course.

Blank Rome helps companies find safe passage in these turbulent times by providing legal and business counsel in all aspects of the maritime industry. Whether the matter involves regulatory compliance, sanctions, litigation and enforcement, vessel finance, or strategic alliances, we have the knowledge and experience to help you navigate any issue. We represent publicly traded and privately owned companies throughout the world, including shipowners, ship managers, charterers, cargo owners, shipyards, wind farm operators, marine construction and transportation companies, waterfront facilities and terminals, energy companies, shippers, financial institutions, and private equity investors. 

With this depth of experience, we understand the challenges clients face so they will not waste valuable time educating us about their business. When the matter involves a specific area of the law, such as securities, labor and employment, bankruptcy, or tax, we draw upon our diverse group of more than 750 attorneys (including approximately 30 maritime attorneys who regularly advise the maritime industry) and our unparalleled network of contacts in the industry.

We also serve the shipping industry through a unique combination of regulatory, legislative, defense, and commercial advice and assistance. Our attorneys have been involved with many of the most significant vessel casualties and pollution incidents of the past century, such as the M/V DALI/Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse, USS John McCain/Alnic MC, Aris T, El Faro, Amoco Cadiz, Athos I, Cosco Busan, Deepwater Horizon, Exxon Valdez, San Jacinto, Morris J. Berman, Torrey Canyon, and Amazon Venture. 

To keep on top of the latest trends in the maritime industry, please read our Mainbrace newsletter.

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How We Can Help

• International Litigation, Arbitration, and Defense
  • Maritime and commercial litigation and arbitration
  • Defending against enforcement actions and criminal prosecutions, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), Ports and Waterways Safety Act, and Vessel General Permit
  • Casualty investigation and litigation
  • Maritime arrest and attachment
  • Recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards and foreign judgments
• Regulatory Compliance
  • Compliance with international, federal, and state regulatory requirements
  • Jones Act and coastwise compliance
  • Sanctions compliance and enforcement
• Salvage and general average
• Strategic alliance structuring
• Vessel and corporate finance
• Bankruptcies and restructurings
• Insurance and reinsurance
• Tax

International Litigation, Arbitration, and Defense

Our maritime litigation and regulatory attorneys have substantial experience in conducting investigations and defending criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement actions; resolving insurance disputes; responding to environmental incidents and other casualties; and assisting those subject to government investigations.

Our firm is also highly experienced in arbitration at the highest level, providing representation to clients across a diverse range of subject matters. We have a proven track record in managing various arbitration proceedings under the guidance of numerous international and domestic institutions, including the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Our arbitration experience ranges from disputes between sovereign nations to bilateral investment treaties related to international trade and shipping. We are adept at representing clients in a wide variety of disputes, including breach of contract, fraud, and other related matters. 

Regulatory Compliance

Clients turn to Blank Rome to help them navigate through the numerous hazards of both U.S. and international regulation. Our team is available to help our clients achieve their business goals while also protecting them from any potential liability exposure. We anticipate the challenges and prepare our clients to handle regulatory issues before they arise. We can audit client operations and implement compliance and training programs that help protect them in the event of environmental, security, and other incidents, or violations of regulations. Our attorneys are also well versed in emerging issues, such as ballast water management and autonomous vessels (including drones), and can help clients navigate the uncharted waters of the regulatory environment.

Our team routinely works with the U.S. Coast Guard, Maritime Administration, Federal Maritime Commission, Environmental Protection Agency (along with state counterparts), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Military Sealift Command, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, and International Maritime Organization, as well as regional port authorities and maritime trade associations throughout the United States and the world.

Additionally, Blank Rome’s attorneys are recognized leaders in all aspects of compliance with U.S. coastwise (also known as “Jones Act”) laws and regulations, including complex U.S. citizenship issues and U.S. coastwise trade issues. In particular, this experience extends to offshore Jones Act compliance work in not only the oil and gas sector, but also in the new and evolving wind sector. In the transactional arena, Blank Rome routinely advises borrowers and lenders in financings of U.S.-flag vessels operating in the Jones Act trade. We have advised debtors and creditors on debt-for-equity swaps in bankruptcies and restructurings of Jones Act companies where it is critical that the debtor remain a U.S. citizen within the meaning of the Jones Act after the case or matter is closed. 

Blank Rome’s team is also available to assist clients with other regulatory matters including: 

• Sanctions advice and counseling
• Maritime environmental compliance and training
• Internal and grand jury investigations
• Administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement actions
• Risk mitigation strategies related to pollution incidents
• Other administrative and legislative solutions

Commercial Transactions and Finance

Through our extensive maritime and shipping contacts, we often make initial introductions for companies and investors interested in making industry mega-deals; as a result, we have been successful in bringing many deals together. Our maritime finance attorneys structure, negotiate, and document transactions, while simultaneously addressing any tax and regulatory issues that may arise. We help take companies public, guide buyers and sellers, and assist with bankruptcy and business restructuring.

