IN THIS ISSUE
1. Inherent Vice and the Burden of Proof
2. Cyber Security DVD
3. What to do in the Event of a Cyber Attack
4. The Feds and Cyber Incidents
5. Libor Scandal
6. People and Places
The Maritime Advocate–A Growing Concern
This publication, nicknamed “the Avo” passed a milestone last summer. It has passed the 20 000 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 60 000 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. Inherent Vice and the Burden of Proof
Remarkable it seems to us that the stowage of coffee sacks in unventilated containers (lined with Kraft paper) still takes litigation all the way to the Court of Appeal. Rania Tadros and Anna Fomina, writing in the Ince & Co Shipping E-Brief report on the case of Volcafe Ltd and others v. Compania Sud Americana de Vapores SA [2016] EWCA Civ 1103. The tenor of the Court’s ruling was that general industry practice is good evidence of a sound system even in the absence of supporting theoretical or empirical studies.
Read the note here:-
http://tinyurl.com/soggygreencoffeebeans
2. Cyber Security DVD
Mairead.Cheoinin has kindly sent us a copy of the new Steamship Mutual DVD which seems to us to aspire to a very high standard. Radio Journalist Edward Sturton fronts the video in many attractive locations in Trinity House, Hamburg and New York to name a few. The message is pretty damning. “Nobody is prepared” and “The days of doing nothing are over.” The weakest element as usual is human. The dangers of plug in devices and naive individuals are mentioned as is the need for higher management to get company ducks in a row. They should accommodate all their divisions and domains as in ship, terminal, security and safety divisions, look at the BIMCO guidelines and practise responses to thinkable security breakdowns.
The whole world faces a long climb to a satisfactory level of law and order in this area. So far the world’s response both institutional and police is underwhelming. Fraudsters need to feel a hand on their collar more frequently. We think the producers of the video could have examined the efforts of Bolero, essDocs or eTitle to demonstrate what real on line security precautions look like in shipping trades. But on the whole the DVD is a worthwhile contribution to the cause of smart, safe shipping.
https://www.steamshipmutual.com/publications/order-form-request-a-copy.html
3. What to do in the Event of a Cyber Attack
As it happens the editors of Clyde & Co’s Marine Newsletter have given their views on the need and shape of a rapid response to a breach of Cyber security. Not bad at all.
Henry.Hill@worldwidecurrencies.com…………………….+44 (0)20 3326 4514
4. The Feds and Cyber Incidents
We learn from Dennis Bryant that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has very lately issued the National Cyber Incident Response Plan, defining the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders (including the private sector) during a Cyber incident and describing the way that the federal government will coordinate its activities with those affected by a Cyber incident. (1/18/17)
5. Libor Scandal
Having lived through the meltdown of 2008, we do not need much urging to read anything which attempts to elucidate and explain what went pear-shaped. About nine years ago mind comes this long piece from by Liam Vaughan and Gavin Finch in the Guardian which does a fine job of explaining how a small group of fear driven human sheep in the banks colluded with market brokers to set a false daily Libor Rate for the world. Regulators asleep at the wheel, senior managers colluding in producing a good profitable but false number all helping to transform the world we live in today. All these years on this is still car crash reading, the dry bones of a financial, social and political collapse.
http://tinyurl.com/dodgyliborrate
6. People and Places
The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) and the Institute of Bunker Buyers & Consumers (IBBC) are pleased to announce that IBBC will become a sub-group of IBIA.
The IBBC is a forum and business network for marine fuel purchasers to discuss general experience in relation to day-to-day marine bunker fuel procurement tasks, regulatory changes and commercial developments within the bunker market.
Formed in July 2015, IBBC is an emerging organisation whose members have already held a series of meetings, but it hasn’t yet communicated its thinking on issues outside the group. By integrating with IBIA, the IBBC members expect IBIA to provide a conduit in which consolidated messages can be passed to suppliers and other entities.
The IBBC will continued to organise bunker buyer specific events to discuss their particular concerns, but by being part of IBIA, their concerns can be better heard and understood to form part of IBIA’s overall efforts to address industry issues.
