We welcome article submissions from experts in the areas of coal, mining,
shipping, etc.
To Submit your article please click here.
|
|
|
Sunday, 07 April 19
SHIP PASSAGE PLANS - NO ROOM FOR ERROR! - WATSON FARLEY & WILLIAMS
 KNOWLEDGE TO ELEVATE
The English High Court’s judgment in Alize 1954 v Allianz Elementar Versicherungs AG (The CMA CGM Libra) is an important decision involving the application of longstanding principles as to a shipowner’s liability for actionable fault following a casualty. In finding that a defective passage plan rendered a vessel unseaworthy, the English High Court has demonstrated how traditional tests will be applied to update the law into the modern day world.
Prior to this decision, there had been no case whereby a defective passage plan rendered a vessel unseaworthy. However, it is now clear that just as the standard of seaworthiness must rise with improved knowledge of shipbuilding, so must the standard of seaworthiness rise with improved knowledge of the documents required to be prepared to ensure safe navigation. Following the IMO’s recognition in 1999 of the need for passage planning to be adopted by “all ships engaged on international voyages”, The CMA CGM Libra shows that by 2011 the English courts expected an adequate passage plan to have been prepared. If it was defective, the consequences could be severe.
The Case
The case concerned a laden container vessel which grounded by virtue of the master negligently navigating outside of the buoyed fairway when leaving the port of Xiamen in China. The owner had known this to be a difficult port to navigate, especially as various Notices to Mariners had been issued advising that areas existed in the Xiamen Gang (though not in the fairway) that had depths less than those charted.
Cargo interests refused to pay the owner their proportion of the total claim in general average and denied liability under Article III r.1 of the Hague Rules on the basis that the casualty was caused by the owner’s actionable fault. In particular, they alleged that the vessel was unseaworthy because she had an inadequate passage plan, that inadequacy was a cause of the casualty and due diligence was not exercised by the owner to make the vessel seaworthy.
The Decision
Before considering the substantive matters of unseaworthiness, causation and due diligence, Mr Justice Teare addressed the issue of which party bears the burden of proof in relation to Article III r.1. He affirmed the conventional view that the burden lies on the cargo interests to establish that the vessel was unseaworthy and such unseaworthiness caused the grounding. If those matters are established, the burden then lies on the owners to prove that due diligence was exercised to make the vessel seaworthy.
Unseaworthiness
Mr Justice Teare held that neither the formal passage plan, nor the working chart, contained the necessary warning of the potential danger arising outside the buoyed fairway from the existence of areas with lower depths than charted. The necessary warning should have been such that, when the navigator was faced with a decision whether to remain in the buoyed fairway or to navigate outside, he had in mind the warning that charted depths outside the buoyed fairway may be unreliable.
The judge affirmed that the long-established and authoritative test of unseaworthiness is whether a prudent owner would have required the relevant defect, had he known of it, to be made good before sending his ship to sea. He found it inconceivable that a prudent owner would allow the vessel to depart from Xiamen with a passage plan that lacked the necessary warning, especially given that IMO Resolution of 1999 states that a “well planned voyage” is of “essential importance for safety of life at sea, safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment”.
The owner argued that passage planning is simply the preparation for safe navigation and is not itself an aspect of seaworthiness. In making these arguments, the owner sought to benefit from the negligent navigation exception under Article IV r.2(a) of the Hague Rules, which provides that (assuming there is no failure by the owners to make the vessel seaworthy) a shipowner will not be responsible for loss caused by neglect in the “navigation or in the management of the ship”.
However, Mr Justice Teare rejected this, stating that seaworthiness extends to having the appropriate documentation on board, including the appropriate charts. Firstly, he noted that Article III r.1 places a seaworthiness obligation upon the shipowner “before and at the beginning of the voyage” and that passage planning before the beginning of the voyage is necessary for safe navigation during voyage. Secondly, he pointed out that it is well recognised that if a vessel’s charts are not up to date that is an “attribute” of the vessel which can render her unseaworthy – and that a proper passage plan is now like an up to date and properly corrected chart.
Mr Justice Teare also suggested that a “one-off” failure to correct a chart in a material manner before the beginning of the voyage is capable of rendering a vessel unseaworthy, even if the shipowner has put in place proper systems to ensure that the prerequisite materials were on board to prepare an adequate chart. He explained that concentrating upon the shipowner’s own actions to the exclusion of those of his servants or agents, confuses the issue of seaworthiness with the issue of due diligence, which in any event is a non-delegable duty.
Finally, Mr Justice Teare observed that the negligent navigation exception applied only to Article III r.2 and not Article III r.1. Therefore, a shipowner will not be protected from liability for failing to exercise due diligence to make the vessel seaworthy by the fact that a cause of the casualty was negligent navigation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this case found that an appropriate passage plan is a matter of seaworthiness under Article III r.1 of the Hague Rules. This is not the type of chart that might traditionally have been expected to affect the seaworthiness of a vessel, especially as a passage plan relates principally to navigation of the ship. Nevertheless, following this judgment, shipowners will have to ensure that, through its agents and servants, due diligence is exercised to produce a non-defective passage plan that clearly contains the necessary warnings. Failure to do so, if causative of a casualty, will not be saved by the negligent navigation exception under Article IV r 2(a) of the Hague Rules, which cannot be applied where a shipowner has failed to exercise due diligence to make the vessel seaworthy.
Source: Watson Farley & Williams
If you believe an article violates your rights or the rights of others, please contact us.
|
|
Tuesday, 11 December 18
PORT OF NEWCASTLE SHIPPED 10.849 MMT OF COAL IN NOVEMBER DOWN 23.44 PERCENT MOM
COALspot.com: The Port of Newcastle, Australia’s major trading port and the world’s largest coal export port has shipped A$ 1,574.8 mil ...
Thursday, 06 December 18
IN THE EAST, BIGGER SUPRA WAS FIXED CA US$ 10K FOR INDO-CHINA COAL ROUND - FEARNLEYS
Capesize
There is cautious optimism for the Capes, with healthier volumes and improving rates in the Pacific. West Australia round is gradually ...
Thursday, 06 December 18
U.S. COAL CONSUMPTION IN 2018 EXPECTED TO BE THE LOWEST IN 39 YEARS - EIA
EIA expects total U.S. coal consumption in 2018 to fall to 691 million short tons (MMst), a 4% decline from 2017 and the lowest level since 1979. U ...
Thursday, 06 December 18
DEMAND RISKS WEIGH ON GLOBAL SHIPPING SECTOR OUTLOOK - FITCH RATINGS
The global shipping sector outlook remains negative reflecting the demand-side risks of protectionism and slower economic growth, Fitch Ratings say ...
Thursday, 06 December 18
CHINA REVISES MANAGEMENT RULES ON ESTABLISHMENT OF FULLY FOREIGN-OWNED SHIPPING BUSINESSES - XINHUA
Foreign shipping companies will find it easier to establish wholly-owned subsidiaries in China thanks to a revised regulation due to take effect on ...
|
|
|
Showing 1536 to 1540 news of total 6871 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
| |
|
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Australian Coal Association
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- White Energy Company Limited
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Parliament of New Zealand
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Planning Commission, India
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- PTC India Limited - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- The University of Queensland
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
|
| |
| |
|
