Eugene CHENG Jiankai
Adjunct Research Fellow
lawcje@nus.edu.sg

Introduction

Eugene is a Claims Executive & Lawyer at the West of England Insurance Services (Luxembourg) SA ("West") where he handles the full spectrum of P & I claims and FD&D disputes for West's ship owning and chartering members. In this capacity, he is also an author of West's legal defence guides published to advise its members of common legal issues encountered in the maritime industry.

Prior to joining West, Eugene was a Senior Associate at a boutique shipping law firm where he spent close to 5 years practising all aspects of maritime law. His practice straddled both wet and dry disputes and he has appeared as counsel before all levels of the Singapore court.

Eugene obtained his LLB (Hons) from the National University of Singapore in 2012 and was admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 2013. He is a member of the Singapore Academy of Law.

Research Interests

Research Projects

Eugene is currently writing a paper which examines the effectiveness of the Maritime Labour Convention's financial security certificates (FSCs) in resolving claims for unpaid seafarers' wages. This paper includes a brief review of the reasons why FSCs were chosen to be a solution for resolving seafarers' wage claims. It also includes an exposition of how FSCs are issued as well as the coverage provided for under financial institutions such as the International Group P&I Clubs. More importantly, the paper will highlight a number of drawbacks associated with FSCs and explain how such problems do not alleviate the difficulties faced by abandoned seafarers. Finally, the paper will conclude with several solutions and recommendations for providing better welfare and timely assistance for abandoned seafarers.

Publications

Working Papers: