Ann Fenech Fenech & Fenech Advocates

Ann Fenech is the managing partner of Fenech and Fenech Advocates and head of the marine litigation department.

She qualified as a lawyer in 1986 and immediately joined Holman Fenwick and Willan in London, where she stayed until 1991. She then moved to New Orleans and joined Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler and Sarpy.

In 1992 she joined Fenech and Fenech Advocates and set up the marine litigation department. She deals exclusively with the whole spectrum of ship-related matters ranging from disputes arising out of salvage, collisions, towage, pilotage to ship building contracts, shortage and contamination claims. She has substantial experience in providing immediate casualty response, the arrest of vessels and other similar procedures acting for either plaintiff or defendant. In addition she represents a number of banks and other financial institutions in enforcement proceedings and has extensive experience in judicial sales by auction and court-approved private sales.

Ann Fenech is the president of the Malta Maritime Law Association and was the chairman of the pilotage board in Malta from 1994 to 2008. She was instrumental in the drafting of the Pilotage Regulations and the setting up of the Pilotage Co-Operative in Malta; she is an arbitrator accredited to the Malta Arbitration Centre and is a lecturer at the University of Malta on Charter parties, Salvage, Towage, Pilotage and Collisions and at the International Maritime Law Institute where she lectures on what it is like to be a Maritime Lawyer. She is also the legal correspondent of the West of England P&I Club, The American Club and Steamship Mutual. Over the years, she has been involved in the majority of high profile shipping casualties either in Malta or affecting vessels flying the Malta flag.

In October 2013, she was appointed Honorary Patron of the Malta Law Academy.

In June of 2014, Dr. Fenech was elected to the Executive Committee of the Comite Maritime International. She is the Chair of the international working group on Ship Finance Security Practices and a member of the international working group on Illegal Arrests.

In 2012, 2014 and 2015 she was awarded Best in Shipping Law at the European Women in Business Awards held in London.

In October 2015 she was elected to sit on the Board of the private sector organisation Malta Maritime Forum and in April 2016 she was invited to sit on the Board of the Governmental Agency Malta Marittima.