IN THIS ISSUE
1. Cape Bonny Recites Law on General Average
2. SeaProf Speculates
3. Hansa Meersburg struck Quay Crane at Keelung in Taiwan
4. Sanchi Loss, Insurance, Banking and the Awkward Issue of Sanctions
5. Shipwreck Is Everywhere
6. People and Places
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1. Cape Bonny Recites Law on General Average
Jai Sharma, writing in the Clyde & Co Insights space describes the long and the short of a case on the duties of owners in circumstance of initial unseaworthiness:-
In CAPE BONNY Tankschiffahrts Gmbh & Co KG v Ping An Property and Casualty Insurance Company of China [2017] EWHC 3036 (Comm), the CAPE BONNY was a 2005 built oil tanker. In July 2011, on a voyage from Argentina to China, the engine broke down. The Owners contracted a tug and the vessel was towed to Yosu, South Korea, where cargo transhipment took place. The cargo was subsequently delivered on the replacement vessel.
General Average was declared and Ping An provided GA security. A GA Adjustment was produced which quantified the claim against cargo at circa $2.5m (which was later reduced to circa $2.1m). Ping An declined to contribute to GA, on the basis that the Owners were in breach of contract as they failed to exercise due diligence before and at the commencement of the voyage to make the vessel seaworthy.
Read Sharma’s analysis here:-
2. SeaProf Speculates
It is difficult to demonstrate to outsiders how quickly and deeply the maritime world begins to cogitate and speculate when a large casualty like the collision between the Sanchi and the CF Crystal is reported. Here Singapore’s own SeaProf, a well known educator and correspondent runs his rule over the first signs. Not at all bad:-
http://seaprof.com/2018/01/12/sanchi-and-cf-crystal-collision-the-human-element-strikes-again/
3. Hansa Meersburg struck Quay Crane at Keelung in Taiwan
Word reaches us of this first ship/crane casualty of the year where Taiwan’s Marine Port Bureau (MPB) is investigating who is to blame for the vessel striking the crane, valued at more than US$ 6 million, on Monday (January 8, 2017).
In addition to the damage sustained by the crane and the containers in the port, the pier belonging to Taiwan-based United Logistics International suffered a hole three meters wide and two meters deep.
The Focus Taiwan news channel reported that a 62-year-old worker, Chen Lin-tsang, who was handling cargo, suffered minor injury when the ship hit the crane.
Although this is the first vessel collision with a crane in 2018, it is not the first one in the last year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=36&v=nriGE0Pmv5U
4. Sanchi Loss, Insurance, Banking and the Awkward Issue of Sanctions
Over the years we have speculated whether it was wise for international sanctions against Iran to include the insurers and bankers of Iranian shipping. It was always thinkable that a large casualty involving an Iranian ship might have large implications for the international shipping world and the interests of coastal or riparian states. A typical large spill or sinking may take a decade to unwind in the best of circumstances, sans sanctions, banking embargoes and payment restrictions. From reports it seems that the Steamship Mutual is on for liabilities and a list led by the SKULD will be charged with the hull claim. Quite a mess.
A good report from Reuters refers:-
https://tinyurl.com/SanchiLoss
5. Shipwreck Is Everywhere
Courtesy of the Browser, our favourite guide to current writing worth reading, we ran across this long piece by
A.E. Stallings which appeared in the Hudson Review in November 2017.
A real treat for those with the time and inclination to enjoy this 11,900 word essay on on the poetry and romance of shipwrecks, from the Odyssey to Pippi Longstocking by way of Lucretius, Shakespeare, Byron, and the Titanic. “If we go by literature, a sailor who has landed in a strange country could end up on an island with monsters or cannibals, could be turned into a pig or a rock or a tree, could become the captive or slave of a witch or a goddess, or, in very rare cases, could end up married to the princess and living happily ever after”
http://hudsonreview.com/2017/10/shipwreck-is-everywhere/#.Wl1Tlq5l_IV
6. People and Places
Isle of Wight Ferry operator Red Funnel has announced that Kevin George, the current Chief Executive Officer, is to be appointed as Chairman of the Group.
