Emmanuel Michelakakis-Howe

Emmanuel has a broad commercial practice with a particular focus on international arbitration, shipping, and commodities disputes. He brings a combination of legal expertise and real-world industry experience, having previously served as Director of Operations and General Counsel in the shipping sector before coming to the Bar. Clients value his strategic insight, commercial judgement, and ability to manage complex factual and technical issues, together with his understanding of their commercial concerns and his capacity to distil complicated legal problems into clear and actionable advice.

He acts as both sole and junior counsel in high-value, multi-jurisdictional disputes in the County Court, High Court, and under a range of arbitral rules (LMAA, LCIA, ICC, GAFTA, FOSFA). He also has experience giving expert evidence on English law to foreign courts and arbitral tribunals. Illustrative examples of Emmanuel’s work include:

Litasco v Banque El Amana [2025] EWHC 312 (Comm): Acted as junior counsel (led by William Day, 3VB) for the successful claimant in a dispute concerning foreign law illegality in the context of a US$13m LNG-related letter of credit.
LMAA Arbitration (2025). Acted (with Timothy Frith) in a day-long expedited LMAA hearing, raising complex questions as to the principles applying to the acceptance of a contractual repudiation, the implication of terms and the circumstances when an order for specific performance might be available under a charterparty.
LMAA Arbitration (2024): Acted as sole counsel for the successful shipowners in a two-day hearing arising out of the war in Ukraine, including cross-examination of expert witnesses.
DSG Shipping Inc v Ocean EXL Mena FZC (2025): Instructed as an expert witness before the Supreme Court of the Maldives on the scope of the court’s supervisory jurisdiction under the Arbitration Act 1996.

Shipping

Emmanuel’s work covers the full spectrum of shipping law disputes. He has acted and advised in a wide range of charterparty, cargo, demurrage, unsafe port, off-hire, sanctions, war risks, and bunker disputes.

Recent and notable work includes:

LMAA Arbitration (2024): Acted as sole counsel for the successful shipowners in a two-day hearing arising out of the war in Ukraine, including cross-examination of expert witnesses.
LMAA Arbitration (2024): Sole counsel in a dispute concerning bespoke off-hire provisions following crane breakdown and associated time loss.
LMAA Arbitration (2024): Acting for shipowners in a substantial demurrage dispute involving a bespoke heavy-weather clause and ship-to-ship loading operations.

Cargo Claims

Commercial Court (2024): Drafted particulars of claim in a cargo damage dispute involving delay to a perishable cargo; settled favourably shortly thereafter.
Advised on a large variety of cargo damage and unseaworthiness matters involving cement, fertiliser, as well as dangerous cargoes such as lithium batteries and explosives.

Casualties, Repairs & General Average

Emmanuel has acted in a variety of casualty, repair and General Average matters, including GA disputes, breakdown-related claims and complex operational failures. His earlier career in vessel operations also provides valuable operational context in cases involving major incidents and ship-repair issues.

Notable examples include:

LMAA Arbitration (2025). Acting for charterers in a multi-party General Average dispute involving a steel cargo withheld pending GA security, advising on owners’ lien rights, GA documentation, and the steps required to secure discharge.
Ad-Hoc Arbitration (2025). Instructed as an expert witness in an ad-hoc arbitration in the Netherlands concerning the doctrine of contractual estoppel in the context of multiple ship-repair contracts.
Advised on operational failures, including crane breakdowns, unsafe-port style issues and machinery-related time-loss disputes.
“m/v Columbus” Casualty (2019). As Director of Operations and General Counsel coordinated shipowners’ response to a significant grounding in the port of Amsterdam. This included spending a month on board the vessel to conduct investigations with authorities and insurers and to oversee repair operations. Successfully returned the vessel to service ahead of schedule.
“m/v Marco Polo” Casualty (2014). As in-house counsel coordinated incident investigations by the company, insurers, and regulators into the casualty. Secured materially positive changes to the conclusions of the official casualty report on the incident.

War Risks & Sanctions

Emmanuel is repeatedly instructed to act in, and advise on, a range of disputes involving war risks (including in the Black Sea, Red Sea, Israel and Latin America) and sanctions issues (including under the Russia, Iran and Venezuela sanctions regimes).

LMAA Arbitration (2025). Acted as sole counsel for a successful shipowner in a two-day LMAA arbitration raising questions as to the assumption of war risks by a shipowner and their entitlement to terminate a charterparty on account of the war in Ukraine.
Acted as sole counsel in a number of disputes, including the scope of the contractual discretions afforded to shipowners, charterers and insurers in respect of war risks and sanctions.

Charterparty Disputes

Advised on the effect of charterparty terms on hire, freight and demurrage disputes across time and voyage fixtures. Examples include:

LMAA Arbitration (2025). Acted (with Timothy Frith) in a day-long expedited LMAA hearing, raising complex questions as to the principles applying to the acceptance of a contractual repudiation, the implication of terms and the circumstances when an order for specific performance might be available under a charterparty.
LMAA Arbitration (2025). Drafted particulars of claim in a complex, multi-party arbitration involving the scope of a shipowners’ duty to cooperate with charterers and sub-charterers in the context of inspections.
LMAA Arbitration (2025). Advised on a multimillion USD dispute involving allegations of misrepresentations by a shipowner as to a vessel’s acceptability to oil majors.
LMAA Arbitration (2024). Acted for the successful charterers in an arbitration concerning the construction of a series of bespoke off-hire provisions in the context of a crane breakdown and associated loss of time.
LMAA Arbitration (2024). Acting in an LMAA demurrage dispute concerning the application of a bespoke heavy-weather clause during ship-to-ship loading operations.

