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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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Friday, 30 May 14
US COAL PRODUCTION RELATIVELY FLAT WEEK ON WEEK
COALspot.com – United States the world's second largest coal producer, produced approximately 18.6 million short tons (mmst) of coal in a ...
Thursday, 29 May 14
PEABODY ENERGY CHAIRMAN RECEIVES WCA AWARD
The World Coal Association has presented Gregory H. Boyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU), with the 2014 Chairm ...
Thursday, 29 May 14
HANDY : THE SUPRAS ARE BEING TRADED AROUND 13K FOR SHORTER UPTO 1 YEAR PERIOD
Handy
The week started off with bank holidays in London and very little happening. This trend has continued and we believe it will continue into ...
Wednesday, 28 May 14
THE DRY BULK MARKET REMAINED UNDER PRESSURE - INTERMODAL
COALspot.com: The Dry Bulk market remained under pressure during this past week, with all indices pointing down compared to the previous Friday. Th ...
Tuesday, 27 May 14
PORT OF NEWCASTLE SHIPPED 19.13% LESS COAL THIS PAST WEEK
COALspot.com: In the week ended 07:00 hours 26 May 2014, power plant and semi-soft coking coal shipments from the port of Newcastle in Queensland, ...
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- PTC India Limited - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- The University of Queensland
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Planning Commission, India
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Australian Coal Association
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
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