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The Container Owners Association – the international organisation representing container shipping lines and container leasing companies worldwide – has appointed Frank Nachbar, Director – Container Engineering, Hapag-Lloyd, to its Board of Directors.
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In Newcastle, Australia, Roy Green, incoming chair of the port – which counts coal for 90% of its business and handles 2,258 ship visits a year – says its reliance on coal as its core business places the port at financial risk.
“Clearly the long term outlook for coal is a threat to the Port and Hunter region, but it is also a huge opportunity. While the world’s demand for our coal is beyond our control, our ability to invest in new sources of growth and innovation is not. Among our challenges will be ensuring a level playing field for the development of a viable and competitive container terminal.”
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 the future thinkers and visionaries of the maritime classes we hoped for better than these triste examples which appear in Issue 495 of September 15th, 2011:-
Visionaries
Famous last (and not-so-last) words.
1. “Computers, in the future, may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” –Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949.
2. “I think there is a world market for, maybe, five computers.” –Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
3. “I have traveled the length and breadth of this country, and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.” –The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957.
4. “But what …is it good for?” –Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
5. “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” –Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.
6. “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is, inherently, of no value.” –Western Union internal memo, 1876.
7. “The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” –David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.
8. “The concept is interesting and well-formed. But, in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” –A Yale Univ. management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
9. “Who wants to hear actors talk?” –H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927
10. “I’m just glad it will be Clark Gable who is falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.” — Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in Gone With The Wind.
11. “A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make.” –Response to Debbi Fields’ idea of starting Mrs. Fields’ Cookies.
12. “We don’t like their sound and guitar music is on the way out.” –Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
14. “Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.” –Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
15. “Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value.” –Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
[Source: Randy Cassingham’s JumboJokes.Com]
Ken and Barbie in 2018–New Designs
1. Bifocals Barbie. Comes with her own set of blended-lens fashion frames in six wild colors (half-frames too!), neck chain and large-print editions of Vogue and Martha Stewart Living.
2. Hot Flash Barbie. Press Barbie’s bellybutton and watch her face turn beet red while tiny drops of perspiration appear on her forehead. Comes with hand-held fan and tiny tissues.
3. Facial Hair Barbie. As Barbie’s hormone levels shift, see her whiskers grow. Available with teensy tweezers and magnifying mirror.
4. Flabby Arms Barbie. Hide Barbie’s droopy triceps with these new, roomier-sleeved gowns. Good news on the tummy front, too — muumuus with tummy-support panels are included.
5. Bunion Barbie. Years of disco dancing in stiletto heels have definitely taken their toll on Barbie’s dainty arched feet. Soothe her sores with the pumice stone and plasters, then slip on soft terry mules.
6. No-More-Wrinkles Barbie. Erase those pesky crow’s-feet and lip lines with a tube of Skin Sparkle-Spackle, from Barbie’s own line of exclusive age-blasting cosmetics.
7. Soccer Mom Barbie. All that experience as a cheer-leader is really paying off as Barbie dusts off her old high school megaphone to root for Babs and Ken, Jr. Comes with minivan in robin-egg blue or white, and cooler filled with doughnut holes and fruit punch.
8. Mid-life Crisis Barbie. It’s time to ditch Ken. Barbie needs a change, and Alonzo (her personal trainer) is just what the doctor ordered, along with Prozac. They’re hopping in her new red Miata and heading for the Napa Valley to open a B&B. Includes a real tape of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.”
9. Divorced Barbie. Sells for $199.99. Comes with Ken’s house, Ken’s car, and Ken’s boat.
10. Recovery Barbie. Too many parties have finally caught up with the ultimate party girl. Now she does Twelve Steps instead of dance steps. Clean and sober, she’s going to meetings religiously. Comes with a little copy of The Big Book and a six-pack of Diet Coke.
[Paul Dixon]
“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.”
—Shirley Temple