1. The Arundel Castle
2. Crane Man hits Visa Snag to Travel to ConExpo Equipment Show in Las Vegas
3. ICS Launches its 2017 Annual Review
4. New Danish Port Conditions
5. Where Oil Rigs go to Die
6. People and Places
The Maritime Advocate–A Growing Concern
This publication, nicknamed “the Avo” passed a milestone this spring. It has passed the 21 000 subscriber mark, the highest total since its foundation in 2001. As a result of hand-ons and internal republications within firms, it is fair to assume a total readership of around 63 000 located in 120 countries. This gives the Avo a very wide footprint in the maritime world. If you have a message or product to promote or circulate, the Avo can promise to get the word out at affordable rates. Give us a try why don’t you?
1. The Arundel Castle
Gavin Ritchie of the Charterer’s P&I Club writes:-
Earlier this year the English High Court handed down a judgement on a demurrage dispute dealing with the question of port limits and whether Owners had the right to tender Notice of Readiness in an area where vessels are commonly ordered to wait by the port authority and where the port authorities exercise control of shipping, even if that is outside the confines of the port as defined by the Admiralty charts.
Fearing that agreeing to such extension will cause uncertainty in the law as to what is considered to be “an arrived ship” in accordance to previous authorities, the judge ruled in favour of the Charterers expressing that if owners and charterers wanted laytime to commence before a vessel may have reached the port they will have to expressly reflect this in their contracts.
Read the full bulletin here:-
http://tinyurl.com/ArundelCastleCase
2. Crane Man hits Visa Snag to Travel to ConExpo Equipment Show in Las Vegas
The April edition of Cranes Today has a tart comment from editor Will North which bears repetition:-
At the show, manufacturers with an interest in reaching customers in the oil-rich Middle East pointed out a lack of visitors from many of these countries. While this is purely anecdotal, it definitely matches my observations of the show attendees.
Similarly anecdotal, and shocking in its implications was the treatment of Wagenborg managing director Ton Klijn. As the top man at one of Europe’s leading crane and transport companies, and secretary of ESTA, the umbrella body for European crane and special-transport trade associations, one would expect Klijn to have an easy time getting into the US.
Like many of us, Klijn spotted the addition of a new question in the visa waiver form filled in by visitors from Europe, asking if the applicant had visited any of Trump’s seven supposedly terrorist-linked Muslim-majority countries, As he had visited Iraq on behalf of a global global oil company , Klijn could only click ‘yes’. His visa waiver was declined, leaving him needing to complete a full visa request in the days running up to the show-an impossible deadline in the time remaining.
[It is remarkable how modern life has been augmented since 2001 by false positives thrown up by anti-terrorist measures. There ought to be a prize for the stupidest one–ed]
3. ICS Launches its 2017 Annual Review
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has launched its latest Annual Review, ahead of the ICS Annual General Meeting in Istanbul next week. The ICS Annual Review 2017 can be accessed below:-
http://www.ics-shipping.org/ics-annual-review-2017
4. New Danish Port Conditions
The latest edition of the new look Forwarderlaw e-zine edited by Gavin Magrath contains an article by Henrik Jantzen and Tine Fomsgaard of Kromann Reumert examining the 2016 edition of the new Danish Port Conditions. We wonder whether many of our maritime Readers in our inter-conected shipping industry will be comforted by the thought that the Danish port operators are offering a per occurance liability limit of 25,000 euros with a time limitation of 10 months.
Read the item here:-
5. Where Oil Rigs go to Die
Kudos to The Guardian’s Long Read for this 10,800 word essay by Tom Lamont, starting with the oil rig Transocean Winner running aground on the island of Lewis in 2016 after breaking her tow during an unseasonal storm. A relatively rare event this, a well informed and insightful piece of maritime writing in a general newspaper which has had its fair share of stories in the past identifying bulk carriers as tankers and lambasting ocean carriers as environmental hooligans.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/02/where-oil-rigs-go-to-die
6. People and Places
Maritime London has announced Jos Standerwick as its new Chief Executive. Currently Director of Development and External Affairs at The Mission to Seafarers, Standerwick will take up his new role in July.
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The UK Chamber of Shipping has announced Holly Birkett as Communications Manager. She spent the last seven years as a trade journalist at various maritime publications, and for the past two years, was an Online Editor at Splash24/7
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Ince & Co has announced the promotion of three new partners. Ince & Co has promoted Fei Mao in Beijing, Carl Walker in its London headquarters, and Shirley Li in Shanghai.
Ince also announced that the German law firm Schwenke & Partner has joined Ince & Co’s Hamburg office. Thomas Schwenke, senior partner of Schwenke & Partner will bring with him one associate, two paralegals and three business services staff.
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Brian Davies, whose ambitions were reported in an earlier edition of the Avo reports that he finished the London Marathon in the time of 4 hours, 30 minutes and 2 seconds which placed him in the top third of the field of 40 000 runners. It is not too late to contribute to his charity, the Sailor’s Society at:-
http://www.justgiving.com/Brian-Davies9
From 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.