Environmental

Blank Rome’s maritime attorneys are available to assist our clients with all aspects of environmental laws and regulations. Our firm’s areas of practice providing environmental legal services fall into many categories, including: environmental compliance and permitting, environmental due diligence and transactional risk management, and environmental enforcement and litigation (civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings) under the primary federal environmental statutes (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (also known as Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and National Environmental Policy Act) as well as their state analogues. 

Given the overwhelming universe of environmental regulations affecting businesses on a daily basis, and the capital expenditures required to maintain compliance, it is essential to maintain a proactive compliance strategy to minimize enforcement actions. Our attorneys work closely with our clients to develop practical compliance strategies to eliminate or minimize current and future environmental liabilities. Where any such violations have occurred, or where a whistleblower has alerted a company to an environmental issue, we are able to conduct internal investigations efficiently and discreetly to ensure that disclosures to government agencies are made while concurrently negotiating the best enforcement outcome. We are also able to conduct a comprehensive environmental, health, and safety compliance audit to determine the scope and extent of your compliance issues, if any, and make recommendations on ways to better conform operations to international, federal, and local environmental laws.

Business Restructuring 

Our business restructuring and bankruptcy and maritime groups are nationally recognized providers of legal counsel and have an unmatched capability to provide one-stop shopping for financial restructurings and bankruptcies in the maritime industry to ship-owners, charterers, creditors, and other stakeholders. 

International Business

We have the depth and breadth needed to support our clients in the global arena and have a long history of representing international clients in the United States and protecting domestic clients’ interests abroad.

In the area of international trade sanctions and export controls, Blank Rome has successfully represented shipowners, P&I clubs, charterers, flag states, offshore oil and gas companies, shipyards, vessel agents, and managers in often critically sensitive matters before the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.

Government Relations

Our maritime government relations group can advise and advocate for you in the complex intersection of law and policy. Blank Rome’s experienced attorneys and lobbying and communications professionals can help you navigate these choppy waters and develop comprehensive strategies aimed at achieving favorable outcomes.

What Sets Us Apart 

• With shipping lawyers in New York; Washington, D.C.; Houston; Philadelphia; and Boston, Blank Rome has one of the largest and most comprehensive maritime practice in the United States.
• 2025 Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” named Blank Rome “Law Firm of the Year” in Maritime & Admiralty Law.
• Named the Transport – Shipping Firm of the Year in the 2024 Lexology Index Awards.
• The Legal 500 United States 2024 ranked Blank Rome Top Tier in Transport: Shipping – Litigation and Regulation.
• Chambers USA consistently ranks our Maritime practice group Band 1:
  • 2019–2024: ranked Blank Rome Band 1 for Transportation: Shipping/Maritime: Litigation (New York) – Nationwide, Transportation: Shipping/Maritime: Litigation (Outside New York) – Nationwide, and Transportation: Shipping/Maritime: Regulatory. Sources have said:
    • “It fields one of the most highly regarded regulatory teams in the USA alongside stellar litigation and transactional practices, and is also home to one of the premier governmental affairs groups…The firm has excellent resources to handle large, complex cases with serious consequences.”
    • “Clients value the firm’s ‘amazing array of subject matter experts across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions’”
    • “‘Their service is excellent, and they are very responsive.’”
    • “‘They’re absolutely top of the line, no question at all.’”
    • “[T]he team has ‘a lot of very successful and talented lawyers’ and … [a] ‘truly international practice.’”
• Chambers Global 2023 recognized Blank Rome as a global leader in Shipping: Litigation — Global-wide.
  • “Blank Rome has a well-regarded shipping litigation practice, with considerable expertise in dealing with high-profile disputes, as well as maritime arbitration. It is respected both within the USA and internationally for its deep industry knowledge. The law firm offers:
    • Notable expertise in handling a wide range of issues, including casualties, charter party disputes, bankruptcy and environmental matters.
    • Experience acting for a mix of owners, operators, charterers, financial institutions and shipyards.
    • Additional strength advising on shipping issues as they intersect with environmental litigation.”
  • Sources have said:
    • “One peer described the team as a ‘real quality outfit.’”
    • “A source particularly praised the firm’s skills in handling maritime transactions.”
    • “The firm has a fantastic reputation in the international shipping community.”
• Recipient of the Lloyd’s List North American Maritime Legal Services Award 2015 and 2016.
• Several of our maritime attorneys have lectured at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s OPA 90 Qualified Individual Training Program on legal issues related to pollution incidents and have served as arbitrators and expert witnesses in foreign litigation and courts on issues of U.S. maritime law.
• Our attorneys include former U.S. Coast Guard and Navy officers, representatives and senior staff from Congressional committees, and high-level officials of government agencies, including the Department of Justice, Maritime Administration, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Among our attorneys, we have two professors of maritime law at the New York University School of Law. Additionally, we have several authors and editors of leading maritime treatises and textbooks.