1. Force Majeur Events
2 .Swire and Bolero
3. Liability for Wrongful Arrest of Ships
4. Separating Fact from Fiction: ICS Releases New Study on Seafarers and Digitalisation
5. The Limits of Futurology
6. People and Places
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1. Force Majeur Events
Jessica Maitra and Ross Howellsof Clyde & Co have sent in a note on the recent case of Classic Maritime Inc. v Limbungan Makmur SDN BHD, Lion Diversified Holdings BHD, EWHC 2389 (Comm) (2018), where the High Court reviewed established jurisprudence concerning the need to prove causation when relying on a force majeure clause.
The case arose out of the devastating events of the failure of the Fundao dam in the iron ore producing complex Germano, Brazil. The Court considered whether the dam’s failure was causative of the defendant’s failure to subsequently ship iron ore pellets and found against the the shipowners.
Read the note in full here:-
https://tinyurl.com/forcemajeurebrazil
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2. Swire and Bolero
Our friends at Bolero report progress down under:-
Swire Shipping has achieved a significant first by accelerating a shipment of containerised grain from Australia to New Zealand using electronic bills of lading from Bolero International..
The transaction was the first use of Boleroâs electronic bills of lading (eBL) by Swire Shipping and the first on the Australia-New Zealand route and was completed through collaboration with BSM, the expert that specialises in the optimisation of trade execution business process including communication, compliance and document management.
The shipment conducted under open account, from Sydney and Newcastle to Tauranga, was undertaken on behalf of Cargill Australia, a major provider of grain, oilseeds and other agricultural commodities. Cargill Australia employs BSM for trade execution and Bolero for multi-party electronic document presentation (ePresentation). This solution combines BSMâs comprehensive, simple-to-use trade execution solutions and Boleroâs legal framework, eBLs and other digitised trade documents to deliver major savings in time and costs for Cargill Australia.
Following the success of this pioneering New Zealand shipment, Swire Shipping and Cargill Australia are now deploying eBLs to accelerate shipments of grain to the Solomon Islands from Australia. The adoption of paperless trade documents not only delivers major advantages in terms of speed, accuracy and security, but places companies at the forefront of a major trend as important trade and regulatory documents such as phytosanitary certificates are digitised.
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In addition see the new report on the Legal status of eBls coordinated by Clyde & Co consultant Stephen Tricks and partner Robert Parson. We recall well the pioneering exercise way back in the 1990s comparing the rules for bills of lading in many jurisdictions, sent to us by Paul Mallon. Alas it seems to have gone missing from our archive–ed]
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3. Liability for Wrongful Arrest of Ships
Edmnd Sweetman, who is a partner in the Spanish law firm Meana Green Maura & Co, and also a Rapporteur of a CMI Sub-committee, has written in to mention the the CMI International Working Group on âLiability for Wrongful Arrest of Shipsâ whch is holding an international sub-committee meeting on 9th November, 2018 at 14.00 in the London offices of the UK Club.
The working group has been analysing for some years the differences between national regimes in respect of liability for wrongful arrest, varying from the very arrestor-friendly âcrassa negligentia and mala fidesâ test applied for instance in England and Wales and Ireland, to those civil law jurisdictions which apply strict liability for an arrest where the claim fails, and require counter security. The IWGâs analysis has involved firstly identifying the divergent approaches of the various national jurisdictions, and then attempting to identify common strands in the same.
In the London meeting, this November, it is hoped to seek the views of Industry, as well as attending lawyers from the constituent national maritime law associations which make up the CMI, on whether a solution should be sought for this lack of harmonisation, and what this solution might comprise.
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4. Separating Fact from Fiction: ICS Releases New Study on Seafarers and Digitalisation
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has released a new study conducted by the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) on behalf of ICS, regarding the potential effects of autonomous ships on the role of seafarers and the global shipping industry.
The two-year IMO regulatory scoping exercise for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships is now well underway to determine how existing IMO instruments can be leveraged to ensure that autonomous ships are safe, secure, and environmentally sound.â
The study commissioned by ICS includes an in-depth assessment of risk and opportunities of digitalisation in global logistics chains, as well as on digitalisation and automation in ship operations.
The findings of the study suggest that the role of personnel on board and ashore will need to be redefined both operationally and legally. Reviewing and understanding how these roles may evolve is also identified in the study as an important aspect to assess and address the impact of autonomous ships on the role of seafarers.
The relationship between seafarers and digitalisation is anticipated to be one of the main topics for discussion during an International Labour Organization sectoral meeting on âRecruitment and Retention of Seafarers and the Promotion of Opportunities for Women Seafarersâ, to be held in Geneva in February 2019.
For access to the full ICS study, please visit the ICS website here:-
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5. The Limits of Futurology
Tom Vanderbilt, writing in the science zine Nautilus writes well about how we often misjudge how it is going to be:-
Transportation seems to be a particular poster child of fevered futurist speculation, bearing a disproportionate load of this deferred wish fulfillment (perhaps because we simply find daily travel painful, reminding us of its shared root with the word âtravailâ). The lament for the perpetually forestalled flying car focuses around childlike wishes (why canât I have this now?), and ignores massive externalities like aerial traffic jams, and fatality rates likely to be higher than terrestrial driving.
The âself-driving car,â it is promised, will radically reshape the way we live, forgetting that, throughout history, humans have largely endeavored to keep their daily travel time within a stable bound.4 âTravelators,â or moving walkways, were supposed to transform urban mobility; nowadays, when they actually work, they move (standing) people in airports at a slower-than-walking speed. In considering the future of transportation, it is worth keeping in mind that, today, we mostly move around thanks to old technology. As Amazon experiments with aerial drone delivery, its âsame dayâ products are being moved through New York City thanks to that 19th-century killer app: the bicycle.
