About us - Asdem Ltd

About

Since 1988, Asdem has been supporting the global oil industry on claims recovery, delay claims, oil industry contracts, tanker charterparties, demurrage and more.

Alongside advisory services, claims support, mediation and arbitration services, Asdem trains oil industry professionals around the world on oil industry laytime and demurrage, tanker chartering, tanker operations and loss control. Asdem-certified courses are highly-regarded throughout the industry.

Asdem hosts laytime & demurrage and barge conferences as well as industry working groups. These have led to the publication of the Asdem Barge Charterparty and the implementation of codes of practice for time bar issues and for standard terms and conditions for certain charterparties or products.

Asdem has offices in the UK, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and a Demurrage Claims Centre in Mumbai which provides outsourced claims support and recovery services.

As an Asdem client, you benefit from access to legal, seafaring and commercial expertise. The aim is to help you achieve commercial outcomes without fuss, without delay, without legal proceedings wherever possible and without harming your commercial relationships.

This has been Asdem’s philosophy to our clients for 30 years.

Fees

Many of our clients subscribe to our services on an annual basis, but we also undertake ad hoc work.

Wherever possible, we will offer fee arrangements to suit your needs.

Our standard practice and preference for individual matters is to charge for work done on a lumpsum basis agreed with you for each stage of a piece of work. Lumpsum fees are based upon our best estimate of the time the work will take, locking in the fee and controlling costs for you.

In appropriate circumstances, claims recovery can be handled on a ‘no success – no fee’ basis.

We encourage you to use us a ‘sounding-board’. We do not charge for being available on this basis. If we do not know the answer immediately and either we need to expend time on research or you need support rather than just initial guidance, we will inform you and agree fees before proceeding.

Our fees are exclusive of disbursements, which are charged at cost. Contact us to find out more.

Clients

Asdem acts as an advisor to all parties in the petroleum and petroleum-product supply chain from the producer to the end user. Since its formation Asdem has acted for refineries, the oil majors, major oil and chemical companies, international traders, tanker owners, charterers, brokers and lawyers.

If references or a client list is required, please contact us and we would be happy to provide appropriate information requested on a strictly private and confidential basis.

Andrew Wilding

Managing Director, Asdem

Andrew Wilding, Managing Director of Asdem, is a maritime lawyer who specialises in the oil industry with over 25 years' experience in drafting, negotiating and resolving disputes in energy, marine, and transportation contracts for ship owners, ship managers, charterers, commodity traders and their insurers.

Andrew qualified professionally in London, and was an Associate at the Hong Kong office of Sinclair Roche and Temperley prior to joining the Singapore office of Stephenson Harwood where he was a Partner, responsible for establishing and running the shipping litigation department and before moving to the commercial side of the industry and setting up Asdem's Singapore office.

Andrew has lectured for academic and professional institutions in Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, London, and in the United States.

He is the author of numerous published articles and has contributed to a number of books on Maritime Law including working on Intertanko's Guide to Tanker Charterparties and books published by The Society of International Gas Tankers and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO).

Roger Sepkes

Senior Consultant, Asdem Ltd

Roger Sepkes has worked in the oil industry for more than 40 years, initially in shipping and refining with Petrofina in London and Brussels.

Subsequently he was a director of an independent storage company before spending many years as an oil trader.

He set up Asdem at the suggestion of several oil trading companies in 1988.

He now regularly acts as an arbitrator in trading and shipping disputes.