IN THIS ISSUE
1. Cyber Security, Liability and Insurance in the US
2. Upcoming Regulatory Changes for UK Domestic Passenger Operators
3. Holland America Line’s New MS Koningsdam has a Royal Godmother
4. Saving Persons in Distress Upon the Sea
5. How the Widening of the Panama Canal will affect US Transport
Patterns
6. People and Places
Situation Vacant
Our reader is seeking to employ an English qualified lawyer to join
a growing marine insurance team. The company has
offices in both Asia and London and has a well-established business
portfolio of Asian ship operators.
In order to supplement the legal advice platform that the company already
provides to its ship operating clients it is the company’s wish
to hire a further member of staff with a marine legal background, experienced
in dealing with the full
gamut of contractual and liability issues that the operator clients
may face. The successful candidate should be able to
show that they are experienced in dealing with both P&I and FD&D
insurances.
"What we can offer are working hours and conditions to suit you,
whatever your circumstances may be. Occasional overseas business trips
may be required.
We are happy to consider applicants based in either Asia or the UK,
of any age, working on either a full-time or part-time
basis, and can offer the flexibility to suit individual needs. Working
from home offers no barrier.
If such a position is of interest to you then you can contact the editor,
describing your experience, at the following email
address:-
Any interest will be dealt with in complete confidence.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
FOB Network News
The current count of Members is 3885.
Our newsfeed on the site is courtesy of Splash 24/7.
FOB Network is a kind of facebook for the maritime classes.
It is designed for use by people who are very often quite shy of opining
in wide open internet platforms. The exchanges are polite, moderated
and untainted by boorish online presences. Only registered members can
see what goes on in the groups and we have yet to request anyone to
moderate their tone.
———–
Registration for FOB is gratis for individuals. Businesses
can take out a page for a small supporting contribution and we welcome
firms prepared to sponsor Group pages or advertise with us. This helps
to keep FOB a going concern and puts a smile on the face of our programmers
and accountants..
FOB is a project designed to adapt the new ways of using the internet
for the sorts of people who read The Maritime Advocate.
You are welcome to join
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1. Cyber Security, Liability and Insurance in the US
We are indebted to the firm of Blank Rome for what is we think our
first case note on cyber security:-
On April 11, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth
Circuit made headlines by holding that a commercial general liability
(“CGL”) policy covers the defense of a data breach-related
class action lawsuit. In Travelers Indem. Co. of Am. v. Portal Healthcare
Solutions, LLC, No. 13-1944 (4th Cir. Apr. 11, 2016), the Fourth Circuit
affirmed a 2014 decision from the Eastern District of Virginia holding
that Travelers Indemnity Company of America (“Travelers”)
has a duty to defend its insured, Portal Healthcare Solutions, LLC (“Portal”),
in a 2013 class action lawsuit filed in New York State Court. This is
a major victory for policyholders, in particular for those with potential
cybersecurity-related claims under CGL policies without a cybersecurity
exclusion. Attempts by the insurance industry to downplay the significance
of this ruling are unavailing, and contrary to the arguments made before
the court by various insurance industry trade groups, which had warned
that a ruling in the policyholder’s favor would “undermine
the certainty and predictability” necessary for the proper functioning
of the insurance marketplace. In addition, and although policyholders
going forward are well-advised to consider purchasing cyber/ data breach
insurance policies given the prevalence of cyber related exclusions
in current CGL forms, the Fourth Circuit’s interpretation of the
coverage-defining term “publication” will have a much broader,
policyholder favorable application in many other insurance claim contexts.
Click here to view the full case note:-
http://www.blankrome.com/index.cfm?contentID=37&itemID=3908
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2. Upcoming Regulatory Changes for UK Domestic Passenger Operators
Helen McCormick writes:-
Changes to the legislation on limits to liability
All ship owners will know that, in the UK, they are allowed to limit
their liability for marine claims under the 1996 Protocol to the Limitation
Convention, with lower limits for claims for passenger claims or for
vessels of 300 gt or less.