Edgerton notes that the âinnovation-centricâ worldviewâthose sexy devices that âchanged the worldââruns not merely to the future, but also the past. âThe horse,â he writes, âmade a greater contribution to Nazi conquest than the V2.â We noticed what was invented more than what was actually used.
http://nautil.us/issue/65/in-plain-sight/why-futurism-has-a-cultural-blindspot-rp
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6. People and Places
London-based Solis Marine Consultants has announced the appointment of Nigel Clark to its senior management team.
Nigel Clark, who until recently was Managing Director of Braemar Salvage Association, will assist the Solis management team with the preparation and implementation of a strategic plan for the further expansion of the Group. He brings to the organisation over 30 years of experience within marine consultancy and within the oil and gas sectors. Apart from previously heading up Braemar Salvage Association, he was also a past Finance Director at the London Marine Group.
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Sam Perez-Goldzweig of transport specialist law firm Pysdens has published his thoughts on digitalisation:-
http://www.pysdens.com/wp-content/uploads/250-DIGITISATION-and-DIGITALISATION.pdf
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US supply chain technology company E2open has acquired online cargo booking service INTTRA in a move designed to offer beneficial cargo owners more visibility over shipments.
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Publishers Port Technology have announced the publication of 2038, A Smart Port Story: Part 1, a new novella taking place in a port of the future, by Dr Eva Savelsberg and Matthew Wittemeier of INFORM.
2038 envisions new ports taking the mantle of transhipment global giants due to new Arctic routes, AI bots managing whole terminals, and political and social skirmishes building in the backdrop of increased robotization â all in the winding narrative surrounding a fatality within a terminal.
The âanti-techsâ, a seditious group with a hostile attitude toward technology, blame the AI bots, while the terminal search through their data to find out why, and how, a human even made his way onto terminal grounds which are now strictly reserved for bots only.
Has the security system been breached? Was it an inside job? Was it the bots? These are the questions the protagonist of the piece, INTERPOL official âDouglasâ, must find answers to.
https://www.porttechnology.org/journal_archive/2038_a_smart_port_story
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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.
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Maxims for Log Rollers
1. If you have to ask, you are not entitled to know.
2. If you don’t like the answer, you should not have asked the question.
3. When all else fails, read the instructions.
4. When in
a. doubt – mumble
b. trouble – delegate
c. charge – ponder
5. When the weight of the paperwork, equals the weight of the equipment, the equipment will work
6. After adding two weeks for unexpected delays, add two more for the unexpected unexpected delays
7. It does not matter if you fall down, as long as you pick up something from the floor when you get up
8. You are not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on
9. There is never time to do it right, but always time to do it twice
10. It works better if you plug it in
11. Only Robinson Crusoe had every thing done by Friday
12. Never admit anything. Never regret anything. Whatever it is, you are not responsible
[Paul Dixon]
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Memories
While on a car trip, an old couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch.
The old woman unfortunately left her glasses on the table, but didn’t miss them until they were back on the highway.
By then, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around.
The old man fussed and complained all the way back to the restaurant.
When they finally arrived, as the old woman got out of the car to retrieve her glasses, the old man said, “While you’re in there, you might as well get my hat, too.”
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Romeo and Juliet
Net Txt Version
——————— Act 1 ———————–
Login:
Romeo : R u awake? Want 2 chat?
Juliet: O Rom. Where4 art thou?
Romeo: Outside yr window.
Juliet: Stalker!
Romeo: Had 2 come. feeling jiggy.
Juliet: B careful. My family h8 u.
Romeo: Tell me about it. What about u?
Juliet: ‘m up for marriage f u are.. Is tht a bit fwd?
Romeo: No. Yes. No. Oh, dsnt mat-r, 2moro @ 9?
Juliet: Luv U xxxx
Romeo: CU then xxxx
——————— Act 2 ———————–
Friar: Do u?
Juliet: I do
Romeo: I do
——————– Act 3 ———————–
Juliet: Come bck 2 bed. It’s the nightingale not the lark.
Romeo: OK
Juliet: !!! I ws wrong !!!. It’s the lark. U gotta go. Or die.
Romeo: Damn. I shouldn’t hv wasted Tybalt & gt banished.
Juliet: When CU again?
Romeo: Soon. Promise. Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu.
Juliet: Miss u big time.
——————– Act 4 ———————–
Nurse: Yr mum says u have 2 marry Paris!!
Juliet: No way. Yuk yuk yuk. n-e-way, am mard 2 Rom.
——————– Act 5 ———————–
Friar: Really? O no. U wl have 2 take potion that makes u look ded.
Juliet: Gr8.
——————— Act 6 ———————–
Romeo: J-why r u not returning my texts?
Romeo: RUOK? Am abroad but phone still works.
Romeo: TEXT ME!
Batty: Bad news. J dead. Sorry m8.
——————— Act 7 ———————–
Romeo: J-wish u wr able 2 read this…am now poisoning & and climbing
in yr grave. LUV U Ju xxxx
——————— Act 8 ———————–
Juliet: R-got yr text! Am alive! Ws faking it! Whr RU? Oh…
Friar: Vry bad situation.
Juliet: Nightmare. LUVU2. Always. Dagger.
Ow!!!
Logout…….!
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Thanks for Reading the Maritime Advocate online
Maritime Advocate Online is a weekly digest of news and views on the maritime industries, with particular reference to legal issues and dispute resolution. It is published to over 21 000 individual subscribers each week and republished within firms and organisations all over the maritime world. It is the largest publication of its kind. We estimate it goes to around 60 000 Readers in over 120 countries.
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