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The Board of Directors of the Container Owners Association has elected Brian Darnowski, Vice-President – Global Operations, Triton International, to the position of COA Chairman, effective 1 January 2017. The COA Board has also elected Uffe Ernst-Frederiksen, Head of Cargo Management, Maersk Line, as the Organisation’s Deputy Chairman. Both positions are for a 3-year term. Brian Darnowski has been a Board Member of the COA since 2008, while Uffe Ernst-Frederiksen joined the Board in 2014.
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Hill Dickinson has announced that its application to operate as a single entity in Hong Kong has been approved by the Law Society of Hong Kong following the completion of a three year period of association with a local Hong Kong firm, as required by local regulations.
Currently operating as Hill Dickinson Hong Kong LLP in association with Laracy & Co, the transition will marry the two firms together as one single Hong Kong firm under the name Hill Dickinson Hong Kong, taking effect from 1 April 2017.
Hill Dickinson opened its Hong Kong office in 2013 providing a convenient pan-Asia base for its clients, following expansion into Singapore in 2009. The Hong Kong office is led by litigator and arbitrator Damien Laracy, alongside Master Mariner and Partner Mike Mallin, who relocated from Hill Dickinson’s London City office to spearhead the firm’s venture into Hong Kong.
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Human Rights at Sea is very pleased to welcome Mr. Matthew Cox, CEO of North Atlantic Fish, who joins the charity’s Board of Trustees with immediate effect.
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The Japan P&I Club has appointed an English qualified solicitor, Mr. William Turner as a permanent member of staff in their Tokyo office.
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.
We went in pursuit of early references to cyber anything and turned up this sweet nothing which appeared in Issue 3 of 4th May 2001:-
Different differences
HENRY Engelbrecht has emailed us from New York, following our report last week that he had resigned as chairman of the arrangements committee of the International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators, just months before ICMA XIV in
New York.
Henry points out that his “irreconcilable differences” of opinion were not with the president of the ICMA committee, as we suggested, but with the president of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators (SMA), whom he was also referring to when he
alluded to “unacceptable interference in the production of the registration brochure.” That’s alright then.
Having got that straight, we then had an email from the president of the SMA, Lucienne Bulow, who will not be the president of the SMA for very much longer following elections to find her successor. Lucienne has asked us to point out
that the correct website for ICMA is www.icmaxiv.org, and that for the SMA is www.smany.org
In cyberspace, spell-checkers are useless.
Very Rare Blonde Joke
A blonde gets a job as a physical education teacher of 16 year olds.She notices a boy at the end of the field standing alone, while all the other kids are running around having fun kicking a ball.
She takes pity on him and decides to speak to him.
‘You OK?’ she says.
‘Yes.’ he says.
‘You can go and play with the other kids you know’ she says.
‘It’s best I stay here.’ he says.
‘Why’s that sweetie?’ says the blonde.
The boy looks at her incredulously and says, “Because I’m the Goalie !”
{Frazer Hunt]
Rehearsal
Although this married couple enjoyed their luxury fishing boat together, it was the husband who was always behind the wheel operating the boat. He was concerned about what might happen in an emergency. So one day out on the lake he suddenly said to his wife,
“Ok honey, this is a drill. Pretend that I am having a heart attack. You must get the boat safely to shore.”
She was initially surprised and flustered, but she soon settled down and was able to safely drive the boat to shore.
Later that evening, the wife walked into the living room where her husband was watching television. She sat down next to him, grabbed the remote control, switched the channel, and said to him,
“OK honey, this is a drill. Pretend I’m having a heart attack. You must set the table, cook dinner, and wash the dishes.”
[Paul Dixon]
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Year of the Rooster
Courtesy of the Asia Times’ Daily Brief zine comes this slideshow of paper sculptures honouring our feathered friend. Pauline Yau specializes in creating art installations in commercial spaces and she was commissioned ahead of this year’s Lunar New Year festival to make the menagerie of paper roosters and other exotic birds that now grace Pacific Place shopping mall in Hong Kong’s Admiralty.