You may also be aware of the government consultation on proposals to
increase these limits. This consultation closed on 2 February.
What you might not realise is that, while considering how to implement
the increased limits, the Department for Transport also proposed some
other, unrelated, changes to the legislation. One of these proposals
is to remove a ship owners’ right to limit their liability for passenger
claims under the Limitation Convention.
If you are a passenger operator, you might be wondering; what does
this mean for me?
If you carry passengers on international voyages, the answer might
be "not much", as your right to limit liability is set out
under the 2002 Athens Protocol which came into force on 31 December
2012 and will remain unchanged.
However, at the moment the Athens limits only apply to international
carriage. These regulations will be extended to Class A vessels (those
engaged on domestic voyages operating at more than 20 miles from the
coast) from 30 December 2016 and to Class B vessels (operating between
5 and 20 miles from the coast) from December 2018. However, there are
no plans to extend the regime to Class C and D vessels, which operate
closest to the coast.
In other words, if you carry passengers within 5 miles of the coastline,
or on the Thames or other inland waterways, you might find yourself
unable to limit your liability at all for claims brought by your passengers.
So, for example, if you operate a 180 gt passenger vessel on the Thames,
you can currently limit your liability to each passenger to £
178,442.25 (or 175,000 SDR’s at the current exchange rate). If this
limit is removed, you could be facing much higher claims in the event
of the death or injury of one of your passengers.
The consultation closed on 2 February and the government response is
expected in April, with new regulations to be introduced in May. Once
the draft legislation has been released, we will know whether this apparently
unintended consequence of the new legislation is likely to emerge.
Operational Changes to the Domestic Safety Management regime
The new Domestic Safety Management (DSM) regime also comes into force
on 1st September 2016. This will replace the combined certificate, which
was valid for five years, with a separate Passenger Certificate and
Domestic Safety Management Certificate. The new Passenger Certificate
is valid for maximum one year and the DSM Certificate is valid for five
years, with an interim audit required on the second or third year.
Again, many passenger vessel operators are asking; how will this affect
me? The key points to be aware of are:
· Owners/Operators are required to carry out a self-assessment
against their Safety Management System (SMS) annually and on every vessel
which is to be submitted to the MCA.
· During the interim audit, for the DSM Certificate, it is a
requirement for the attending MCA surveyor to observe a full crew emergency
preparedness drill.
· The MCA can request additional audits if any concerns are raised.
· The MCA will perform unannounced inspections.
· For the larger domestic passenger vessel operators, with office
premises, the process will be similar to ISM DOC audits
CTRL Marine Solutions Ltd was established in 2015 to alleviate the
strain on owners caused by increasing regulatory burdens and the rising
cost and complexity of claims. We offer bespoke, cost effective solutions,
including claims handling and legal advice, on flexible payment terms.
You can find more information on CTRL Marine Solutions here:
http://www.shipownersclub.com/ctrl/
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3. Holland America Line’s New MS Koningsdam has a Royal Godmother
Holland America Line will continue tradition when Her Majesty Queen
Máxima of The Netherlands christens Holland America Line’s
new Pinnacle-class ship, ms Koningsdam, in a ceremony in Rotterdam,
The Netherlands on 20 May, 2016, on board the ship. The 2,650-guest
ship is the first in a new class of vessel for the line.
Members of the Dutch Royal Family have launched 11 Holland America Line
ships. Most recently, then-Princess Máxima christened ms Nieuw
Amsterdam in 2010 and then-Queen Beatrix served as ms Eurodam’s
godmother in 2008. Statendam III in 1929 was launched by Prince Hendrik,
and Nieuw Amsterdam II in 1937 by Queen Wilhelmina. Then-Princess Beatrix
named Statendam IV in 1957 and Prinses Margriet in 1960. Rotterdam V
was launched in 1958 by Queen Juliana. Princess Margriet dedicated Prinsendam
in 1972, Nieuw Amsterdam II in 1983, ms Rotterdam VI in 1997 and ms
Oosterdam in 2003.
Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, said, “We are
incredibly honoured that Her Majesty Queen Máxima will carry
on the tradition of Dutch Royalty christening Holland America Line ships,
which began 87 years ago. We chose Rotterdam as the location for the
official ceremony because of the deep historic connection between Holland
America Line, the city, and the people of the Netherlands. May 20 will
be a very special day in our company’s 143-year history as we officially
dedicate ms Koningsdam.”
The official ceremony will take place in Rotterdam onboard the ship
during a special 13-day Christening Cruise departing Civitavecchia (Rome),
Italy, May 9. Following that voyage Koningsdam will spend the summer
sailing from the port of Amsterdam on itineraries to Norway, the Baltic
and Iceland.
Following its Europe season, Koningsdam will sail to Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, for winter and spring Caribbean cruises.
For more information contact Holland America Line:-
https://www.cruiseimagelibrary.com/c/ewhvstvn
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4. Saving Persons in Distress Upon the Sea
Our friends over at SEAsia have sent in the latest edition of Sea Watch,
their newslette,r which is written to a very high standard:-
It is a sad truth of our time that when a Master finds or is informed
of persons in distress at sea, he will give serious consideration to
the action that he should take and the risk of endangering his own vessel
and crew. The persons sighted may all be in distress but could be refugees,
economic migrants, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants or pirates,
all of which bring problems for the Master to manage.
The Mediterranean Sea, Andaman Sea and Arafura Sea are on different
parts of the Globe, but are all in areas which have people fleeing from
war, tyranny, famine and poverty. Those in flight generally have a common
purpose; a search for a better life. In their endeavour, they frequently
put their lives and those of their families at peril on the sea. Such
people have little knowledge of the sea and this can result in tragedy.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported at the end of
2015 that some 300,000 ‘boat people’ made it across the Mediterranean
Sea but some 3,760 perished in the attempt. So, what are the requirements
of a Master when boat people are sighted at sea and in need of assistance?
Under SOLAS Ch.V Reg. 33, the Master of a ship which is in a position
to provide assistance upon receiving a distress call at sea is bound
to proceed with all speed to their assistance. His obligation to render
assistance is similar to that contained in the 1982 UN Convention on
Law of the Sea and the 1979 Search and Rescue Convention. He is not
concerned about the individual’s nationality or status of such
persons or the circumstances in which they are found. His simple duty
is to render humanitarian assistance. If the Master is unable or considers
it unreasonable or unnecessary to assist, he is required to enter in
the log book the reason for failing to do so.
So, what must a Master satisfy himself of and what must he do?
• Are these people in distress?
• Is his vessel and crew able to provide assistance?
• In all the circumstances, is his vessel able to and does he
consider it reasonable to, proceed and provide assistance?
So, what must a Master satisfy himself of and what must he do?
Read the article in full here:-
http://tinyurl.com/DistressatSea
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5. How the Widening of the Panama Canal will affect US Transport
Patterns
Nerijus Poskus, the Director of Global Pricing & Procurement at
Flexport, a company which describes itself as the freight forwarder
for the Internet age has written a good piece on the Flexport blog.
We have been reading this blog for some time as the company seems to
dispose over a good stable of transport writers.
https://www.flexport.com/blog/panama-canal-expansion/
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6. People and Places
Unni Einemo, a respected and highly renowned journalist and analyst
specialising in the marine fuel and shipping industries, will be joining
the secretariat of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA)
as IMO representative, Media and Communications manager.
A key member of the team that built up the Bunkerworld and Sustainable
Shipping news services, Unni brings with her almost 20 years of industry
experience and expert knowledge, in particular on regulatory affairs
and fuel quality issues.
———-
Ince & Co has launched an independent international consultancy
firm, Ince Consultancy LLP, which is associated with the Ince &
Co’s international network.
