Patrick Murphy

Full Profile

Patrick Murphy is a partner in the London office of Clyde & Co and a member of Clyde & Co’s White-Collar Crime and Sanctions group. Patrick offers strategic and commercially focussed guidance to clients on complex cross border sanctions matters.

Patrick’s background in shipping and commodity disputes means that he brings a deep understanding of the maritime and commodity trading industries to his sanctions advisory practice. He has advised a range of shipowners, ship managers, charterers, commodity traders, oil majors, bunker suppliers, offshore oil and gas services providers, port and terminal operators and financial institutions on the challenges of complying with fast evolving and jurisdictionally overlapping sanctions.

He has also advised a broad range of non-marine / commodity clients including in the telecoms, energy, mining, retail, FMCG, EPC, hotel and leisure, F&B and construction sectors on a variety of sanctions and export control matters including the implications of financial sanctions, asset freezes, trade sanctions and export controls.  He has extensive experience advising on UK and EU sanctions regimes in relation to Russia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Myanmar, North Korea, Libya, and Cuba as well as advising on the implications of the UK and EU blocking regulations.

Patrick frequently advises on licensing applications involving OFSI and the DBT / ECJU and coordinates with regulatory authorities. He has also led a number of cross border internal investigations into suspected sanctions breaches for large corporates and coordinated responses to those investigations, including advising on remediation measures and self-reports.

Patrick has extensive experience of complex cross border litigation in the English courts and arbitration involving the impact of sanctions and force majeure on performance of contracts.

Patrick brings a deep insight and understanding of the implications and application of sanctions extra-territorially having spent over a decade in Clyde & Co’s Dubai office and advising clients across the Middle East sanctions compliance, cross-border trade risks, and regulatory engagement strategies.

Patrick sits on Clyde & Co’s sanctions compliance committee.

Experience

• Conducting internal investigation into alleged breaches of Iranian sanctions by oilfield tools manufacturer
• Advising a subsea engineering construction and services company on the application of export restrictions and engineering services prohibitions under the UK’s and EU’s Russia sanctions regulations in connection with the construction of a pipeline repair system and on disputes arising out of the contract for design and build of the repair system
• Drafting and reviewing sanctions and export control policies
• Advising adjusters in relation to GA security provided for carriage of restricted goods from Russia
• Advising hotel managers on the implications of management agreements with property owners subject to various forms of financial sanctions
• Advising telecoms infrastructure providers on the sanctions implications of investment in sanctioned jurisdictions
• Advising a major port operator on the implications of the development of container facility in a sanctioned jurisdiction
• Advising a shipowner on disputes arising under a charter for a specialised seismic vessel following imposition of Russian sanctions and on obtaining treasury and trade licences in the UK and British Overseas territories to permit sale of vessel as part of the settlement of the disputes
• Leading an internal investigation into suspected breaches of Iranian sanctions by shipping services company including fact finding reports, voluntary self disclosure to authorities, liasing with lenders in relation to potential breaches of financing terms and reports to board
• Advising an oil major on the implications of the designation of bareboat owners under a series of long term bareboat charters, including on the wind down of the charters under treasury general licences
• Advising an employer on the sanctions implications of the termination of an employee following the employee’s designation and on obtaining treasury licences to permit payment of accrued wages and pension contributions
• Advising a subsea engineering services provider on provision of services to offshore fields with interests held by various financial sanctions targets
• Advising an international group P&I club on the sanctions implications arising out of a collision between a tanker and an Iranian drilling platform in the Arabian Gulf
• Providing voyage analysis / sanctions clearance for marine insurers, brokers, ship managers and ship owners for voyages with connections to sanctioned jurisdictions
• Advising charterers in arbitration and Commercial Court / Court of Appeal litigation in relation to disputed performance obligations and force majeure under a COA arising out of sanctions (MUR v RTI, [2022] EWCA Civ 1406)