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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
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Friday, 02 February 24
DRY BULK MARKET: THE DOWNWARD REVISION IN THE GROWTH OF CAPESIZE TONNE DAYS IN JANUARY WITH THE BCI DROPPING - MARIA BERTZELETOU
In the last week of January, the dry freight market sustained weakness in the Capesize segment, while the number of ballasters in the Southeast (SE ...
Friday, 02 February 24
COAL INDIA ACHIEVES NEARLY 80% OF ITS FY24 PRODUCTION TARGET IN TEN MONTHS - CNBCTV18
For the month of January, the company’s production grew by 9.1% from the same period last year to 78.4 Million Tonnes (MT), from 71.9 MT last ...
Thursday, 01 February 24
CHINA'S WIND, SOLAR CAPACITY TO OVERTAKE COAL IN 2024 - INDUSTRY BODY, REUTERS REPORTED
China’s installed wind and solar capacity is expected to overtake coal for the first time this year, according to industry forecasts.
&nb ...
Thursday, 01 February 24
ANTI-DEDUCTION CLAUSES: CAN A CHARTERER WITHHOLD HIRE WITHOUT AN OWNER'S CONSENT? - SKULD
KNOWLEDGE TO ELEVATE
Summary
In The Anna Dorothea, the Court found that where a charterparty provides that no deduction from hire may be m ...
Thursday, 01 February 24
INDIA REBUILDS COAL STOCKS TO ENSURE ELECTRIC RELIABILITY - REUTERS
India’s electricity supply is much more comfortable at the start of 2024 than in either 2023 or 2022 as coal production has ramped up and the ...
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Showing 41 to 45 news of total 6871 |
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- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- PTC India Limited - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Australian Coal Association
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- The University of Queensland
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- White Energy Company Limited
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Planning Commission, India
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
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