In a special two part podcast focusing on Seaworthiness, Astaara's Rob Dorey and Phil Ponsford chat with Tom Walters and Henry Clack of Holman Fenwick Willan LLP, to find out what being seaworthy actually means and what the consequences are for not being so.

Tom Walters worked for a naval architecture practice on the South Coast of the UK for two years for a leading superyacht designer before retraining as a lawyer and joining HFW’s Shipping department in 2002 as part of the admiralty and crisis management team.  He has worked on a number of complex technical cases involving the salvage, towage and wreck removal of yachts, ferries and cruise ships.  He also deals with construction disputes, insurance and coverage claims and other related contractual disputes.

Recently, Tom has become involved with the team at HFW advising on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) in response to the increasing demand for Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) being used in the marine sector.  He is also part of HFW’s Cyber Initiative advising on issues following the implementation of MSC428(98) by the IMO dealing with cyber security on board ships and yachts.

Tom is a member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) and a member of the Society of Underwater Technology (SUT) participating in the Salvage & Emergency Subsea Response subcommittee.

Henry Clack specialises in international commercial dispute resolution, with a particular focus on shipping issues. He has experience representing salvors, shipowners, P&I Clubs, commodity traders, brokers and logistics companies. He has worked on disputes arising from cyber fraud, collisions, groundings, cargo contamination, charter parties, bills of lading, pipeline and other offshore installations and commodity contracts. 
 
Henry is a member of HFW's autonomous vessel group. He has contributed to leading textbooks on autonomous vessels, including chapters on "Autonomous shipping and maritime law" and "Cyber risks and the development of law".