Our people

Chanaka Kumarasinghe

Partner, Head of Singapore
Singapore

Expertise

Chanaka is the head of the Addleshaw Goddard Singapore office. He is part of the firm's global team of sector specialists focused on energy, construction and international arbitration.

For close to 25 years, Chanaka has worked in the upstream energy sector advising on the negotiation of agreements between key contractors, super majors and NOCs for the construction, hook-up, lease and operation of various oil fields assets, including rigs and FPSOs, for offshore fields in Latin America, North Sea, Asia and Australia. He also regularly advises on contracting arrangements for international wind farm and cable laying projects.

Chanaka is a well-known Asia based senior arbitration counsel, recognised in the Legal 500 as lead counsel in complex arbitrations. He has acted for various international energy companies, construction conglomerates and major oil & gas sector contractors. As one of the early users of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Emergency Arbitrator procedure well over ten years ago, Chanaka continues to provide strategic advice on securing injunctions for arbitration disputes in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. With his team, he regularly leads London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Badan Arbitrase Nasional Indonesia (BANI), London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) and SIAC international arbitrations, seated in various locations including Singapore, India, Dubai, New York, London and Indonesia.

Chanaka has also been appointed both as an arbitrator and a mediator. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and listed as an arbitrator on the SIAC reserve panel. Chanaka has also been appointed to the Asian International Arbitration Centre panel both as an arbitrator and a mediator. He has sat on the SIAC Users Council National Committee for Singapore and the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) Procedure Committee.

Experience

Experience includes:

Acting for and advising a major Asia based offshore contractor / shipyard for two decades on a wide range of international projects, including PRE-FEED/FEED/EPC/EPCI/EPCIC contracts for drillships, jack-up rigs, semisubmersible rigs, newbuild FPSOs and conversion of FPSOs for oil fields in Australia, North Sea and Brazil, and on issues relating to industrial relations and intellectual property.

Acting for and advising a leading Asia based provider of offshore floating production solutions on multiple international projects, including EPCI, sale and purchase, delivery, installation, lease and operate of newbuild FPSOs for fields in Brazil, Mexico, Guyana, Detailed Design Engineering Services contracts between FPSO operators and design houses, and FPSO lift, transportation and installation contracts between FPSO operator and subcontractors.

Acting for and advising a major Asia based offshore contractor / shipyard on disputes with its consortium partner and owner in relation to the construction of the HVDC Offshore Converter Platform for a Wind Farm project in the North Sea.

Managing large, complex multi-jurisdictional international arbitrations and disputes in Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, UAE, Iraq, India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea and China. These high value energy sector disputes include matters relating to design, construction, conversion, offshore services, decommissioning, delays, variations, termination disputes, call on guarantees and recovery of losses.

Successfully sought urgent interim relief under Emergency Arbitrations and secured various injunctions, including under the rarely used Security for Claim.

Education