Where deep-sea command meets the practice of law.
The maritime practice at Legal Lighthouse is led by Capt. Pramod Kumar Singh — a Master Mariner (F.G.) with ten years commanding ocean-going vessels, fourteen years as General Manager of marine operations, and four years as Director of Marine & Commercial Operations, before qualifying as an advocate. He is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (M.I.C.S., UK). For survey and insurance assessment, the firm instructs IRDA-licensed marine surveyors as each matter requires, under counsel's supervision.
Most maritime disputes in India are handled by lawyers who must reconstruct what happened at sea from someone else's account. Here, a single instruction gives you both the technical reading of the facts — what the bridge team did, how the cargo was stowed and secured, why the machinery failed, whether the passage plan was sound — and the legal assessment of liability, recovery and exposure, from one source. You are not paying a lawyer to instruct a separate technical expert and then translate between them.
The practice is supported by Adv. Devyani Mishra (LL.B., LL.M.), who has independently handled ship arrest and release proceedings and a range of seafarer matters, with dedicated focus on admiralty work.
How we work with institutional clients.
For a P&I club, an FD&D insurer, or an overseas firm needing trusted Indian co-counsel, the dual qualification removes a layer — you instruct one person who has stood on the deck and who appears before the court.
01
For P&I Clubs & correspondents
India-side legal counsel on member matters — casualty response, cargo claims, crew and personal-injury claims, ship arrest and security, and recovery actions. We coordinate across India's admiralty jurisdictions and instruct local surveyors and agents under our supervision, giving you a single accountable point of contact rather than a patchwork.
02
For FD&D insurers
Defence and recovery support on freight, demurrage, charterparty and bill-of-lading disputes — including merits assessment, quantum analysis, and a realistic view of recovery prospects in the Indian forum before costs are committed.
03
For overseas maritime law firms
We act as Indian co-counsel where your matter touches an Indian port, an Indian-flagged vessel, an Indian cargo interest, or an arrest opportunity in Indian waters. We co-counsel cleanly, brief you in your own working format, and respect that the client relationship remains yours.
04
For owners, managers & charterers
We advise on liability exposure and dispute strategy, and represent in proceedings before the admiralty High Courts.
What we handle.
Four core areas, each backed by both legal training and seafaring experience.
01
Ship Arrest & Release
Section 5 arrest applications under the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017, before the coastal High Courts. Release proceedings, security in lieu of arrest, and counter-arrest defence. Cargo claims, bunker disputes, salvage, and unpaid hire frequently form the underlying claim.
02
Charterparty Disputes
Disputes under voyage and time charter forms — Gencon, NYPE, Shelltime, BPVoy and bespoke documents. Laytime and demurrage, off-hire, speed and consumption, deviation, redelivery condition, and breaches of safe-port and seaworthiness warranties. Arbitration under LMAA, SCMA, ICA, or as the contract requires.
03
Marine Insurance & P&I
Hull & Machinery and Protection & Indemnity matters — coverage disputes, casualty response, recoveries against third parties, subrogated claims, and contentious renewal terms. We work alongside P&I correspondents and act for assureds in coverage disputes.
04
Seafarer Matters & MLC 2006
Wages disputes, repatriation, abandonment, personal injury and death claims, contract review for seafarers and manning agents, MLC 2006 compliance advisory, and disciplinary or criminal exposure arising at sea.
India port & court coverage.
Our office is in Delhi NCR, but admiralty matters are heard in the coastal High Courts and casualties happen at the ports. Under the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017 — in force since 1 April 2018 — admiralty jurisdiction extends beyond the three traditional chartered High Courts to the High Courts of India's coastal states, each exercising arrest powers within its own territorial waters. You instruct once; we run the matter wherever in India it needs to be run.
Admiralty jurisdiction under the 2017 Act was extended to the High Courts of Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and the erstwhile Hyderabad High Court (now the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Courts), in addition to the chartered High Courts of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. Where local presence is required, we instruct trusted local counsel and surveyors under our supervision.
Why the dual qualification matters.
Founding counsel Capt. Pramod Kumar Singh holds a Master (Foreign-Going) certificate and commanded vessels at sea for ten years, followed by fourteen years as General Manager of marine operations and four years as Director of Marine & Commercial Operations — direct, hands-on grounding in chartering, claims and the commerce of running ships — before qualifying as an advocate. He is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (M.I.C.S., UK). In a casualty or cargo matter, that background is not decoration — it is the difference between a report that describes a document and one that understands the event the document records.
Instructing an arrest: the working checklist.
In arrest matters the vessel's sailing time, not the claimant's convenience, sets the timetable. A claimant that assembles its papers before the vessel berths controls the clock; one that begins when she arrives is negotiating against a departure. Where the following are ready, the Indian leg of the matter can move at the speed the situation demands.
01
The claim documents
The contract or charterparty, bills of lading, invoices, statements of account and material correspondence — together with a computation of the sum claimed, broken down as principal, interest and costs.
02
Evidence of ownership or demise charter
Material showing that the person liable owns or demise charters the target vessel — class or registry extracts, ownership records, or commercial databases. Where a sister ship is the target, the common ownership must be shown.
03
Vessel movement details
Name and IMO number, expected port of call, berth and ETA, and the agent's details where known. Early notice of the ETA is often the difference between arrest and a missed opportunity.
04
Authority to act
A power of attorney or board authorisation in favour of Indian counsel, and confirmation of the individual authorised to verify the affidavit and give instructions out of hours.
05
Security position
Instructions on the security acceptable for release — bank guarantee, cash deposit, or a club letter of undertaking — and the ceiling of your authority to accept it.
06
Limitation and forum
The applicable time bar and any extensions granted, and the forum governing the merits, whether Indian proceedings, LMAA or SCMA arbitration, or a foreign court. Arrest for security is available in support of proceedings elsewhere.
Where the arresting claimant is required to give an undertaking as to damages, the claim should be verified with care: an arrest founded on an exaggerated or unverifiable claim exposes the claimant to a wrongful-arrest counterclaim in the same forum. We will say so candidly before a warrant is sought.