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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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- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- White Energy Company Limited
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- The University of Queensland
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Australian Coal Association
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- PTC India Limited - India
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Planning Commission, India
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
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