1.Friendly Discussions
2. Report on the International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators held
in Hong Kong
3. Whatâs Rocking the Future of Shipping?
4. Suntis Triple Death Mysteries
5. Chinaâs New Silk Roads
6. People and Places
Situation Vacant
Michael Else and Co (MECO) are looking for a class underwriter for
their PIMS facility serving the freight and multimodal industries. The
successful candidate will take overall responsibility for the underwriting
and running of PIMS multimodal and to develop the existing a portfolio
in line with corporate targets.
Salary and benefits will be attractive and will reflect the quality
of the successful candidate. Please apply by 10th June enclosing cv
to:
contactus@afterofficehours.com
FOB Network News
The current count of Members is 3708
All sorts of interesting people from our industry are
joining. For example:-
Marine Expert Capt. Terry Ogg
Alex Tsavliris
Marine Consultant Tina Ohlhaber
Monaco based maritime lawyer Marco Crusafio
Manchester based senior adjuster Michelle Gaines
———–
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
1. Friendly Discussions
Sarah Longden has passed us this note by Vasanti Selvaratnam
QC and Karen Maxwell of Stone Chambers:-
In Emirates Trading Agency LLC v Sociedade de Fomento
Industrial Private Ltd [2015] EWHC 1452 (Comm), Popplewell J considered
a number of issues arising from the alleged failure of the claimant
to engage in friendly discussions prior to commencing arbitration. Unfortunately,
the judgment does not significantly develop the law relating to multi-tiered
dispute resolution clauses, but does include some helpful clarification
of issues that might arise upon the reconstitution of an arbitral tribunal.
To view a copy of the full article go to:-:
2. Report on the International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators
held in Hong Kong
David Martin-Clark writes:-
The nineteenth International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators was held
in the Shangri La Hotel, Kowloon from 11 to 15 May. Many of those attending
thought it among the very best of such Congresses. That is a great compliment
to the organisers, the Hong Kong Maritime Arbitration Group, a division
of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, to the steering committee,
chaired by the London arbitrator Bruce Harris, to the Host Committee,
chaired by Arthur Bowring of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, and
the Topics and Agenda Committee, headed by Philip Yang.
Mounting the Congress was a particular challenge, since the event had
been switched to Hong Kong from its original venue in Shanghai only
some four months beforehand, but the Hong Kong team were helped by much
of the preparatory work that had been done by the Shanghai organisers,
the China Maritime Arbitration Centre.
The Congress was opened by welcoming addresses from Mr Rimsky Yuen
SC JP, Secretary for Justice in the HKSAR Government, and from Professor
Anthony Cheung Bing-leung GBS JP, Secretary for Transport and Housing.
Following the welcome, Sir Bernard Eder, former judge of the High Court
in England, gave a lively presentation on the topic of the “Assessment
of Damages in Charterparty Disputes: Post Breach Events – Do they Matter?
This was followed by a thoughtful presentation by Chief Justice James
Allsop AO, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, on the
subject of Indemnities in Charterparties.
With over 120 papers to accommodate, the Congress went immediately
into parallel sessions, save for the Cedric Barclay Memorial Lecture
given on the Tuesday morning by Lord Philips of Worth Maltravers, former
President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In opening, he
paid tribute to Lord Mustill of Pately Bridge, who had died some three
weeks earlier, describing him as a giant of the common law, both commercial
and criminal. Lord Philips’ address was most skilfully crafted and concluded
with a trenchant view on the issue whether the obligation to pay hire
on time under a timecharter is a condition or simply an innominate term.
Wednesday was a rest day, giving those new to Hong Kong a chance to
view the city. In the evening, many attendees participated in the local
pastime of losing money at the Happy Valley racecourse.
Thursday morning opened with a mock arbitration before an international
panel, in which six Queen’s Counsel from London took part, supported
by experienced junior counsel from London and Singapore. The day concluded
with the Gala Dinner, always a highlight of ICMA Congresses.
Friday morning brought the Congress to an end, with an invitation to
join the next one in Copenhagen in the fall of 2017 – a very happy ending
to a Congress attended by a record number of participants [estimated
at 290 delegates from 29 countries and territories], offering a record
number of papers.
3. Whatâs Rocking the Future of Shipping?
The Future of Shipping topic hub is a new, interactive online platform
for stakeholders from the shipping industry and strategists in related
fields to identify opportunities to move towards a sustainable future.
http://www.thefuturescentre.org/topic-hubs/shipping
It was born out of a collaboration between the Sustainable Shipping
Initiative and Forum for the Future to understand which global trends
are affecting the future of shipping, and explore how âsignals
of changeâ could affect its sustainability.
The topic hub is a space to track change on an ongoing basis and identify
opportunities to act.
So whatâs happening on the topic hub this month?
Weâre asking whether the new Polar Code established by the IMO
will offer necessary environmental protection in a sensitive region,
or whether it will merely increase the flow of traffic â making
it easier for international ships to acquire a license for Arctic journeys,
with local vessels exempt. This infographic explains what safety requirements
a ship must meet for certification â although a full inspection
is not stipulated.
Meanwhile, in the North Sea, new regulation requires the use of low
sulphur fuel.
So much for the wellbeing of the oceans: what about that of the seafarers?
A flurry of surveys into seafarer welfare, from career satisfaction
to awareness of HIV/AIDs, has accompanied the launch of the Seafarers
Happiness Index
http://www.thefuturescentre.org/resources/3765/new-report-launches-seafarers-happiness-index
Health and digital connectivity are recurring themes, with seafarers
demanding digital connectivity to counter isolation at sea, and also
looking for fitness facilities, quality food and a better work-life
balance.
Please register on the Futures Centre to share your comments and resources:-
http://www.thefuturescentre.org/user/register
or contact Anna Simpson to propose an opinion piece:-
a.simpson@forumforthefuture.org
4. Suntis Triple Death Mysteries
Bob Couttie, whose Maritime Accident Casebook is a constant source
of analysis and intelligence, carries another case study of death in
confined spaces this time on board the Suntis. The prose is well written
and the thinking is shot through with good sense.
Go to:-
http://tinyurl.com/SuntisDeaths
5. Chinaâs New Silk Roads
Courtesy of the Browser we read this piece by Tyler Cowen which appears
in the Marginal Revolution blog of 1st June 2015. It is a rough overview
of the vast investments which China is making to secure international
trade routes. Projects include a $42 billion naval base in Pakistan;
a rail line from Zhengzhou to Hamburg via Russia; a road and railway
to the Arabian Sea; power infrastructure across Central Asia; routes
to the sea through Myanmar and Bangladesh. “Are these sustainable
patterns of trade? Or are they slated to be proverbial white elephants?”
6. People and Places
David Binsted has taken up a new appointment as a Senior Marine Broker
at V Scope, the joint venture business between V Ships and Seascope.
David will assist with the servicing of the existing V Ships’ clients
and also seek to develop new insurance opportunities. David has previously
underwritten at Ace and Aegis and broked at LSR and most recently FP
Marine.
John Wiik is to step down as CEO of Norwegian Hull Club on January
1, 2016, passing the reins to Faz Peermohamed who is a senior partner
at London’s Ince & Co.
The IAPH meeting in Hamburg was opened with considerable flair. See
the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBuPb8mMBaM
The Shipownersâ Club has anounced the appointment of Steve Randall
to the Board of the Shipownersâ Protection Limited (SPL) as Commercial
Director.
Steve, who was previously Commercial Director for Asia for just over
three years, will continue to drive the Clubâs business development
strategy from Singapore, with an increased focus in his new role on
worldwide business development. As part of his wider remit and position
on the board, Steve will work closely alongside the underwriting and
claims teams in both London and Singapore.
Steve, who has worked for over 36 years at the Shipownersâ Club,
joined in 1978 and relocated to Singapore in 2009 as General Manager
upon the opening of the branch, with overall responsibility for the
Clubâs business in the region. During this time the office has
grown from a team of 7 to 38, and has firmly established itself as a
market leader in Asia Pacific. Responsible for half of the Clubâs
overall tonnage, the Singapore office also now underwrites 95 per cent
of the 200+ bunker tankers in Singapore, home to the worldâs largest
bunkering port.
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 did a little search against “Safe Space” which appears
in Issue 477 of April 17th, 2011 to find we have been praising Bob Couttie
for some years:-
SafeSpace Project
Bob Couttie has written in to remind us that he has begun a new campaign
based on principles of self-help. Readers may recall that Bob Couttie
publishes the Maritime Accident Casebook, the scope of which puts mightier
organisations with risk management responsibilities to shame. It makes
us wonder why one of the P&I Clubs has not offered to support his
work in general. Here is the SafeSpace manifesto.
SafeSpace is a free project to reduce the unacceptable toll upon seafarers
of confined space hazards. It aims to bring together those in the industry
with an active and passionate commitment to safety to mount an assault
on a phenomenon that costs too many seafarers their lives every year.
SafeSpace is not about what the IMO, or any other organisation or company
can do or should do, it’s about what we ourselves can do to make change
happen.
Your task is to commit to doing something, right now. It doesn?t matter
how small.
Your publishers have offered this project a free group page on the
FOB Network to help foster the cause and to stimulate participation.
Join the SafeSpace project by sending an email to:-
safespace@maritimeaccident.org
http://www.avoarchive.com/searchBI.php
Dilemma
A new soldier was on sentry duty at the main gate. His orders were
clear. No car was to enter unless it had a special sticker on the windshield.
A big Army car came up with a general seated in the back. The sentry
said, “Halt, who goes there?”
The chauffeur, a corporal, says, “General Wheeler.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you through. You’ve got to have a sticker
on the windshield.”
The general said, “Drive on!”
The sentry said, “Hold it! You really can’t come through. I have
orders to shoot if you try driving in without a sticker.”
The general repeated, “I’m telling you, son, drive on!”
The sentry walked up to the rear window and said, “General, I’m
new at this. Do I shoot you or the the driver?”
[Source: Paul Dixon]
Lessons from Bank Robbers
Robbers entered a bank in a small town.
One of them shouted: “Don’t move! The money belongs to the bank.
Your lives belong to you.â Immediately all the people in the bank
laid on the floor quietly and without panic.This is an example of how
the correct wording of a sentence can make everyone change their view
of the world.
One woman laid on the floor in a provocative manner.The robber approached
her saying, ” Ma’am, this is a robbery not a rape. Please behave
accordingly.” This is an example of how to behave professionally
and focus on the goal.
While running from the bank the youngest robber (who had a college degree)
said to the oldest robber (who had barely finished elementary school):
“Hey, maybe we should count how much we stole?” The older
man replied: “Donât be stupid. It’s a lot of money so let’s
wait for the news on TV to find out how much money was taken from the
bank.” This is an example of how life experience is more important
than a degree.
After the robbery, the manager of the bank said to his accountant: “Let’s
call the cops and tell them how much has been stolen.” “Waitâ,
said the Accountant, “before we do that, let’s add that money we
took for ourselves over the past few months and also add in any other
problems and just say that it was stolen as part of todayâs robbery.”This
is an example of taking advantage of an opportunity.
The following day it was reported in the news that the bank was robbed
of $3 million. The robbers then counted the money, but they found only
$1 million so they started to grumble. “We risked our lives for
$1 million, while the bank’s management robbed two million dollars without
blinking. Maybe itâs better to learn how to work the system, instead
of being a simple robber.” This is an example of how knowledge
can be more useful than power.?
Moral: Give a person a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a person a bank,
and he can rob everyone.
[Source: Frazer Hunt]
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 15 500 individual subscribers each
week and republished within firms and organisations all over the maritime
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