Master Mariner, LLM FCIArb, ACII, Chartered Arbitrator, Chartered Insurance Practitioner, a marine loss adjuster and insurance recovery consultant since 1978 and maritime arbitrator since 1994.

To date, he has been involved in more than 135 arbitration cases in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and London either as Sole Arbitrator or as a member of a Tribunal. The arbitration cases involved charter party issues, shipbuilding disputes, international trade disputes, bill of lading issues, insurance claims, construction projects etc.

He is a panel arbitrator with HKIAC, SIAC, SCMA, RAC (Kuala Lumpur), Beijing Arbitration Commission, China Maritime Arbitration Commission and is a Noble Neutral with The Mediation and Conciliation Network (MCN) India. He is also an approved tutor with the UK CIArb. He is a practicing mediator in commercial, maritime and insurance disputes and accredited with the Hong Kong Mediation Council, Principal Mediator of Singapore Mediation Centre. Besides his arbitration and mediation practice, he is an accredited adjudicator in Malaysia and have acted as such.

He is currently Consultant to Integral Marine Consultants, Singapore and Director of Toplis & Harding (Marine & Recoveries) Ltd, Hong Kong. He has written many papers and had published two books namely “Risk Profile of Ships” and a sea adventure book under the title “Transforming Grace of God.”

As an insurance loss adjuster, he had handled or supervised the handling of more than 9000 marine hull, cargo and general insurance claims spanning over 35 years acting on behalf of regional, London and Scandinavia insurers. He is also an experienced and recognized risk assessor and has been engaged by insurers in Singapore, UK and Germany to conduct a wide range of risk assessment (both operational and liabilities) of Industrial facility such as privatized of port terminals, inland logistic/warehouse operators, industrial plants, inland transits of huge dimension machineries and equipment, oil installations, shipyards, high security/high value warehouse operations etc in Asia and Australia.