Helen Noble, SC

Solicitor, Noble Shipping Law

Helen is a dual Irish and English practising solicitor with over 30 years’ experience specialising in all areas of maritime and transport law. Helen was one of the first 17 solicitors in Ireland to be conferred a Patent of Precedence by the Government of Ireland and designated the title of Senior Counsel as proven capacity for excellence.

Helen set up her own practice in Ireland in 2014 specialising exclusively in maritime, shipping and transport law.

Helen acts for the P&I Clubs, their members and other interests in ship arrests, cargo claims, charterparty and bill of lading disputes and defending personal injury claims. She has acted in a number of collisions, groundings and casualties and has regularly advised on issues of port state control, marine casualty investigations by authorities and has routinely represented owners and crew in prosecutions.

Helen is regularly instructed to assist clients on commercial negotiations and the drafting of commercial agreements. She has drafted a wide spectrum of shipping and transport documents such as charterparties, bills of lading, MOA’s, terms and conditions of transport and management agreements. Helen also advises borrowers, lenders and lessors on ship finance transactions drafting both security documentation, legal opinions in relation to borrowers and drafting corporate filings. She advises on the acquisition of new buildings and the sale and purchase of second-hand tonnage.

Contributed to

2

Ireland—Ship registration

Practice Notes

The Irish register of shippingThe Mercantile Marine Office, as part of the Department of Transport, is the national authority with responsibility for the registration of Irish ships.The administration of the procedure for the registration of ships and maintenance of the ship registry is assigned under s 23(1) of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 (Ireland) (as amended, MMA 1955 (IRL)), to the chief officer of customs and excise at the ports of registry as appointed by the Revenue Commissioners.In Ireland, there are 13 designated ports of registry with registrars for each port as appointed by the Revenue Commissioners. The ports of registry are: Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick, Skibbereen, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford, Westport and Wexford. Each port of registry maintains a Register Book. The combined registry details on the 13 Registry Books are collectively known as the Shipping Register.Ships registered on the Shipping Registry are known as Irish Ships.The registry is a record of legal ownership and the shares therein of a ship. There is no facility for a

Ireland - Banking & Financial Services

Ireland—Shipping finance—security

Practice Notes

This Practice Note considers the principal types of security that a lender may look to take in a ship finance transaction in Ireland.The types of security typically taken are:•a mortgage over a vessel•an assignment of insurances, earnings and requisition compensation•a parent company guarantee•a charge over shares, and•a charge over a bank accountThis Practice Note is relevant for finance for vessels that are registered on the Irish flag.Ship mortgageA primary source of security for a lender is a mortgage over the vessel which allows the lender, in case of default, to enforce its security through the power of possession and execute the sale of the vessel.In Ireland, a legal mortgage over a vessel registered on the Irish Register of Ships pursuant to the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 (Ireland) (MMA 1955 (IRL)) is created by the execution by the owner of the vessel of a statutory mortgage which is then registered with the relevant registrar.In Ireland, there are

Ireland - Banking & Financial Services

Practice Area

Ireland - Banking & Financial Services

Panel

Contributing Author

Qualified Year

1993

Year Taken Silk

2020

Experience

Legal Associate, Consult Marine (1996 - 1998)
Associate, International Litigation Group, Watson Farley & Williams, London and Singapore (1998 - 2008)
Partner and Head of Shipping Law, Mason Hayes & Curran (2004 - 2008)
Head of Shipping Law Group, Partner in Commercial Litigation Group, Matheson (2008 - 2012)
Director, Campbell Johnson Clark Ltd. and Head/Resident Partner, Campbell Johnson Clark Ireland (2012 - 2014)