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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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Tuesday, 11 March 14
HOLD HARMLESS CLAUSES ARE NOT ALWAYS MUTUAL! - ITIC
KNOWLEDGE TO ELEVATE
ITIC provides an insurance related contract review service to all of its members. As the leading professional indemnity i ...
Tuesday, 11 March 14
NEWCASTLE SHIPPED 6.98% LESS COAL WEEK ON WEEK
COALspot.com: In the week ended 10 March 2014, power plant and semi-soft coking coal shipments from the port of Newcastle in Queensland, total 2 ...
Tuesday, 11 March 14
INDONESIAN SUB-BITUMINOUS COAL SWAPS CONTINUES TO FALL
COALspot.com – Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of the thermal coal's swaps for delivery April - June 2014 slip again thi ...
Monday, 10 March 14
API 8 CFR SOUTH CHINA COAL SWAPS LOST 4.28 PERCENT MONTH ON MONTH FOR Q2 DELIVERY
COALspot.com: API 8 CFR South China Coal swaps for average Q2 14 deliveries lost 4.28 percent month on month and closed at US$ 73.97 per mt as on Fr ...
Monday, 10 March 14
THE FREIGHT MARKET WAS QUITE FIRM THIS PAST WEEK
COALspot.com: The freight market was quite firm this past week with BDI sharply increased by 22.65 pct week on week and closed at 1543 points, while ...
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- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Planning Commission, India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- The University of Queensland
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Economic Council, Georgia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
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