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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, 13 March 14
HANDY: THE FAR EAST MARKET IS IN AN UPWARD TREND - FEARNRESEARCH
Handy
Atlantic is a bit under pressure for spot tonnage, but the underlying sentiment is positive for the short medium future. 2-3 legs are do ...
Thursday, 13 March 14
MARKET INSIGHT - CHRISTOPHER T. WHITTY
By Christopher T. Whitty
Marketing Manager
Cotzias Intermodal Shipping Inc.
During the last year we have noticed that a fair number of ...
Wednesday, 12 March 14
ADARO ENERGY IMPROVES EFFICIENCY AND GENERATED STRONG EBITDA IN 2013
COALspot.com: PT Adaro Energy Tbk, Indonesia's single largest coal miner posted revenue of US$ 3.28 billion and cost of revenue of US$ 2.54 ...
Wednesday, 12 March 14
DGOMC OF INDONESIA REVISED DOWN THE BENCHMARK PRICES FOR COAL BY 4.26% IN MARCH
COALspot.com - The Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources of Indonesia has revised down the government's declared coal bench mark price ...
Wednesday, 12 March 14
DRY BULK VESSELS STILL THE CREAM OF THE CROP FOR SHIP OWNERS
Dry bulk carriers have remained the most popular vessel type among ship owners as proven by the sheer number of second hand vessel sales and new ...
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- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Planning Commission, India
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- White Energy Company Limited
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- The University of Queensland
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- PTC India Limited - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
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