IN THIS ISSUE
1. Iran Sanctions Lifting
2. Unmanned Ships
3. Wastewater Rules Confusion
4. Competition Time
5. Arrevederci Heists
6. People and Places
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1. Iran Sanctions Lifting
Over at lawyers hfw, the firm has published a listicle of things to
think about:-
There have been reports over the past few days that a statement from
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifying that Iran has
complied with its obligations pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action (JCPOA) is imminent.
If the IAEA does verify that Iran has complied with its obligations
under the JCPOA, then the sanctions relief summarised in our November
2015 briefing will come into effect.
Broadly speaking, this means that the bulk of the EU sanctions and
many of the US extra-territorial sanctions will be lifted, although
there will be almost no changes to the US domestic sanctions. Many,
but not all, of the individuals and entities which are included on the
US SDN list and the list of EU sanctions targets will be de-listed.
While trade with Iran offers a host of opportunities, some restrictions
will remain in place even after this phase of sanctions relief and the
following checklist identifies some of the key points which need to
be considered.
Are any US persons involved?
Do any payments need to be made in US dollars?
Does the transaction involve the supply of any US origin goods or goods
with US content?
Is your Iranian counterparty, or any other party involved in the transaction
(e.g. a port operator or agent) still included on an applicable sanctions
list (or is owned or controlled or acting on behalf of such an individual
or entity)?
Have you checked that the cargo is no longer subject to any restrictions?
Can you document and evidence the checks which you have carried out?
Do you have any pre-existing banking covenants or other contractual
warranties or restrictions (e.g. trading limits or policy restrictions)
which limit your ability to trade with Iran?
Have you spoken to your bank and insurers and confirmed that they are
prepared to support the transaction, in respect of payment and unqualified
cover?
Have you considered how you would deal with any claims from third parties
in Iran if those third parties are still included on an applicable sanctions
list?
Do you need Iranian law advice, e.g. on the local requirements to sell
your goods in Iran?
If you are considering conducting business in or with Iran/Iranian
entities, you should continue to seek legal advice to ensure that your
transactions comply with any remaining sanctions requirements.
See:-
http://www.hfw.com/Iran-sanctions-is-the-end-in-sight-November-2015.
2. Unmanned Ships
Our item in Issue 649 on the Californian road traffic regime applicable
to unmanned cars prompted a very interesting reply from Stuart Hetherington
who is a Partner in Colin Biggers and Paisley and also President of
the Comite Maritime International (CMI).
He writes:-
Cognisant of the challenges that will be faced by regulators the CMI
has set up an International Working Group (IWG) in relation to "Unmanned
ships". It is being chaired by Tom Birch Reynardson. The IWG sees
its task as conducting an assessment of current technological developments
in relation to unmanned ships, to review all international conventions
and regulations, and to draft any amendments needed to take account
of those technological changes.
In relation to motor vehicles Tesla CEO Elon Musk is quoted as saying
that "5 or 6 years from now we will be able to achieve autonomous
driving where you could literally get in the car, go to sleep and wake
up at your destination", but then added it may take two or three
years for regulatory approval to be obtained.
At a conference in Singapore earlier this year the comment was made
by Oskar Levander, Vice-President of Maritime Innovation, Engineering
and Technology at Rolls Royce, which is one of the companies driving
research into unmanned ships, that:
"The main challenge will be international law or regulatory obstacles.
The IMO would have to approve, which could take time."
Whilst there have been many recent articles and television news programmes
featuring autonomous motor vehicles and the waterfront is being transformed
by robotic machines it is only recently that much has been written and
spoken about shipping. It is however worth recalling that Professors
Edward Brown and Nick Gaskell were retained in 2000 by "Britain’s
Society for Underwater Technology" to examine the "legal status
of the autonomous underwater vessels used for marine scientific research."
You can read the piece in full by accessing the Future Group Page on
our FOB Network site where a lot of interesting material is nowadays
lodged. Individuals can register for gratis.
Read the piece in full here:-
3. Wastewater Rules Confusion
Confusion surrounding the entry into force date of MEPC 227(64), the
amended regulation governing ship wastewater discharge overboard requirements,
could see some shipowners falling foul of the new rules.
