ENSafrica

ENSafrica is a powerhouse legal conglomerate formed from a merger of legacy firms (including a firm founded in 1905)​. It has over 600 practitioners and offices in 7 African countries, giving it an unrivaled geographic footprint for maritime work​. ENS’s Shipping, Ports and Logistics practice is highly regarded, frequently earning top-tier rankings. The firm offers end-to-end maritime legal services. On the “wet” side, ENSafrica’s admiralty team is famed for rapid casualty response – its lawyers are often first on the scene for ship collisions, allisions, groundings, and pollution incidents along African coasts​.

They coordinate salvage operations and liaise with authorities to facilitate entry of distressed vessels into safe harbor​. In one notable instance, ENS acted as lead counsel in the aftermath of a major oil tanker grounding off the Southern African coast, handling everything from pollution claims to wreck removal contracts. The firm is also a leader in ship arrest and enforcement actions: its team obtains and defends against arrests and attachments in ports like Cape Town, Durban, Walvis Bay, and Accra, often on behalf of P&I clubs and international insurers​.

In “dry” shipping, ENS advises on charterparties, bills of lading disputes, cargo loss claims, and marine insurance recoveries​. Uniquely, ENSafrica’s presence in multiple countries (South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Mauritius, Uganda, Rwanda, etc.) means it can seamlessly handle cross-border maritime matters – e.g. coordinating simultaneous vessel arrests in different jurisdictions or advising on regional port development projects. The firm’s ports and logistics expertise also stands out: ENS consults for port authorities and terminal operators on concessions, regulatory compliance, and infrastructure expansion. Its lawyers were instrumental in the legal structuring of new container terminal projects on the Indian Ocean coast, drawing on both maritime and project finance skills. Clients consistently laud ENSafrica’s admiralty team for being “always readily available and approachable” and for its “remarkable strength” in diverse maritime claims​. The Chambers Global Guide notes that “ENS houses a renowned admiralty team frequently called upon to respond to casualties…as well as arrests,” and that the group “services a stellar array of shipping lines, P&I clubs” across Africa​.

​Complementing its maritime specialization, ENS’s full-service capacity (including tax, customs, and commercial law expertise) allows it to address ancillary issues like import/export regulations and logistics contracts, providing holistic support to maritime industry clients. As a regular recipient of African Legal Awards, ENSafrica’s impact on the continent’s maritime law landscape is significant – it has helped shape legal frameworks in emerging harbors and trained judiciary on admiralty principles. In sum, ENSafrica offers an unparalleled combination of depth, breadth, and geographical reach in maritime law, befitting its status as Africa’s largest and one of its most respected law firms​.