DEPOSITS AND (AB)USE OF KYC: Trends and Remedies in SNP transactions, Helmsman Paper Featured at ICMA 2026
DEPOSITS AND (AB)USE OF KYC: Trends and Remedies in SNP transactions, Helmsman Paper Featured at ICMA 2026
The interplay between deposits, KYC and ship sale and purchase (SNP) has become increasingly fraught in recent years.
Building on this theme, Arjun Mital and Iris Ng presented at ICMA 2026 on issues that merit close attention.
Using the UK Supreme Court’s decision in King Crude Carriers SA v Ridgebury November LLC [2025] UKSC 39 as a reference point, the paper looks at the conditions precedent to lodging a deposit, how KYC delays can hold up deposits in SNP deals, and the consequences.
The analysis considers:
- How tactical delay in satisfying KYC requirements can affect the position of sellers and buyers
- Whether claims for deposits are characterised as an accrued debt or as damages, and the consequences of that characterisation
- How clauses can be drafted to introduce clearer timelines and documentary requirements, reducing ambiguity and the scope for misuse of KYC obligations
For parties involved in SNP transactions, sanctions compliance and KYC risk management, this is a timely and practical contribution.
For further information on these issues, please feel free to contact the authors at iris.ng@helmsmanlaw.com and arjun.mital@helmsmanlaw.com.
About the authors
Arjun Joseph Mital is an Associate Director in the Shipping and Commodities Practice Groups at Helmsman LLC. He has over a decade of experience in shipping and international trade law, covering both contentious and transactional work. Before joining Helmsman, he was senior legal counsel in Dubai for a leading buyer of ships and offshore assets, working on over 300 ship sale and purchase transactions. He began his career at India’s largest shipping law firm. Arjun has extensive experience in international litigation and arbitration and is dual qualified in England & Wales and India, with an LL.M. (Distinction) in International Maritime Law.
Iris Ng is a Counsel in the Shipping and Commodities Practice at Helmsman LLC. She specialises in shipping and trade disputes and has represented clients before the Singapore courts and in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations. Before joining Helmsman, she served as a Justices’ Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Singapore and as State Counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers. Iris holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School and an LL.B. from Singapore Management University, where she was Valedictorian. She is qualified in both Singapore and England & Wales.
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