IN THIS ISSUE
1. Navigation Limits and Insurance
2. Thoughts on Autonomous Vehicles
3. FIATA Officers
4. The Five Main Projects for the Belt and Road
5. Maria Pittordis
6. People and Places
FOB Network News
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1. Navigation Limits and Insurance
Jason Minkin of the firm of BatesCarey in Chicago has passed us a copy of their note on the decision in Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co. v. AC Chicago, LLC, et al., No. 15-cv-10972, 2017 WL 3531490 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 17, 2017), in which the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois determined that a marine insurance policy did not cover any damage or loss after a vesselâs grounding because the vessel was intentionally navigated outside of the policyâs navigation limits. The courtâs holding is a reminder that navigation limits are strictly enforced and should be drafted with specificity to avoid any confusion over the boundaries.
2. Thoughts on Autonomous Vehicles
Courtesy of the Browser we found this short, thoughtful piece on the looming future of “driverless” vehicles by Malcolm Gladwell in Car and Driver. He writes:-
It wasnât Audi, Ford, or GM that pushed hardest for the dependent Âvehicle. It was Apple, Google, and Intel, companies for which the automobile is not primarily an aesthetic object and driving is not an instrument of pleasure. And the users they have in mind, needless to say, are not the readers of Car and Driver. They are the kids lying passively on the couch with their smartphones. âNearly all boomer high-school students had their driverâs license by the spring of their senior year; more than one in four teens today still lack one at the end of high school,â Twenge writes. âIn conversation after conversation, teens described getting their license as something to be nagged into by their parentsâa notion that would have been unthinkable to previous generations.â
Read the piece here:-.
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/what-happens-when-we-give-up-control-of-our-cars-feature
3. FIATA Officers
Verena Schaer writes:-
On the day after the FIATA World Congress on October 5th, the FIATA General Meeting elected a new team of Presidency and Extended Board, the geographic diversity of which once again shows the global representation of FIATA.
The newly elected President is Mr Babar Badat from Pakistan, CEO of Transfreight Corporation (Pvt.) Ltd. The company was established in 1982, one of Pakistanâs earliest international freight forwarding organizations. Mr Badat succeeds Mr Zhao Huxiang, from China, who will now serve as Immediate Past President for the following two years. Mr Robert Voltmann, from United States, has been re-elected Secretary General and Mr Francesco Parisi, from Italy, also the previous Immediate Past President, was elected Treasurer. The three positions of Senior Vice President went to Mr Ivan Petrov of Bulgaria and Mr Basil Pietersen of South Africa, both were re-elected, and Mr Turgut Erkeskin of Turkey, who joined the Presidency as a new member and who has been working with FIATA for a long time. Again, this new residency
represents all the four regions of the FIATA global constituency.
The General Meeting also elected the following Vice Presidents: Nadia Abdul Aziz, UAE; Marc Bibeau, Canada; Krishnan Chelliah, Malaysia; Ole A. Hagen, Norway; Bung Jin Kim,Korea, Republic of; Ahmed Moustafa, Egypt; David Nutakor, Ghana; Oleg Platonov, Ukraine;Jens Roemer, Belgium; Antonella Straulino, Italy; Neil Taylor Montgomery, Chile and
Adelaide Yang, Chinese Teipei.
Together with the Chairpersons of the Institutes, theAdvisory Bodies and the FIATA Regional Bodies, these distinguished individuals (list as below) compose the Extended Board of FIATA. On the one hand, the new Extended Board
manifests a good combination of old and new members, integrating years of experience in FIATA affairs and new impetus and vision of our industry.
On the other hand, it is very encouraging to see that we now have four female members in the Extended Board, they are
Ms Sandretto, Ms Aziz, Ms Straulino and Ms Yang. Their election and career path will inevitably encourage more women to actively work within FIATA. The Presidency moved for approval and obtained the unanimous acceptance of the General
Meeting for the following Chairpersons of the Institutes, Advisory Bodies and FIATA
Institutes
Chairperson AFI — Keshav R. Tanna
Chairperson CAI — Steve Parker
Chairperson MTI — Robert Keen
Advisory Bodies
Chairperson ABIA — Paul Golland
Chairperson ABIT — Anne Sandretto
Chairperson ABLM — Richard D. Gluck
Chairperson ABVT — Thomas Sim
Chairperson ABSS — David Fielder
Regional Bodies
Chairperson RAME — Stephen Ngatunga
Chairperson RAMNS — Jorge Heinermann
Chairperson RAP — Chris Kanter
Chairperson REU — Turgut Erkeskin
Standing Committees
FIATA Logistics Academy — Issa Baluch
FIATA World Congress — Stanley Lim
4. The Five Main Projects for the Belt and Road
The Editors of the South China Morning Post, the best English language newspaper in Hong Kong, have done a favour for those who are not entirely clear about what constitutes the Belt and Road Initiative in China.
The paper’s project â Belt and Road Initiative has been named âBest Data Visualisation Projectâ at the World Digital Media Awards 2017. Awarded by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the project was chosen for the top prize from contenders from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and India. Well worth a look.
http://tinyurl.com/VisualBeltandRoad
5. Maria Pittordis
Sean Maloney writes:-
Maria Pittordis, a highly-respected partner at Hill Dickinson who enjoyed a successful career with the company for 30 years, has passed away aged 55 following a short illness.
Colleagues of Maria, who served as Head of Marine, Travel and Energy at Hill Dickinson since 2008, have paid tribute to her describing her as “driven, caring, funny and indefatigable.”
A prominent travel and marine lawyer, Maria was globally acknowledged as a leading figure in the personal injury and regulatory sector. She advised on high profile cruise and ferry casualties including Bowbelle/Marchoness, the QE2 grounding, Achille Lauro, and Costa Concordia, as well as prominent inquests, including the terrorist attacks in Tunisia on the Bardo Museum and the resort at Sousse, and the carbon monoxide deaths in Corfu.
Maria embarked on her successful law career when she studied law at Queen Mary College, University of London and, following qualification as a barrister, worked at 12 King’s Bench Walk. She left the Bar in 1987 to join Hill Dickinson’s London office, and was made partner in 1992 followed by being appointed Head of the Marine, Trade and Energy group in 2008, overseeing a team of more than 150 people across eight offices.
Her most recent high-profile cruise industry success saw her defend a UK class action claim involving a Norovirus outbreak onboard a cruise liner. The landmark case saw her acknowledged as an industry leader on gastric illness claims across the travel sector and named Defendant Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year 2016 at the Eclipse Proclaim Personal Injury Awards. She was frequently sought after as a commentator on this topic and featured regularly in both the trade and national media.
Highly-regarded by industry peers, she was loved by colleagues and clients alike for her dynamic nature and sharp wit. On the day of her passing, she was named in legal directory guide The Legal 500 as a leading lawyer for travel in the UK, a title she was given year-on-year.
Maria also advised a number of industry associations such as CLIA and UK Chamber of Shipping. Earlier this year, she attended a round table meeting as one of only five expert maritime lawyers invited to advise the Government as part of its Brexit withdrawal preparations on the potential effects of Brexit on the maritime sector.
Away from work, she enjoyed travelling and spending time with family including her beloved husband Takis and three sons Dino, Yiannis and Pantelis.
Paying tribute to Maria, David Wareing, Chairman at Hill Dickinson, said: “Maria was formidable, driven, indefatigable and commercially astute but most importantly she was human. She was funny and caring in equal measure and we were fortunate to be able to call her a colleague and a friend. Her legacy will live on through all those of us within Hill Dickinson and outside whom she has inspired, supported, helped and cared for over the too short years of her life. All our thoughts are with her family at this time.”
Since Maria’s passing on Wednesday 11 October 2017, a book of condolence has opened online where messages and photographs of Maria can be shared with family, friends, colleagues and clients.
https://maria-pittordis.muchloved.com/
6. People and Places
Blank Rome Partner Jeremy Herschaft has been appointed as a vice president of the International Association of Young Lawyers Transport Law Commission for a three-year term.
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Large numbers of arbitrators and stakeholders attended and delivered papers at the 20th triennial International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA), which was held in Copenhagen from 25 to 29 September. ICMA XX saw some 250 delegates attending from 35 countries. In total,170 papers were submitted, many of which can be accessed on the Congress website:-
http://icma2017copenhagen.org/abstract.html
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The chairman of The Standard Clubâs board, Rod Jones, advised the directors in May 2017 of his intention to step down following his retirement from the CSL Group Inc in March this year. Joint deputy chairman, Cesare dâAmico of dâAmico Societa di Navigazione SpA, was unanimously elected, and will become acting chairman, subject to regulatory approval, from the next board meeting in Hong Kong on 20 October. Nicolas Hadjioannou from Alassia Newships Management Inc will become the new joint deputy chairman, working alongside Erik Johnsen of Seaocean Carriers Pte Ltd.