Mark Beavis, whose company, ACO Marine, makes wastewater treatment
systems, believes that any further delay from the IMO’s makes Marine
Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in formally announcing a new
date will create further confusion.
"A number of shipowners believe the deferred entry into force applies
to MEPC.227(64) in its entirety, but this is not our understanding.
The International Maritime Organisation, at its MEPC 68 postponed only
the entry-into-force date of the ‘Special Area’ sewage discharge requirements.
The rest of the regulation still remains very much in force."
Apart from the Special Area clause – Section 4.2 for passenger ships
(>12 passengers) – MEPC.227(64) came into effect on the 1st January
this year, superseding MEPC.159(55).
According to a statutory update published in the December 2015 issue
of Lloyd’s Register’s Class News:
"Entry into force of MARPOL Annex IV requirements prohibiting passenger
vessels from discharging sewage within the Baltic Sea special area (and
any future IMO designated Special Areas was intended to apply to new
passenger ships from 1 January, 2016. However, a delay in arranging
and/or confirming reception facilities in the nine Baltic Sea States
means that the special area cannot take effect on this date. Therefore,
the IMO’s MEPC has agreed in principle (i.e. without formally amending
MARPOL Annex IV yet) to implement the requirements from 1 June, 2019
(and from 1 June, 2021, for existing ships). Ships other than passenger
vessels must still comply with the Resolution MEPC.227(64) performance
test and standard requirements (excluding the nitrogen and phosphorus
removal standard) on or after 1 January, 2016, though this is subject
to final confirmation at MEPC 69 [in April]."
"I don’t believe that IMO has made any formal announcement about
the June 2019 and June 2021 dates, so the industry is still in the dark
on this," said Beavis. "Nevertheless, passenger ship owners
operating in ‘Special Areas’ should not use IMO’s postponement to defer
the installation of MEPC.227(64) [including Section 4.2] compliant treatment
plant.
"Currently the Baltic Sea is the only IMO designated Special Area,
but other areas are applying for special area status and so there would
potentially be a wider impact on passenger ship operations. Owners and
yards really do need to start specifying plant now if they are to comply
with the new rules in time," he added.
4. Competition Time
Two competitions divided by the Atlantic Ocean catch our eye:-
Carleen Lyden-Kluss sent this one:-
Students in grades K-12 are invited to participate in the annual calendar
art contest sponsored by the North American Marine Environment Protection
Association (NAMEPA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Mystic Aquarium
and the Inter-American Committee on Ports of the Organization of American
States (CIP-OAS). The theme of this year’s contest is "Ships Bring
the World to Us." New this year, sponsors are expanding the reach
of the contest by inviting submissions from youth across the Americas
(North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean). The
calendar showcasing the winning entries will be bilingual, printed in
English and Spanish!
Ships move cargo around the world in far greater volume and efficiency
than any other mode of transportation. In fact, 90 percent of everything
we buy is transported via ship. Ships transport many commodities, including
foods such as grains and fruit, coal and oil for energy production,
raw materials, telephones and computers, clothing, and so much more.
Students are asked to submit an original poster that creatively depicts
the importance of ships and the types of cargo they carry.
Twelve entries (six from grades K-5 and six from grades 6-12) will
be selected as finalists by May 13, 2016. Winners will be required to
submit their original artwork upon being notified of their selection
as finalists. The winning artwork will be featured on the NAMEPA, USCG,
Mystic Aquarium and CIP-OAS websites. Finalists will receive a certificate
and a calendar with the artwork from all 12 winners. Two grand-prize
winning artists (one from each of the grade brackets) will be selected
and will receive, in addition to the certificate and calendar, a $100
cash prize and a USCG prize package.
For more details about the contest and to learn more about "Ships
Bring the World to Us," visit www.namepa.net/art-contest. If you
have additional questions about the contest, please contact contesthelp@namepa.net.
Who: Students in grades K-12
What: Each entry must be a two-dimensional, original piece of artwork
done on white poster board with dimensions of 28 in. x 22 in. (71 cm
x 56 cm) in the landscape orientation. Any art medium may be used; however,
computer graphics will not be accepted. Bright colors should be used
because they are best for reprinting. Any artwork that includes copyrighted
or trademarked product names will be disqualified.