Bunker Claims (Quality & Quantity)

Advised on several off-specification bunker claims, including owners’ entitlement to insist on de-bunkering at charterers’ expense, the interpretation of quality determination provisions and nuances of evidencing the damage caused by the breaches.

Commodities, International Trade & Energy

Emmanuel acts in disputes across the full spectrum of commodities and energy trading, including the sale of goods, shipping-linked commodities disputes, letters of credit, price determination mechanisms, force majeure and netting agreements.

Recent instructions include:

Litasco v Banque El Amana [2025] EWHC 312 (Comm): Acted as junior counsel (led by William Day, 3VB) for the successful claimant in a dispute concerning foreign law illegality in the context of a US$13m LNG-related letter of credit.
Commercial Court (2024-2025): Acted as junior counsel in drafting reply to submissions in a £25m dispute concerning oil sale netting agreements; settled shortly before trial.

International Arbitration: Procedural Issues, Jurisdiction Challenges & Interim Relief

Emmanuel has significant experience in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations across the shipping, commodities, energy and general commercial sectors. He is regularly instructed in jurisdictional disputes, anti-suit injunctions, applications for interim relief, and challenges and appeals under the Arbitration Acts 1996 and 2025 (including ss. 32, 44, 57, 67, and 69).

Examples include:

LMAA Arbitration (2025): Advised on the availability of anti-suit relief and relief under section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 in the context of foreign proceedings brought in respect of a cargo of steel laden onboard a vessel.
ICC Arbitration (2024): Drafted submissions resisting a jurisdictional challenge raised in a complex multi-party arbitration.
DSG Shipping Inc v Ocean EXL Mena FZC (2025): Expert witness before the Supreme Court of the Maldives on the scope of supervisory jurisdiction under the Arbitration Act 1996.
Chinese Court Proceedings (2025). Acted as an expert witness on English law in proceedings before a Chinese court on procedural irregularities in the making of a FOSFA award. This included giving oral evidence before the Chinese Court.
LMAA Proceedings (2024–2025): Acted as sole counsel for successful applicant seeking clarifications to an award under s.57 and acting in subsequent challenges under ss. 67 and 69.
London Circuit Commercial Court (2025): Sole counsel in an anti-suit injunction application restraining proceedings brought in Turkey; settled pre-hearing.
Commercial Court (2025): Advised on the availability of anti-suit relief to restrain foreign court proceedings concerning alleged GA contributions in breach of a London arbitration agreement.
Commercial Court (2025): Acted as sole counsel for applicants seeking anti-suit relief to restrain foreign court proceedings commenced in Turkey in breach of a London arbitration agreement (case settled favourably before hearing).

Enforcement, Asset Recovery & Civil Fraud

Emmanuel is experienced in cross-border fraud and enforcement matters, including freezing orders, disclosure orders, asset tracing, interim injunctions and insolvency processes.

Recent work includes

Commercial Court (2025). Acting (with Matthew Winn-Smith) in a complex cross-border fraud matter involving alleged collusion to evade customs tax, including analysis of extensive sales data and advising on notices to admit facts and the scope of disclosure obligations.
Acted as sole counsel for the successful applicant in an application for Norwich Pharmacal relief against payment service providers in relation to an international fraud.
Acted in bankruptcy and winding-up proceedings and advising on equitable remedies and proprietary claims.

Insurance & Reinsurance

Emmanuel regularly advises on insurance and reinsurance matters, particularly disputes concerning the scope of cover and liability for additional premiums under marine insurance policies.

His experience includes:

Advising on the scope of cover for legal expenses under a P&I Club insurance policy.
In his previous role, Emmanuel prepared and argued his employer’s case for a US$20 million claim for compensation arising from the Covid-19 pandemic before the P&I Club’s Board of Directors, successfully resisting efforts to have the claim summarily dismissed.

Sanctions & Regulatory

Emmanuel has been instructed on a range of sanctions issues concerning Russia, Iran and Venezuela, particularly in the shipping and commodities sectors.

Advised on sanctions-related risks affecting owners, charterers and commodity traders, including live matters involving cargoes connected to sanctioned parties having already been laden onboard vessels.

Advising a commodities trader on the scope of a major bank’s discretion to withdraw services in light of sanctions-related concerns.

General Commercial Law

Emmanuel is regularly instructed in a wide variety of commercial disputes, with recent work including acting unled in multi-day trials involving unjust enrichment, claims in respect of an employer’s lost profits from business diverted by an employee.

Examples include:

Acted unled for the successful claimant in a three-day trial of its unjust enrichment claim seeking the recovery of sums lent.
Acted unled for the successful claimant in a two-day trial of a dispute over a contractor’s work on the refurbishment of a luxury property, raising issues as to the interpretation of a pricing clause, the rules applicable to oral contracts, and issues as to the law of agency.
Assisted (as a pupil) Simon Oakes in a three-day High Court trial (reported at [2023] EWHC 257 (Ch)).

Scholarships and Prizes

Best Advocate, Worshipful Company of Arbitrators Arbitration Competition (2023)
Best Team in the Preliminary Rounds, Iain Fletcher International Insolvency Moot (2022)
Honourable Mention for the Martin Domke Award (Best Individual Speaker), Willem C. Vis Moot (2022)
Honourable Mention for the Eric E. Bergsten Award (Best Team at the Oral Rounds ), Willem C. Vis Moot (2022)
HR Light Scholar, Middle Temple (2021)
Top 0.7% of his LLB cohort with Certificates of Excellence for the best dissertation and a range of awards in other subjects University of London (2021)
Winner, Quadrant Chambers Speed Moot (2020)
Amicus Essay Prize (2019)
GC Powerlist Greece and Cyprus, Legal500 (2019)