Yacht Lawyers in Germany

Legal Solutions Made in Germany

Yacht Lawyers
in Germany

Legal Solutions Made in Germany

Our German yacht lawyers are available to advise yacht owners, shipyards, yacht designers, financiers and other professionals in the field.

At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, we are a full-service law firm with offices in Cologne, Aachen and Düsseldorf, and conference rooms across Germany. We advise clients worldwide in their dealings across areas of German law. With dedicated teams in legal fields such as commercial law and intellectual property law, certified specialist employment lawyers and experienced and highly qualified contract law professionals, Schlun & Elseven is your reliable legal partner.

German Maritime Law: Legal Advice from Yacht Lawyers

Book 5 German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch – HGB) provides the legal basis for much of maritime law in Germany. For example, § 488 HGB outlines certain rules regarding the liability of the shipper and third parties, while § 490 HGB provides the carrier’s rights to have goods handed over before specified deadlines. However, Germany also follows the Hague Rules in maritime law, which is an international code that defines a carrier’s rights and liabilities of a carrier. The outlined advantage of the German rules in the HGB was to provide more simplified and clearer regulations and to modernize and simplify vessel registration. However, professional legal advice is always recommendable.

Buying and Sale of Yachts: Contract Law Services

Our German yacht lawyers utilise their expertise in contract law to advise our global clients on matters such as sale and purchase agreements, build contracts, design contracts, international registration and more. Standardised contracts should be avoided when dealing with high-value assets such as yachts.

At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our yacht lawyers take the time to draft specialised contracts suited to your characteristics and demands. These contracts will enable you to minimise risks associated with owning and operating a yacht, prevent disputes from arising with suppliers, purchasers and other business partners, and regulate and structure business relationships.

Furthermore, our legal team are available to analyse your current contract and can advise on where our clients should seek changes. As experienced negotiators, our yacht lawyers are in your corner with their industry-specific insight and knowledge of maritime law. Only with expert legal counsel can dangerous pitfalls from contractual arrangements be avoided.

Employment Law Concerns

At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our employment team is ready to advise you concerning crew agreements and seafarer employment contracts. As certified experts in employment law, Dr. Thomas Bichat and Mr. Jens Schmidt, alongside our lawyer Martin Halfmann, can be relied upon to provide excellent service and representation concerning contentious issues and to assist you regarding the Maritime Labour Convention.

Our Germanemployment law experts will advise you regarding best-practice policies in health and safety, grievance and disciplinary procedures and employment law in Germany and elsewhere and how they are connected to your yacht. Such steps are necessary to minimise the risk of costly legal disputes arising. However, should disputes arise, our employment specialists are ready to represent your interests in court.

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Litigation is not rare in the world of yachting, and those in the industry must be prepared for that eventuality, from disputes relating to personal injury and insurance claims to warranty issues, yard and marina liabilities and more. Our team will advise you on your options regarding court disputes, arbitration procedures, and other dispute resolution options.

In the event of disputes, our lawyers consult with independent technical experts on issues relating to potential technical deficiencies with the boat in question. Out-of-court dispute resolution options are often preferred due to their quick, cost-saving nature and usually more suitable conditions.

Registration of Yacht: Choice of Flag and Registry

At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our lawyers will take you through the necessary steps of registering your yacht. Choosing the right ownership structure and flag is a difficult choice that can often have an enormous impact on the future of the yacht.

The choice of flag will be based on many different factors such as the type and size of the ship, the purpose of the yacht, its areas of use, whether it is a commercial ship or solely for private use, the security involved with the choice of nationality and many other factors. Our legal team will support and advise you throughout all steps of the registration process and, in particular, in the choice of flag.

Our yacht lawyers also supports our clients with financing their yacht. We provide support with associated finance arrangements, restructuring loans, insurance contracts and with registration procedures. Consult with our team now for expert assistance when registering your yacht.

Schlun & Elseven Logo

Practice Group: German Yacht Lawyers

Practice Group:
German Yacht Lawyers

Contact our German Yacht Lawyers

Please use the form to tell our team of German yacht lawyers about your legal issues. After receiving your request, we will make a short preliminary assessment based on the information provided and give you a cost estimation. You are then free to decide whether you want to instruct us.

Locations & Office Times

Mo – Fr: 09:00 – 19:00
24h Contact: 0221 93295960
Email: info@se-legal.de
Appointments made by telephone only.

Von-Coels-Str. 214
52080 Aachen
Tel: +49 241 4757140
Fax: 0241 47571469

Kyffhäuserstr. 45
50674 Cologne
Tel: +49 221 93295960
Fax: 0221 932959669

Düsseldorfer Str. 70
40545 Düsseldorf
Tel: +49 211 882 84196
Fax: 0221 932959669

Locations & Office Times

Mo – Fr: 09:00 – 19:00
24h Contact: 0221 93295960
Email: info@se-legal.de
Appointments made by telephone only.

Conference Rooms

Berlin 10785, Potsdamer Platz 10

Frankfurt 60314, Hanauer Landstrasse 291 B

Hamburg 20354, Neuer Wall 63

München 80339, Theresienhöhe 28