When: All entries must be uploaded by March 23, 2016.
How: You must take a high-resolution (at least 3072 x 2304 pixels)
digital photograph of your poster in order to submit your entry. You
or your teacher/facilitator must then upload the digital photo of your
poster along with your name, grade, school/after-school program name,
school/after-school program address, and teacher/facilitator’s name,
phone number, and e-mail address via the submission form at
http://
www.maritimeartcontest.submittable.com/submit
———-
Sue Terpilowski of WISTA UK sponsors this one
After a successful launch in 2014, WISTA UK in conjunction with Seavision
(and Image Line Communications), and supported by the UK Chamber of
Shipping, is running the “Came by Ship” Photographic and Essay
Competitions again this year.
The “Came by Ship” overall awareness campaign was launched
to coincide with the 40th Anniversary celebrations of WISTA UK –
part of the international organisation for women in shipping –
and is designed to promote the importance of shipping; with 95% of the
goods and fuel we consume and export in the UK alone travelling by ship.
Open to all schools, cadets, youth groups, as well as individuals,
both competitions seek to encourage younger people to consider the impact
that shipping has on our everyday lives and recognise the great potential
the industry holds for career opportunities.
The “Came by Ship” Essay and Photographic Competitions are
now officially open for entries and will close at 17:00 on 27 May 2016,
with formal award of prizes during Seafarers Awareness Week, 20 to 26
June 2016.
The essay competition requires participants to write about something
related to the shipping industry or the movement of “goods”
by sea. It has two categories – ages 11 and under must write up
to 250 words and ages 12-18 must write between 250 and 500 words. The
winners of both categories will each receive an Apple iPad and their
work will be published in the highly respected international shipping
publication, ‘The Maritime Executive’.
The photographic competition has four different categories – again
11 and under and 12 to 18, reflecting the focus of ‘Came by Ship’
on attracting the talents of tomorrow’s workforce to the wide range
of career opportunities offered by the maritime sector. Two additional
categories welcome entries from all comers over the age of 18, together
with a dedicated
category for professional photographers. Multiple entries are welcome
and need simply be on a maritime theme with the movement of goods/ships
at the heart. The winners of the under 11 and 12-18 categories will
both receive a camera and their photographs will be published on ‘Splash
24/7’ – an industry leading online global maritime news resource.
For more information about the “Came by Ship” competition
terms and conditions, prize details, or to submit entries, please visit
this site:-
http://www.seavision.org.uk/competitions/
5. Arrevederci Heists
The memories of many a marine and transport underwriter of a certain
age will contain a pained recollection of the Brinks MAT robbery from
the early half of the 1980s. We were rather struck by this piece by
Laurence Dodds which appeared in the Telegraph on 15th January, 2016
which suggests that these kinds of heists are very much a sunset activity
in the careers of aspiring criminals.
Read the piece in full here:-
6. People and Places
The UK P&I Club says it will be supporting the Sailors’ Society
Emotional Wellness training module within its Wellness at Sea coaching
programme. The training, the second in a set of five modules, is designed
to improve emotional well-being through early identification of mental
health issues and empowerment of the seafarer to handle challenging
situations at sea.
Wellness at Sea seeks to combat issues by addressing ‘wellness’
as a holistic concept made up of five areas of well-being: Social, Emotional,
Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual.
For further information please contact the Sailors’ Society by
email to receive a copy of the course prospectus-
———-
Foss Maritime havennounced today a partnership to establish the curriculum
for a new marine engineering apprenticeship program, and to sponsor
several applicants each year.
Seattle Central College, Seattle Maritime Academy, the Maritime Institute
of Technology & Graduate Studies-Pacific Maritime Institute and
the Workboat Academy have received a $5 million American Apprenticeship
Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help build a new
apprenticeship program.
Through the grant, more 150 engineers will be trained over the next
five years, both in Seattle and Baltimore. The engineering program will
mirror Workboat Academy’s deck apprenticeship, now in its 10th year.
