General Average & Claims

General Average is one of the oldest and most important principles of maritime law. It applies when a deliberate sacrifice or extraordinary expense is incurred to protect a vessel, cargo, and freight from a common maritime peril. In such circumstances, all parties benefiting from the successful preservation of the maritime venture must proportionately contribute to the resulting loss or expenditure. Modern General Average claims are typically governed by the York-Antwerp Rules, which provide a globally recognized framework for determining, adjusting, and allocating contributions among shipowners, cargo owners, charterers, and insurers. These claims often arise following incidents such as vessel fires, groundings, collisions, machinery failures, cargo jettison, salvage operations, emergency towing, or other extraordinary measures taken to save the voyage. The adjustment and recovery process can be highly technical, involving average adjusters, insurers, P&I Clubs, cargo interests, and maritime authorities across multiple jurisdictions. Our maritime law team assists vessel owners, cargo owners, charterers, freight forwarders, insurers, and logistics companies in navigating General Average declarations, securing guarantees, challenging unjustified claims, and recovering contributions efficiently.