Transport & Logistics

Due to its longstanding presence in Le Havre and more recently in Marseilles, Stream has an in-depth knowledge of port issues.

STREAM intervenes for clients on security matters, arrest of vessels or management of crisis situations relating to the blockage of ports or terminals.

Stream regularly represents a variety of actors intervening in this sector: ports authorities, ship owners, freight forwarders, stowage companies, pilots and stevedores.

The firm also assists companies in setting up new port activities, namely with regard to competition law matters.

Stream has particular expertise in all matters regarding the organisation, often complex, of carriage and the liabilities arising from such type of contracts (CMR, standard contracts under French law…).

Stream lawyers have a comprehensive understanding of the client’s concerns and are able to support them in their projects, advising them on the wording of their General Terms and specific contracts. Members of our team have worked for key players in the carriage industry.

Our lawyers are recognised for their skills in the resolution of disputes before courts and in arbitration. We assist our clients in the resolution of any type of dispute in relation with the organisation or performance of transport, by sea or by air, by road, rail or inland waters. We also have a deep expertise in the matters involving the handling and/or carriage of heavy cargoes and sensitive cargo such as the equipment dedicated to the nuclear industry.

Our team is recognised for its skills to intervene, in particular, in the context of exceptional transport of goods, tanker transport, vehicle transport or refrigerated transport, to answer problems related to delivery delays, cargo thefts, damage to goods, during loading, unloading or shipment.  

Recent matters include:

• Assisting a freight forwarder in charge of the organisation of the carriage of an Electric Plant from Indonesia to Singapore in the negotiation with its subcontractors;
• Intervening for a major freight forwarder in a claim regarding the loading and carriage of a train.

Stream lawyers are particularly active in advising key players in the rail industry and members of the team have worked for leading rail freight operators. 

Our team has strong technical knowledge of all the applicable rules and regulations regarding the rail sector, as well as operational knowledge allowing it to provide accurate and pragmatic advice to its clients.

The firm advises, in particular freight, multimodal, passenger transport, rules on the use of wagons, maintenance, leasing of rolling stocks, subcontracting, public works on rail infrastructure, market and regulatory issues, etc.

Recent matters include:

• Representing railway undertakings as well as maintenance companies in a major derailment case.
• Advising clients on issues related to carriage of dangerous goods, notably incidents involving transports of nuclear waste and leakage of acid goods resulting from defects on tanker wagons. 
• Advising clients in relation to collisions and loss of cargo. 
• Advising owners in their contractual relation with their partners concerning leasing/subleasing of rolling stocks. 
• Advising railway undertakings concerning issues of compliance with obligations contained in framework agreements in specific situations such as strikes or bad weather.

Over the last 20 years out team supported key players in adapting to the major changes of the market: the globalisation of the market and the need of externalisation of logistic services lead logistics providers to offer more and more sophisticated services, either in the organisation of the supply chain or in warehousing and distribution of the goods.

Our team has comprehensive knowledge of the practices of the sector, advising on contracts for the organisation of supply chain (3 Pls; 4 Pls) as well as on warehousing and distribution matters.

This knowledge is supported by our a deep expertise of insolvency matters and allows us to offer a reactive and relevant assistance to logistic providers.

Our team has successfully assisted clients in securing logistic supplier’s claims, and negotiating payment of the goods in cases of insolvency of the supplier’s clients.

The extensive knowledge of the logistics process allows our team to assist the industry in complex and high value disputes regarding their supply chain.

The firm has in-depth expertise in all issues related to public procurement law.

On the side of contracting authorities and contracting entities, it intervenes to secure the award procedure and optimise public procurement, the use of concessions or partnerships. This may involve in particular:

• Identifying the needs on the one hand, and the appropriate contract and conclusion procedure to meet them on the other;
• The drafting of contract documents and the determination of selection and award criteria;
• Assistance with the completion of advertising and competitive tendering formalities (including the formulation of answers to tenderers’ questions and the conduct of negotiations if necessary);
• Support during the phase of receipt and analysis of tenders, and then the selection of the successful tenderer;
• Carrying out the final formalities for the award of the contract;
• Drafting of the public procurement contract between the contracting authority and the successful tenderer;
• Litigation in the event of a challenge before the administrative judge of the contract award procedure (pre-contractual and contractual summary proceedings in particular).

Alongside the candidates and tenderers, the firm intervenes in particular for:

• Advising and assisting economic operators in the preparation of their bids;
• Verifying the correct application of the fundamental principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency, and ensuring that the procedural rules are carefully observed;
• Accompanying the economic operator in the framework of negotiated procedures where appropriate;
• Advising candidates and tenderers whose tenders have not been selected on the opportunity to bring their case before the administrative court and on the appropriate legal proceedings;
• If necessary, bringing the dispute before the administrative court.

Our team of lawyers, solicitors, and mediators regularly intervene in cases of domestic and international litigation, before arbitral institutions (CAMP, ICC, LMAA, CAIP, WIPO, ad hoc, etc.) , or via alternative forms of dispute resolution.

Our lawyers regularly intervene in the context of large-scale claims requiring in-depth knowledge and understanding of the sector.

The firm assists its clients in the context of exceptional transport of goods, tanker transport, vehicle transport or refrigerated transport, covering issues such as problems related to delivery delays, cargo thefts, damage to goods, during loading, unloading or shipment.

Recent matters include:

• Representing a road carrier in the context of damage to materials during transport within a military arsenal;
• Assisting clients in disputes relating to the temperature-controlled transport of goods, in the context of exceptional convoys;
• Defending the interests of a road haulier, after hitting a bridge while transporting a motor yacht;
• Defending a road carrier in the context of an international transport of turbojet engines;
• Acting for the operator of a barge capsized in the Seine with hundred containers on board, preventing any traffic on the Seine during a week;
• Acting for cargo interests further to the hit of a barge in a lock, preventing the navigation for several weeks.
• Assisting the owner of goods in relation to complex losses such as contamination/pollution of goods, during warehousing, and assisted cargo insurers of products dedicated to oil industry following a major fire occurred on the site.