Capt VK Gupta Honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award
Padmesh Prabhune
The second edition of the SISL–Marex International Maritime Legal Conference & Awards, 2024 was held on November 13 at the prestigious Hotel Taj Santacruz at Mumbai.
Strengthening Marex’s core principles of serving the Maritime Community were the partners who collaborated zealously to this event, bringing in expertise, facilities and a prominence that a congregation of this aptitude truly deserves.
This year’s thematic agenda was specifically tailored to resonate with India’s growing maritime prowess and international spirit. “Navigating Maritime Tides – Current Trends and Future Horizons” was the subject around which stalwarts from the Maritime Legal, Maritime-Tech, Logistics & Supply Chain, and Commodities fraternity gathered to address their views, explore solutions for challenges and ultimately boost India’s growth in this sector.
The Conference was structured to give the participants interactive panel discussions precluded by keynote addresses which actually set the tone for the aforesaid panel discussions and expert talks that provided deep insights to a variety of aspects corresponding to Maritime trade in India.
Dignitaries that graced the conference included Chief Guest, His Lordship The Hon’ble Mr. Justice (Retd) S.C. Gupte, former Judge Hon’ble Bombay High Court and Guest of Honour, Mrs. Harpreet Kaur Joshi, former CMD of The Shipping Corporation of India.
Inviting the dignitaries to commence their addresses, Capt. Kamal Chadha, MD, Marex Media Pvt. Ltd. inaugurated the conference by sharing his objective of the theme of the Conference citing the India Maritime Vision 2030, and the Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi’s eagerness to drive India to a podium position in Maritime Trade and Commerce.
Mrs. Joshi, a woman standing strong ground in a roundly male dominated sector has not only garnered acclaim and praise but also her journey in guiding SCI as India’s oldest and leading shipping company to its heights today has impressed multitudes. Mrs. Joshi focused her address on the impact commercial disputes have on the financial structure of an organisation.
Justice Gupte’s keynote address very lucidly established that the judiciary plays a pivotal role in shaping the future horizons of the Indian Maritime scene and certain amends must be made to make India a more stakeholder and resolution favourable jurisdiction.
The Weighty Bits
Once past the inaugural segment, Mr. Jugal Kataria, Director, Finance and Tax, Ernst and Young, addressed the congregation with a presentation on the Importance and Commercial Significance of the International Financial Services Centre provided by the Government of India at GIFT City, Gujarat to boost commerce, trade and business. Mr. Kajaria shared intricate details about the benefits and facilities like tax holidays and the concept of GIFT City being considered as a place outside of India under the Income Tax Act.
Terrorism and Enhancing Maritime Security was covered by the Panel constituting Mr. Chirag Bahri, Operations Manager, ISWAN; Vice Admiral Abhay Karve, Indian Navy; Ms. Chaitaly Mehta, Director at EKF Global Logistics Pvt Ltd; Ms. Sandhya Pillai, Partner VMT Legal and was moderated by Capt. Rajesh Tandon, CEO, FOSMA.
Post tea, the Panel moderated by the veteran Capt. Kapil Dev Bahl dwelled on potentially the largest maritime incident in modern history- The M. V. Dali allision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore. The Panel constituting of legends in the Maritime legal field in India Mr. Tony Fernandes, Consulting Average Adjuster; Ms. Leena Mody, Average Adjuster and Mr. Amitava (Raja) Majumdar, Managing Partner Bose & Mitra & Co. India’s foremost leading Maritime Law firm and Dr. Sanjay Bhavnani, Director & COO MMS Maritime (India) provided intricate details about the legality of the claims, and deliberated the report on the National Transport Safety Board which recorded the investigation on the causes that led to the incident.
Addressing the emerging issue in global politics of international conflicts and imposition of sanctions by various countries on conflicting nations, Advocate Aditi Maheshwari, Renata Partners Law Firm, moderated a panel comprising of Advocate Rohan Janardhan, Partner Rex Legalis; Mr. Anuj Dhowan, Legal Counsel Scorpio Shipping, and Mr. Darshan Parikh, Senior Vice President, Marsh Insurance. The core theme of this discussion was Dark Fleets and their impact on Maritime Trade.
The final panel for the evening, was the Panel moderated by Capt Pankaj Kapoor, a master mariner turned lawyer and an active Government of India advisory on maritime policy and law. The Panel was constituted by Mr Nirav Thacker, Secretary IIFF; Mr Vishrut Shrivastava, MD Yodaplus Technologies; Mr Krishnan Subramaniam, Vice Chairman, ICS, UK and discussed the emerging significance of Electronic Bills of Lading and their implications, challenges, applicability and reliability.
The conference was followed by recognition of legal experts by distribution of awards through various dignitaries of the Maritime Industry.
Marex Media
The Award winners… (please take individual and organization category separately)
| Sr No | Name | Awards Category |
| 1 | Manisha Tiwari | Excellence in Maritime Legal Facilitation for Seafarers |
| 2 | Amitava Majumdar | Excellence in Admiralty Law |
| 3 | Aditya Krishnamurthy | Young Achiever of the Year – Maritime Legal |
| 4 | Capt (Adv) Alex Antony | Excellence in Academics – Maritime Legal |
| 5 | Capt Pankaj Kapoor | Exemplary Achievement in Maritime Law |
| 6 | Bodhisattwa Majumder | Rising Star – Maritime Legal |
| 7 | Harsh Bhagirath Buch | Excellence in Academic Research – Maritime Legal |
| 8 | Capt Vinod Kumar Gupta | Lifetime Achievement |
| 1 | Rex Legalis | Excellence in Admiralty Law |
| 2 | Bose & Mitra & Co | Maritime Legal Firm of the Year |
| 3 | Renata Partners | Distinction in Maritime Legal Practice |
| 4 | Seven Islands Shipping Limited | Excellence in Gender Diversity in Maritime Legal |
| 5 | MMS Maritime (India) Pvt. Ltd. | Excellence in Maritime Legal Aid and Advocacy for Seafarers |