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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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Thursday, 15 May 14
USA COAL CONFERENCE
Press Release: IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of information and analysis, will host the Coal USA Conference, June 18-20, 2014, ...
Wednesday, 14 May 14
COAL PRICES IN CHINA HAVE DROPPED TO THEIR LOWEST LEVELS SINCE END-2008
COALspot.com: Coal prices in China have dropped to their lowest levels since end-2008, Fitch says in its latest rating report on one of the coal ...
Wednesday, 14 May 14
ALMOST THROUGH THE HALF OF THE YEAR, THE DRY BULK INDEX SHOW SIGNS OF WEAKNESS; CREATING TO BOTH EXISTING SHIP OWNERS AND POTENTIAL INVESTORS A LOT OF INSECURITY - PANOS MAKRINOS
Almost through the half of the year, the overall shipping market and more specifically the Dry Bulk Index show signs of weakness, creating to bo ...
Tuesday, 13 May 14
NPC COAL EXPORT VOLUMES PLUNGE TO 2.48 MMT WEEK ON WEEK
COALspot.com: In the week ended 07:00 hours 12 May 2014, power plant and semi-soft coking coal shipments from the port of Newcastle in Quee ...
Tuesday, 13 May 14
YET ANOTHER POSIDONIA EXHIBITION IS ON ITS WAY - INTERMODAL
With less than a month to go before another Posidonia exhibition starts and all the parties and celebrations get under way we thought that it wo ...
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- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Planning Commission, India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- PTC India Limited - India
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Minerals Council of Australia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- The University of Queensland
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
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