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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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Saturday, 06 April 19
SUPRAMAX: IT WAS A POOR WEEK OVERALL FOR THE BALTIC SUPRAMAX INDEX, WHICH LOST GROUND - BALTIC BRIEFING
Capesize
The Capesize market over the past week looked to have found a floor on Tuesday with the BCI 5TC at $3460 before firming into the rest ...
Thursday, 04 April 19
OVERSUPPLY STILL MAJOR CHALLENGE WARNS ICS
Speaking in Istanbul, Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) warned that avoiding overcapacity and ...
Thursday, 04 April 19
GLENCORE, TOHOKU ELECTRIC SET COAL CONTRACT PRICE AT $94.75/T - SOURCE, REUTERS REPORTED
Global miner Glencore and Japan’s Tohoku Electric Power agreed on a price of $94.75 per tonne for supplies of thermal coal from Australia for ...
Monday, 01 April 19
FORCE MAJEURE SUCCESS NOT A SEA CHANGE - BALTIC EXCHANGE
KNOWLEDGE TO ELEVATE
It is difficult to successfully argue that contractual performance has been prevented or delayed by force majeure. This i ...
Monday, 01 April 19
AUSTRALIAN COAL AT RISK FROM CHINA MOVE, WARNS GOVERNMENT REPORT - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
A new government report warns China’s restrictions on coal imports is the number one risk for Australian coal this year and could lead to a s ...
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Showing 1436 to 1440 news of total 6871 |
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- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Parliament of New Zealand
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- VISA Power Limited - India
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Minerals Council of Australia
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- White Energy Company Limited
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- Australian Coal Association
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- The University of Queensland
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- PTC India Limited - India
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Planning Commission, India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
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