Looking for references to port and stevedoring conditions we found this reference in Back Issue 26 of April 04:-
Takes three to Tango
Nigel Margetson of Netherlands-based AKD Prinsen Van Wijmen takes a look at where third parties fit in under Dutch law:-
DUTCH law has seen much debate recently about the precise situations in which contractual clauses between two parties are binding upon a third party. Deciding where third parties stand in relation to legal agreements to which they have not put their signature is not a straightforward matter. And if shipowners and charterers understand the Dutch legal position, they can leverage an advantage for themselves when it comes to ascertaining liability in the event of a dispute.
In a recent case between owners and stevedores over liability for damage to the Angela Jurgens caused during cargo unloading operations by stevedores, the Court of Rotterdam ruled that the stevedore could not rely on the limitation of liability clause in its contract with the charterer. The stevedore in Angela Jurgens argued that it was entitled to benefit from its contract terms with the charterer because, by its actions, the owner had caused the stevedore to believe that it could rely on the terms of that contract.
The stevedore mounted a vigorous defence. It maintained that the owner was aware that stevedores in Rotterdam relied on limitation clauses which form part of the Rotterdam stevedoring conditions. It also argued that the terms of the charter party between the owners and charterers gave the stevedore cause to believe that it could rely on its limitation clauses against the owner. Other arguments relating to the commercial necessity of limitation clauses were also put forward.
The Court of Rotterdam, however, was not convinced that the stevedore was entitled to limit its liability, and did not allow the stevedore to benefit from the limitation clause in its contract with the charterer.
The conclusion that can be drawn from this ruling is that, under Dutch law, it remains extremely difficult for a stevedore to rely on its contract terms in a dispute involving a third party. By implication, owners and charterers have room for manoeuvre when deciding how best to pursue a claim. In cases involving alleged stevedore damage, we can expect that claims will be filed by whichever party ? the owner or charterer ? who has not signed a contract with the stevedore. The chances of the stevedore then successfully invoking the limitation clause in its contract become remote.
Job Interview Feedback
Vice Presidents and personnel directors of the one hundred largest corporations were asked to describe their most unusual experience interviewing prospective employees.
A job applicant challenged the interviewer to an arm wrestle.
Interviewee wore a Walkman, explaining that she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time.
Candidate fell and broke arm during interview.
Candidate announced she hadn’t had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewers office.
Candidate explained that her long-term goals was to replace the interviewer.
Candidate said he never finished high school because he was kidnapped and kept in a closet in Mexico.
Balding Candidate excused himself and returned to the office a few minutes later wearing a headpiece.
Applicant said if he was hired he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm.
Applicant interrupted interview to phone her therapist for advice on how to answer specific interview questions.
Candidate brought large dog to interview.
Applicant refused to sit down and insisted on being interviewed standing up.
Candidate dozed off during interview.
The employers were also asked to list the “most unusual” questions that have been asked by job candidates.
“What is it that you people do at this company?”
“What is the company motto?”
“Why aren’t you in a more interesting business?”
“What are the zodiac signs of all the board members?”
“Why do you want references?”
“Do I have to dress for the next interview?”
“I know this is off the subject, but will you marry me?”
“Will the company move my rock collection from California to Maryland?”
“Will the company pay to relocate my horse?”
“Does your health insurance cover pets?”
“Would it be a problem if I’m angry most of the time?”
“Does your company have a policy regarding concealed weapons?”
“Do you think the company would be willing to lower my pay?”
“Why am I here?”
Also included are a number of unusual statement made by candidates during the interview process.
I have no difficulty in starting or holding my bowel movement.
At times I have the strong urge to do something harmful or shocking.
I feel uneasy indoors.
Sometimes I feel like smashing things.
Women should not be allowed to drink in cocktail bars.
I think that Lincoln was greater than Washington.
I get excited very easily.
Once a week, I usually feel hot all over.
I am fascinated by fire.
I like tall women.
Whenever a man is with a woman he is usually thinking about sex.
People are always watching me.
If I get too much change in a store, I always give it back.
Almost everyone is guilty of bad sexual conduct.
I must admit that I am a pretty fair talker.
I never get hungry.
I know who is responsible for most of my troubles
If the pay was right, I’d travel with the carnival.
I would have been more successful if nobody would have snitched on me.
My legs are really hairy.
I think I’m going to throw-up.
[Paul Dixon]
Then and Now
The differences between wasting time at work before the Internet and wasting time at work now with the Internet..
* Then- Wandered aimlessly around office until you found something or someone even mildly interesting.
* Now- Wander aimlessly around WWW until you find something find something remotely interesting.
* Then- Laughed at stories about co-worker’s teenager’s silly exploits and imagined how great it would be to be a teen again.
* Now- Ogle co-worker’s webcam and imagine what it would be like to be with your first girlfriend again.
* Then- Blew stuff up in the microwave.
* Now- Watch people in Bulgaria blow stuff up in the microwave via webcam.
* Then- Spent hours shredding stupid jokes and cartoons that friends sent via fax.
* Now- Spend hours deleting stupid jokes and cartoons that friends send via e-mail.
* Then- Hid copies of magazine inside corporate document so boss thought you were a diligent worker.
* Now- Keep fingers on Alt-Tab to switch to that Excel spreadsheet so boss thinks you’re a diligent workers.
* Then- Talked to co-workers around water cooler about latest Welcome Back Kotter and White Shadow episodes.
* Now- Talk to friends via whatsapp about how much you hate your job.
* Then- Figured out how many sheets of paper their stapler would go through.
* Now- Use a ping plotter to see how many hops it takes to get to yahoo.com.