Ben Goss is a Chartered Shipbroker and commercial (non-lawyer) arbitrator.

Ben has 25 years of experience in the chartering of bulk carriers, tankers, and offshore support vessels; the carriage of goods; the sale & purchase of second-hand vessels; the contracting of newbuilds; ship finance and leasing.

Ben has been a Member of the Baltic Exchange since 2000 and accepts appointments in relation to disputes arising from all manner of maritime-related contracts including charter parties, bills of lading, contracts of affreightment, sale & purchase agreements, and shipbuilding contracts. Ben is familiar with most if not all the standard contract forms (including MYBA) and has recently considered in some detail the NYPE Inter-Club Agreement.

Ben is equally happy as sole arbitrator or as part of a tribunal of two or three and is adept at chairing hearings both remotely and in person. Ben strives to ensure that awards are issued within the timeframe specified in the LMAA Terms.

With a BA (Hons) in Business & Law, Ben is educated in all aspects of English law including contract law and the sale of goods. Instead of Law School, Ben opted for a career in the commercial world of international shipping and spent 22 years from 1997 to 2019 as a shipbroker with AP Moller-Maersk and Maersk Broker in the UK, USA, Greece and Denmark. From 2009 to 2013, Ben was Head of Tankers/S&P/Newbuilds at Maersk Broker K/S, Denmark and, from 2013 to 2019, Managing Director of Maersk Broker UK. From 2019 to 2021, Ben provided consultancy services to RMK Maritime, a company that provides capital raising and financial advisory services exclusively to the maritime industry, before becoming a full-time arbitrator in 2021.

In addition to arbitration, Ben has an active interest in dispute avoidance through active management and negotiation: Ben is a CEDR Accredited, IMI Qualified Mediator and a member of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF). Ben also has an active interest in offshore wind and, representing Maritime London, is a member of the Maritime UK Offshore Energy Working Group.