Mersey Maritime

JIM Teasdale has been appointed the new chief executive of Mersey Maritime. Jim, who replaces founding chief executive John Mutch who stepped down in October last year, will be responsible for overseeing all activities undertaken by Mersey Maritime including marketing, lobbying, business development, and training and education.

“At Mersey Maritime we are bringing together companies, professional organisations and local government bodies to share a better understanding of growth potential issues,” says Jim. “We have big ideas, big plans and big actions for the maritime sector. We know what the key objectives are and how to deliver and measure them.”

Jim joins Mersey Maritime from the Birkenhead-based Laird Foundation, a Centre of Vocational Excellence in Marine Engineering, where he was chief executive. He has spent the last two years chairing an education, training and skills group for Mersey Maritime and has helped represent Sea Vision UK in the North West region.

Ince & Co

CONGRATULATIONS to Ince & Co, who won the Legal Business Shipping Team of the Year Trophy in February 2004. The team, headed by Michael Volikas and Faz Peermohamed, won the award for their work on the Prestige case, described as “one of the largest and most complex ever”. The team involved lawyers from Ince’s Shanghai, Paris, Piraeus and London offices.

Healey & Baillie

THOMAS H Belknap Jr became a partner in Healey & Baillie on January 1, 2004. Tom joined the firm as an associate in September 1996, and has been involved in a wide variety of cases including several major casualty/limitation of liability actions and numerous cargo claims, charter-party disputes and insurance-coverage claims. He is also secretary of the Maritime Law Association Committee on Arbitration and Mediation.

Swinnerton Moore

LONDON shipping law firm Swinnerton Moore moved to new premises in Cannongate House earlier this month. “The new office is nearly twice the size of our old premises, and will give us room to expand,” sayas partner Tony Swinnerton. The expansion has already started. Adam Poynter, previously of Bentley Stokes Lowless, joined the firm on 1 April, and trainee, Nooshin Noafi was taken on last September.

Swinnerton Moore can now be contacted at Cannongate House, 62-64 Cannon Street, EC4N 6AE, Tel. +44 (0)20 7236 7111.

Hill Dickinson

ROBIN Heanley, a specialist in subrogated cargo recovery actions for underwriters, joined the London office of Hill Dickinson in November last year. Robin joined from Clyde & Co, where he has wide experience in recovering salvage remuneration by establishing unseaworthiness of the ship.

Davies Johnson & Co

LOUISE Glover, formerly of Holmes Hardingham in London, is to join Plymouth-based Holmes Hardingham, having decided that spending too many hours every day at a London desk is not good for either her or her clients.

Hill, Betts & Nash

MARK Rowe has joined Hill, Betts & Nash in New York as counsel. He was previously vice-president, legal administration at OMI Corporation.

Wiersholm, Mellbye & Bech

NORWEGIAN law firm Wiersholm, Mellbye & Bech has strengthened its shipping and insurance team with three lawyers from Lindh Stabell Horton. Erik Blaker, a former partner at Lindh, is regarded as one of Norway’s top maritime insurance lawyers. Wiersholm says that, together with Jon Andersen and Hans Viga, who join with him, Blaker will make its shipping and transportation department “a leading professional environment within shipping and insurance in Norway.”