1. English Law Contract Interpretation
2. The Yantian Express
3. New US Sanctions
4.The Identificaion of Dead Bodies
5. The Way We Live
6. People and Places
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1. English Law Contract Interpretation
A recent case in the Commercial Court in London (Silverburn Shipping v Ark Shipping) provides a very useful synopsis of how to interpret contract terms under English law generally but in the specific context of a Charterparty Dispute. An article by Ben Macfarlan,e a Partner at Jurit LLP on the case was first published in issue 16 of CECCA Newsletter on Maritime Law and Commerce (ISSN 2631-7516), available at:-
https://cecca.org.uk/newsletter
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/FfVc0SAsePNySQhL_rR17A
2. The Yantian Express
A fine note featuring the thorny issues of the general average complications on board this container ship appears in the generally excellent casualty notebook published on 8th May, 2019 by Roose + Partners:-
Over four months has passed since the first of this year’s notable casualties was reported, the fire on board the Yantian Express, and yet despite the vessel and cargo being successfully salved and taken to a port of refuge, the sound cargo remains on board the vessel and has yet to be delivered to its market. Orders are months late, with seasonal and time
sensitive products likely to arrive way beyond the due date and with the resulting loss of market. We have been advised
of many claims whereby receivers have notified insurers of a potentially serious loss to their business with some even
reported to be close to closing their doors as a consequence.
When the salvors brought the vessel and cargo into Freeport and the salvage services were terminated, salvage security became due from the property interests who had benefitted from the salvor’s efforts. Many cargo interests, our clients included, sought to provide salvage security immediately hoping that early provision of security would ensure that the cargo could be delivered as soon as practically possible. Our clients also provided General Average security which is not strictly due to be provided until the cargo is delivered at destination but it made sense to deal with the security aspects in one go. Unfortunately other property interests opted to delay provision of security for many different reasons, and some property interests who may not have insurance for their cargo, may have no intention to provide security. The result being that the Yantian Express is sitting in Freeport and unable to depart due to a lack of security from a large proportion of cargo, leading to further delays in the cargo reaching its market.
Read more here:-
[Thanks to hull guru Pete Townsend for drawing our attention to this note. He believes reform is needed –ed]
3. New US Sanctions
The lawyers at Seward & Kissel in NewYork have sent in this note
on the new measures aimed at the Iranian metals sector. Read about them
here:-
https://www.sewkis.com/publications/u-s-imposes-new-iranian-sanctions
4. The Identification of Dead Bodies
We ran across another good piece of writing appearing in the Guardian
newspaper’s Long Read Series. It is by forensic patholgist Richard Shepherd
who writes:-
In my career, I have investigated many of the UK’s worst disasters.
Few cases were as harrowing as the sinking of the Marchioness in 1989,
which left scores dead and almost impossible to identify.
[Few marine insurance careers are not touched by horrible deaths and
injuries. If you listen in from outside the discussions can seem unfeeling
or coarse. But the best practioners retain a strong sense of humanity
as they go about putting cash numbers to death, injury, loss and damage-ed]
5. The Way We Live
Courtesy of the Browser we run across this piece in Discard Studies
by Adam Minter who describes the psychology and economics of the disposal
of scrap and junk. It is a fascinating examination of “dumping”
(the containers of plastic and scrap are bought by merchants for processing
at prices much higher than those payable to landfill dumps). Our societies
evidently have materialistic traits right to the end of the use of things.
https://discardstudies.com/2019/05/06/adam-minter-how-things-flow/feed/
6. People and Places
At a recent awards ceremony of the Asian Legal Business’ SE Asia
Law Awards 2019 in Singapore, Dentons Rodyk was singled out as Maritime
Law Firm of the Year from a band of worthy nominees including Allen
& Gledhill, Clyde & Co, HFW, Oon & Bazul, Rajah & Tann,
Reed Smith, Shook Lin & Bok, Stephenson Harwood and Watson Farley
& Williams.
———-
Tromsø-based maritime digital software service provider Dualog
has appointed a new Sales Manager to work within its growing Greek market.
Dualog has been steadily expanding its presence throughout the southern
Mediterranean region and is delighted that Kalliope Economou has taken
up the role. Ms Economou, who has recently joined the company, has more
than 25 years of shipping experience and will be responsible for further
developing Dualog’s presence in this important Greek market.
———-
John-Kaare Aune has been appointed the new Managing Director, Ship
Management for the Wallem Group. He is expected to take up his position
with effect from 1 July 2019.
John joins Wallem from the Cayman Registry, where he was most recently
Regional Director, Safety and Compliance overseeing its global commercial
services and business development in addition to the Registration section
in the Asia-Pacific region. Previously John also served as Principal
Surveyor with the Cayman Registry.
John is a qualified Naval Architect with a degree from the University
of Newcastle upon Tyne. He spent more than 6 years with the Norwegian
Maritime Directorate (NMD). During this time, he represented Norway
on numerous EU expert committees and several different IMO Committees.
John has also served as the executive secretary to the Cayman Islands
Ship-owners Advisory Council (CISAC & CISAC-YC). He has played a
key role in the growth of the Cayman Registry and in maintaining its
established position on the Paris and Tokyo MOU white lists.
The Avo Archive
The website of this newsletter contains all the editorial material
since the inception of the Maritime Advocate as a print based quarterly
in 1997 under the founding aegis of John Guy, Chris Hewer and Manfred
Arnold. Readers can go to the site and search the database on the home
page in its entirety. If you are looking for an old case, an old controversy
or you would just like to see how many times you and your firm have
featured in our annals feel free to access the archive. It is like this
e-zine, free to Readers and we always appreciate the support of advertisers
and sponsors.
Work is underway to lodge the Archive within a new site for this publication.
Searching for Signs
A young man is jogging through a park when he sees an old man sitting
on a bench sobbing. Concerned, he stops by the bench. “Is there
anything I can do for you, sir?”
“Oh,” sobs the old man, “everything’s wonderful. I just
married a gorgeous twenty-year old who’ll do anything for me, and even
my children love her. We have a beautiful house, a pool…”
“So what’s the matter?” the puzzled young man asks.
“I can’t remember where I live!”
[Paul Dixon]
English
We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes; but the plural of
ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, yet the plural of moose
should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice; yet the plural of
house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men, why shouldn’t the plural
of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet, and I give you a boot,
would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth, why shouldn’t the plural
of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those, yet hat in the plural
would never be hose, and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren, but though we say mother,
we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, but imagine the feminine,
she, shis and shim.
Some other reasons to be grateful if you grew up speaking English:
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to
present the present.
8) At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Pronunciations. Hmmm. If you have a rough cough, climbing can be tough
when going through the bough on a tree!
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor
pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England.
Pparadoxes. Hmmm. Quicksand can work slowly,boxing rings are square
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t
groce and hammers don’t ham?
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of
them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should
be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man
and a wiseguy are opposites?
Thanks for Reading the Maritime Advocate online
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