Bulat Karimov
Counsel
Bulat began his career with our team as an intern and quickly became a valued member of our legal team. He is currently based in Singapore. His practice primarily involves arbitration and litigation relating to international cargo carriage and charterparty disputes, as well as carrying out sanctions advisory work and providing expert opinions on these matters. He has strong experience drafting contracts related to the carriage of goods by sea, including contracts of carriage, charterparties, freight forwarding agreements, and work or service contracts. Bulat also specialises in securing maritime claims and in the arrest of vessels.
Tel+7 (812) 640 07 98
Emailbk@navicus.law
Key Practice Areas
- Disputes over the carriage of goods, time and bareboat charters, marine transportation financing, freight forwarding, the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, and loading operations, including cargo loss and damage claims.
- Tort disputes over ship collisions, groundings, and oil spills.
- Transaction support, including ship supply agreements and the sale and purchase of oil and other commodities.
- Ship and cargo arrest — interim and preliminary relief — obtaining, lifting and substituting measures, including to secure claims in international arbitration.
- Providing expert opinions on the application of international sanctions and Russian counter-sanctions.
Representative Experience
- Managed a dispute following a fire aboard a foreign vessel. The case required navigating complex issues including ship arrest, governing law, loss valuation, salvage operations, and insurer coordination.
- Advised a client in a matter where a foreign government expropriated a vessel due to sanctions.
- Acted for the shipper in a dispute concerning damage to high-value cargo during air carriage.
- Represented a client in a corporate dispute between a foreign parent company and its Russian subsidiary.
- Counselled on the terms of an English law-governed insurance policy, including risk assessment, exclusions and scope of coverage.
- Has a track record of securing assignment of claims from insureds to insurers and carefully evaluated insurer liability in disputes involving cargo damage, vessel collisions and oil spills.
- Assessed the risks arising from a premise lease agreement, which was impaired by sanctions, corporate disputes, and regulatory demands concerning asset refurbishment and staff and client safety.
- Acted for an oil trader under an English law oil resale contract involving sanctions implications, third-party liability, independent guarantees, and the calculation of market losses in the absence of a trading market for the product.
- Arranged repatriation of a deceased seafarer and ensured insurance compensation was paid to the family.
Additional Information
- LL.M. in Maritime Law from the University of Cape Town (South Africa).
- Currently pursuing a PhD at the National University of Singapore, researching remedies and enforcement mechanisms in maritime disputes.
- Research Fellow at the Centre for Maritime Law in Singapore.
- Author of a number of publications in leading international journals (Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, Journal of International Maritime Law, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce).
- Lead contributor on Russian case law to the Comité Maritime International’s database on international maritime convention practice.
- Represents Russia in the Comité Maritime International (CMI).
Publications
- Some Aspects of Ship Arrest in Russia. Maritime Law Journal 2/2025
- The Locus of Control in the Arrest of Ships Associated by Common Control. Journal of International Maritime Law, 30(1), 7–12 (2024)
- Arrest of Associated Ships from a Common Law Perspective. NUS Law Working Paper No. 2024/007, NUS Centre for Maritime Law Working Paper 24/04 (2024)
- Translation of the IOPC Claim Manual 2019 Edition into Russian. Maritime Law Journal 1/2024
- Review of Selected Foreign Cases. Maritime Law Journal 2023
- The Legal Nature of Freight Forwarding Contract: Foreign Experience and Russian Understanding. Maritime Law Journal 4/2022
- The Legal Nature of the Contract of Carriage of Goods: Foreign Experience and Russian Understanding. Maritime Law Journal 3/2022
- Limitation of Liability of a Freight Forwarder and his Contractual Counterparties. Maritime Law Journal 1/2022
- A Waiting Icebreaker, or What does the Customer Pay for? Maritime Law Journal 5/2021
NAVICUS.LAW
1-A Orlovskaya street, office 31-H,
St. Petersburg, 191124, Russia
Tel.: +7 (812) 640 07 98 (Moscow)
Tel.: +7 (812) 640 07 98 (St. Petersburg)
Email: navicus@navicus.law