Engineering cadets will blend time in the classroom with simulation,
and apply this knowledge to real work aboard vessels. The candidate’s
license will depend on the type of partner company vessels and the routes
where cadets gain seatime as an apprentice.
[Source: The Maritime Executive]
———-
The Board of UK P&I Club has appointed Mr Lee Wai Pong to join
the Club in Singapore as a Regional Advisor.
Wai Pong is a qualified Master Mariner, a retired Commanding Officer
(Reservist) from the Republic of Singapore Navy, and accredited Associate
Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre. He is also a Fellow of
the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators,
and the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. Most recently, Wai Pong
was the Executive Director of the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration
(SCMA).
———-
IBIA, the International Bunker Industry Association has appointed Mr
Simon Neo as the new Regional Manager to manage its office in Singapore,
covering the Asia region.
Neo has more than 30 years of oil and shipping industry experience
including holding senior management roles. He started his career as
a supervisor in an oil terminal and then worked as a senior surveyor
for different surveying companies. He joined the bunkering industry
in 1992 and was involved in the operations, sales and marketing, trading
and purchasing of bunker fuel for an international shipping firm.
———-
Former J.P. Morgan executive Daniel Cotti has been appointed as Bolero’s
new chairman. Cotti will replace Nicholas Barber CBE, who joined the
company in 1999 and will move from his current role to become Deputy
Chairman.
———-
Chris Davies has been appointed Technical Manager at Cargo 2000, based
at the organisation’s Geneva, Switzerland headquarters.
Before joining Cargo 2000, Davies worked with Descartes Systems Group
in London, where he led various systems integration projects for the
company’s GF-X electronic cargo-booking portal for freight forwarders
and carriers.
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.
The humour in the Avo has run thick and fast over the years. One of
the pleasures of browsing the archive is to reexperience some of our
droller moments. For example this item which appeared in Issue 498 of
October 9th, 2011:-
Lonely Hearts
From a ‘personals’ section from a Dublin newspaper:
Heavy drinker – 35 Cork area. Seeks gorgeous sex addict interested
in a man who loves his pints, cigarettes, Glasgow Celtic Football Club
and has been known to start fights on Patrick Street at three o’clock
in the morning.
Bitter, disillusioned Dublin man, lately rejected by long time fiancee,
seeks decent, honest, reliable woman, if such a thing still exists in
this cruel world of hatchet-faced bitches.
Ginger haired Galway man, a born troublemaker, gets slit-eyed and thirsty
after a few scoops, seeks attractive, wealthy lady for bail purposes,
maybe more.
Bad tempered, foul-mouthed old bastard, living in a damp cottage in
the arse end of Roscommon, seeks attractive 21-year-old blonde lady,
with a lovely chest.
Limerick man, 27, medium build, brown hair, blue eyes, seeks alibi
for the night of February 27 between 8 PM and 11:30 PM.
Optimistic Mayo man, 35, seeks a blonde 20-year-old double-jointed
supermodel, who owns her own brewery, and has an open-minded twin sister.
[Source: Paul Dixon’s Joke of the Day]
http://www.avoarchive.com/searchBI.php
Baltic Ace Salvage Film
Surveyor John L David has sent us this rather good piece of film:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpOug8xsxa0
Scales of Justice
A defendant in a lawsuit involving large sums of money was talking
to his lawyer.
"If I lose this case, I’ll be ruined."
"It’s in the judge’s hands now," said the lawyer.
"Would it help if I sent the judge a box of cigars?"
"Oh no! This judge is a stickler or ethical behavior. A stunt
like that would prejudice him against you. He might even hold you in
contempt of court. In fact, you shouldn’t even smile at the judge."
Within the course of time, the judge rendered a decision in favor of
the defendant. As the defendant left the courthouse, he said to his
lawyer, "Thanks for the tip about the cigars. It worked!"
"I’m sure we would have lost the case if you’d sent them."
"But, I did send them."
"What? You did?" said the lawyer, incredulously.
"Yes. That’s how we won the case."
"I don’t understand," said the lawyer.
"It’s easy. I sent the cigars to the judge, but enclosed the plaintiff’s
business card."
[Source: Paul Dixon]
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