V Bala

V Bala is the Deputy Head of the firm's Shipping & International Trade practice. As a trained marine engineer with sailing experience, he is regularly instructed by leading shipping companies and terminals as Counsel in a wide range of matters.

His contentious practice has seen him appear before all levels of the Singapore courts and arbitral tribunals on a wide range of commercial disputes, with particular focus on shipping, energy and offshore and international trade / commodities sectors. Being adept in dealing with engineering disputes and matters of a technical nature, he has acted for ship builders, repairers and equipment suppliers. He also has a strong non-contentious practice advising and drafting of documents pertaining to ship finance, ship sale and purchase, charterparties, contracts of affreightment, pooling arrangements, tankage, pilotage bunkering, trade finance and port documentation. Given the breadth of his practice and experience, he is consistently invited to speak in conferences and seminar around the world on cross-border litigation, arbitration and transactions.

Bala has been recognised as a notable practitioner by Asialaw Leading Lawyers 2023 and Chambers Asia Pacific 2022, and is praised for having "vast experience" in shipping litigation and arbitration matters. He has also been spotlighted by The Legal 500 as “a practitioner with marine engineering background that is particularly helpful to the practice”.

He has been named as an Accredited Specialist for Maritime and Shipping Law by the Singapore Academy of Law’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme.