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Thursday, 08 May 14
'TRIAL BY MEDIA, TRIAL BY LAW' - A REPORT FROM TRACK 1 OF BIMCO'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE DUBAI 2014
 KNOWLEDGE TO ELEVATE
Aiming to bring a very different type of event into their annual conference, BIMCO presented ‘Double Jeopardy – ‘Trial by Media, Trial by Law*’, simulating a marine casualty and arbitration to delegates at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai. A professional, innovative and creative production not only gave a realistic portrayal of the events following a maritime casualty but enabled the audience to participate with well posed questions by way of interactive voting meters.
Based on a true event, this realistic account of a maritime casualty was narrated by Lindsay East, Consultant, Reed Smith, London. The vessel ‘Idle Star’ having loaded with sugar in Thailand and heading to the discharge port, had grounded on a river bed on the West Coast of California in an area of natural beauty. While there were no human casualties, there was a significant bunker spill and with a fast flowing river the environmental implications to wildlife and the local community were huge.
As the story unfolded, the owner representative, played by John Tsatsas from London and the charterers representative played by Han van Blanken from Rotterdam, portrayed each stage from the initial Captain’s call. With the initial limited information, the chain of events were shown to unfold as the owner and charterer brought in assistance and sought advice from P&I, lawyers, classification society, hull and machinery insurers, local agents and representatives and demonstrated how the process evolved as more information became available, giving an overview of the practicalities involved in the process. The expert advice to the owner and charterer was provided by video clips of real practitioners in conversation with the two stage actors.
The casualty centred on whether the destination port was ‘safe’. It was known to have a low draft and underwater obstructions that shifted and were uncharted. The vessel therefore had to not only be of certain specification when laden but also the conditions of making the final part of the voyage through those water needed to be assessed with the latest information available to see if the port was suitable for discharge. The owners proceeded to complete the voyage and the vessel ran aground so who was liable? The Master for proceeding with the voyage despite concerns or the charterer for the choice of a difficult destination with the cargo in mind?
With neither the owner or charterer accepting liability and indeed blaming each other, this session focussed on two areas; media and how if not handled correctly incidents can become a media and public relations nightmare and legal arbitration, examining the legalities of the charter agreement and how this would be dealt with by the legal system.
The morning session focussed on ‘Trial by Media’ and with neither party having any crisis management or PR in place, the simulated public backlash of the environmentalists, shrimp farmers and the local community as pollution grew, quickly escalated without an appropriate, measured response. Julian Bray, Tradewinds Editor-in-chief portrayed the media, keen for a story, blame and clearly supporting the affected parties who were keen for compensation.
The clear message of the morning session was that handling media during such an incident is a serious matter and can easily spiral out of control. Media will always seek to sensationalise and exploit sensitive areas and it is very easy to say the wrong things however well intentioned. Advice was to be well prepared, seeking professional crisis management to enable you to get every step right and above all, be honest. By knowing the all facts, you can provide just enough factual information and slow the media frenzy down.
The afternoon session ‘Trial by Law’ consisted of a panel of three maritime arbitrators, presided by Jude Benny, from Singapore, Bruce Harris from London and Jack Warfield from New York.
The owner sought indemnity from the charterer and the case was to ascertain whether the port was unsafe, whether the charterer was in breach of the agreement by ordering the ship to go there and whether that caused the loss.
Chirag Karia, a QC from London, counsel for the owner, put forward a strong case after witness testimonies that the owner had expressed concerns to the charterer which has gone unresolved. There had been correspondence regarding the draft of the port and that the waters were uncharted and the charterer had been asked to arrange lightening and/or a harmless agreement to indemnify the owner from any losses should there be a problem. The charterer did not lighten and was confident there would be no issue with the voyage, however did not confirm any harmless agreement which the owner assumed from their conversations. He argued that by sending the vessel to its destination the charterers were sending the vessel to an unsafe port and the owners had been commercially pressured to continue.
Nevil Phillips a barrister from London, counsel for the charterer, argued the defence with regard to whether the port was safe at the time of nomination and that the owners had a responsibility to ensure the vessel was laden appropriately to ensure safe passage. The owners should have reduced the cargo and taken further action to avoid such an incident and the Master was negligent in not doing so, causing the vessel to ground. Ultimately it was the owner’s decision to continue with the voyage with the known risks and any negligence by the Master obliterates any question of safety.
The arbitrators retired to consider their findings, each from the perspective of their own jurisdictions, and the audience were able to vote on their own judgment, finding in favour of the owner. However on returning the arbitrators, giving three separate judgments found in favour of the charterer by two to one on the basis that the grounding was found to be in general down to the Master’s negligence. Jude Benny summing up said “There were sufficient red light warnings and with good seamanship this could have been avoided.”
There was a lively question and answer session to close the session and attendees found the day both enlightening and informative. The new style of interactive session proved popular with attendees and the final vote was to definitely repeat such an event next time.
Source: BIMCO / Hellenic Shipping
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Wednesday, 21 May 14
SHIPPING: MARKET INSIGHT - GEORGE LAZARIDIS
The recent revision by the OECD of its global growth forecast has sparked a debate as to the potential outcome these new figures will have on seabo ...
Tuesday, 20 May 14
NEWCASTLE'S COAL EXPORT VOLUME UP 39.11 PERCENT WEEK ON WEEK
COALspot.com: In the week ended 07:00 hours 19 May 2014, power plant and semi-soft coking coal shipments from the port of Newcastle in Queensland, ...
Tuesday, 20 May 14
DRY BULK MARKET TO IMPROVE OVER THE COURSE OF 2014, BUT OVERSUPPLY STILL AN ISSUE SAYS BIMCO'S CHIEF SHIPPING ANALYST
As a gruelling first quarter edges closer to the end, dry bulk ship owners are looking at an improved second quarter demand, which, coupled with sl ...
Tuesday, 20 May 14
DRY BULK MARKET IS BOUND FOR A RECOVERY CLAIMS PARAGON SHIPPING'S HEAD MICHAEL BODOUROGLOU
The dry bulk market is bound for a recovery in the coming weeks, as the market will be better balanced, said Mr. Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and ...
Monday, 19 May 14
INDO COAL SWAPS FOR AVERAGE Q3' 2014 DELIVERY LOST ON WEEK AND ON MONTH
COALspot.com: Indonesian coal swaps for average Q3’ 2014 lost on week and on month according to AsiaClear OTC coal swap's reports release ...
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- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Minerals Council of Australia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Australian Coal Association
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- The University of Queensland
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Economic Council, Georgia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
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