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.