Ince Consultancy LLP offers a range of services to the shipping, energy,
insurance, aviation, trade and real estate industries and utilises the
firm’s wealth of expertise and deep sector understanding. Ince
Consultancy LLP is incorporated in England but headquartered in Hamburg,
Germany, and advises its international clients in the following areas:
• Advisory: financial and tax advice and structuring of projects
• Introductory: introduction of third parties and deal origination
• Arrangement: helping clients to efficiently execute projects
Ince Consultancy LLP is led by managing partner, Jan Hungar. Jan is
an industrial engineer and lawyer with specialist industry knowledge
of the shipping, insurance, energy and real estate sectors.
———-
Alexander G. Tsavliris has launched Zephyr Maritime, a new executive
search firm focusing solely on mid to senior level shore based appointments
within the maritime industry. He aims to play a personal role in every
aspect of the hiring process so as to put his experience fully at the
service of companies looking to recruit key personnel.
http://www.zephyrmaritime.com/
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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.
Searching for early references to Cyber in the zine, we ran across
this gem in Issue 43 of 18th February, 2002
Worst Advert for Cyber-Communications of the Week
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you have not completed renewal of Domain, please visit Web Site of us.
If you are considering acquisition of a domain further, please visit
Web Site of us. We provide you with a wonderful plan. We think it a
big problem that the updating expense of a domain is a cost large. However,
I do not think that a cheap domain is wonderful. I propose utilizing
a domain.
www.changeweb.info
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Are You A Doctor?
A father walks into a market followed by his 10-year-old son. The kid
is flipping a quarter into the air and catching it between his teeth.
As they walk through the market someone bumps into the boy at just the
wrong moment: the coin goes straight into his mouth and lodges in his
throat. He immediately starts choking and going blue in the face. Naturally,
the Dad starts panicking, shouting and screaming for help.
A middle-aged, fairly unnoticeable man in a gray suit is sitting at
a coffee bar in the market reading his newspaper and sipping a cup of
coffee. At the sound of the commotion, he looks up, puts his coffee
cup down on the saucer, neatly folds his newspaper and places it on
the counter. He gets up from his seat and makes his unhurried way across
the market. Reaching the boy, the man carefully takes hold of the kid’s
testicles and squeezes gently but firmly. After a few seconds the boy
convulses violently and coughs up the 25 cent piece, which the man catches
out of the air with his free hand. Releasing the boy, the man hands
the coin to the father and walks back to his seat in the coffee bar
without saying a word.
As soon as he is sure that his son has suffered no lasting ill-effects,
the father rushes over to the man and starts effusively thanking him.
"I’ve never seen anybody do anything like that before!" the
father says. "It was fantastic! Are you a doctor?"
"Oh, good heavens, no," the man replies, taking another sip
of his coffee. "I work for the Internal Revenue Service."
[Source: JumboJoke.Com]
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Modernity
Dear Son,
Your Paw has a job. It’s the first one he had in forty-eight years
since we have been married. We are a little better off now, because
we have so much money now we don’t know what to do with it.
Paw gets $47.15 every Thursday, so we thought we ought to do something
about fixing up the house. We sent to Sears & Roebuck for one of
those bathrooms you hear people having in houses.
It took a plumber to put it in shape.
On one side of the bathroom is a great long thing something like a
pig trough, only you get in it and wash all over. Over on the other
side is a little white thing they call a sink where you wash your face
and hands.
But over in the corner we really got something. This thing, you put
one foot in, wash it clean, then you pull the chain and get fresh water
for the other foot. Two lids come with the thing. We got no use for
them in the bathroom so I’m using one for the bread board. The other
lid has a hole in it so we use it for a frame for grandfather’s picture.
Sears &Roebuck are real nice people to deal with. They sent us
a roll of paper with the outfit. We can’t write on it very well, so
I’m using it to wrap Paw’s lunch.
Take care of yourself. MAW
[Source:Paul Dixon]
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