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MairĂ©ad NĂ CheĂłinĂn has been appointed to Seafarers UK as the charityâs new corporate fundraising manager, where her focus will be on engaging with the commercial maritime sector. Her previous roles have included working with Steamship Mutual P&I, TradeWinds, Informa PLC in London and the Irish Maritime Development Office in Dublin.
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 with a much higher purpose, we ran across two strong items from Issue 423 of February 7th, 2010
How to speak Essex !
This is an invaluable guide……for those of you that are planning to venture into Essex, the well known county in England.
alma chizzit – A request to find the cost of an item
amant – Quantity; sum total (“Thez a yuge amant of mud in Saffend”)
assband – Unable to leave the house because of illness, disability etc
awss – A four legged animal, on which money is won, or more likely lost (“That awss ya tipped cost me a fiver t’day”)
branna – More brown than on a previous occasion (“Ere, Trace, ya look branna today, ave you been on sunbed?”)
cort a panda – A rather large hamburger
Dan in the maff – Unhappy (“Wossmatta, Trace, ya look a bit Dan in the maff”)
eye-eels – Women’s shoes
Furrock – The location of Lakeside Shopping Centre
garrij – A building where a car is kept or repaired(Trace: “Oi, Darren, I fink the motah needs at go in the garrij cos it aint working proper”)
Ibeefa – Balaeric holiday island
lafarjik – Lacking in energy (“I feel all lafarjik”)
Oi Oi! – Traditional greeting. Often heard from the doorway of pubs or during banging dance tunes at clubs
paipa – The Sun, The Mirror or The Sport
reband – The period of recovery and emotional turmoil after rejection by a lover (“I couldn’t elp it, I wuz on the reband from Craig”)
Saffend – Essex coastal resort boasting the longest pleasure pier in the world. The place where the characters from TV’s, popular soap opera, Eastenders go on holiday
tan – The city of London , the big smoke
webbats – Querying the location something or someone is. (“Webbats is me dole card Trace? I’ve gotta sign on in arf hour”)
wonnid – 1. Desired, needed. 2. Wanted by the police
zaggerate – To suggest that something is bigger or better than it actually is. (“I told ya a fazzand times already”)
.Abbreviated Insults
The social networkers amongst our readers may find these of help for use in text messages on mobile phones or chat rooms
GOPlAinTraFk
– Go play in traffic
UvGotAFAcLikASqEzdTBag
– You’ve got a face like a squeezed tea-bag
IfUHdABrAnUdBDAjrus
– If you had a brain you’d be dangerous
IfUWnt2AMndREdrTherWldBNoChrge
– If you went to a mind reader there would be no charge
INoWenURLIinYaLpsMov
– I know when you are lying, Your lips move
TLItsROnBtNo1isHOm
– The lights are on, but no one is home
URAsMchUsAsMdGrdsOnATortus
– You are as much use as mud guards on a tortoise
TWhElsMvnBtTHmstrsDEd
– The Wheel’s moving but the hamster’s dead
URAsUsfLAsAChocl8Tpot
– You are as much use as a chocolate teapot
UR1SndwchShrtOfAPiKnk
– You are one sandwich short of a picnic
:-(YaBrAnIsntAsBgAsYa(_,_)
– A pity your brain isn’t as big as your bottom
Market Day in the Sahara
These two blokes are lost in the Sahara desert. They’re desperate for water, but just as they think they’re about to die, they chance upon a village where market day is in full swing.
They go to the first stall they see and ask if they can buy some water.
“No,” replies the Bedouin stall owner, “I only sell fruit. Try the next stall.”
So off they go to the next stall and again they ask for water.
“Sorry,” says the merchant, “But I only sell custard.”
“Custard?” one of the blokes says to the other, “What kind of place is this?”
By now desperate, they go to the next stall, only to be told, “Sorry, but I only sell jelly.”
Hearing this, one of the blokes turns to the other and says, “This is a trifle bazaar.”
[Paul Dixon]
Relative Guest
Little Johnny’s dad was a farmer in a poor district of the country. One day his Uncle John came to visit. Since there were limited accommodations, he was required to sleep with his young nephew, Little Johnny.
When Uncle John came into the bedroom, he saw the Little Johnny kneeling at the side of the bed with his head bowed. Thinking this was the child’s religious upbringing, he decided to present a good example and kneeled at the other side of the bed with his head bowed.
Little Johnny looked up and said, “Whatcha doin’?”
“Why, the same thing you’re doing”, replied Uncle John.
“Ma’s gonna be mad”, said Little Johnny. “The pot’s on this side”.
[Paul Dixon]