Damayanti is an Of Counsel at the Firm’s shipping and dispute resolution department.

With 8+ years of post-qualification experience and a core specialization in maritime law and commercial litigation, Damayanti’s expertise ranges from high-value ship finance and international trade transactions to complex cross-border disputes.

As much at home in navigating ship sale and purchase transactions, as she is in the court room, her multi-disciplinary proficiency and industry insight enable her to comprehensively guide clients through the entire commercial dispute lifecycle from contract formation to enforcement.

On the transactional side, she regularly advises on and drafts industry-standard contracts. She also appears in multiple courts including the DIFC and ADGM Courts and handles arbitrations involving wet and dry shipping and trade matters in a variety of fora (LMAA, DIAC-LCIA, SIAC).

She holds a B.B.A LL.B (Hons.) degree in International Law from the National Law University, Odisha and has been enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, India, since 2015.

Before joining Fichte & Co., Damayanti practised in India with a top-tier shipping law firm. She has appeared before various High Courts and the Supreme Court in India and arbitrations in various commercial matters of shipping and trade, including core issues of admiralty law and practice.

As part of her responsibilities, Damayanti now plays a pivotal role in advising the UAE maritime authorities, ports and other governmental bodies on the development of new laws and regulations.

She has been a core part of the team instrumental in overhauling the 30-year-old maritime law in the UAE. She regularly engages in discussions with industry stakeholders which uniquely positions her to comprehend their challenges, needs, and requests. Leveraging this insight, she participates in high level dialogue to suggest practical and realistic solutions to develop legislation and regulation in the maritime sector and to bring a positive change.

She has experience handling a broad range of P&I and FDD disputes and has also been involved in several actions involving enforcement and execution of foreign awards. In addition, she has advised on court auctions of vessels and is well versed with multi-jurisdictional bunker and charterparty disputes. She has also closely worked with the international trade and commodities sector, covering trading, the sale of goods, transportation, financing and warehousing of many physical commodities.