Agenda

MARITIME CONVENTIONS AND TREATIES

• Historical maritime trade routes
• Modern maritime routes
• Socio-economic and political impacts of trade routes
• The Hague Visby Rules
• The Hamburg Rules
• The Rotterdam Rules
• The York Antwerp Rules
• The Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea
• Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)

KEY CONTRACTUAL ELEMENTS:

• Governing Law
• Establishing the rights; duties and obligations of the parties to the contract
• Understanding the ramifications of Indemnity; insurance and liability provisions
• Provisions relating to risk and performance
• Warranties and guarantees
• Termination clauses
• Damages – LDC’s
• Payment terms
• Dealing with breach of contract
• Assignment and novation of contract
• Force Majeure provisions
• INCOTERM provisions examined

VOYAGE CHARTERS – KEY CLAUSES FOR DRAFTING EXAMINED

In this section some of the key clauses that are vital from the contractual drafting perspective are presented and discussed – issues such as the specific vessel characteristics; voyage time, the issue of deviation clauses; ‘Dead Freight’, Demurrage and Laytime, FM and the arbitral clause and many more

Case Study and exercise

TIME CHARTERS – KEY CLAUSES FOR DRAFTING EXAMINED

In this section some of the key clauses that are vital from the contractual drafting perspective are presented and discussed – issues such as ‘flags of convenience’; usage of ‘standard form’ charters; the ‘Freight Rate’, vessel characteristics, speed and bunkering (fuel consumption/refuelling issues), period of charter, the ‘off-hire’ clause, liability for cargo damage, the ‘Division of Responsibility’, etc.

Case Study and exercise

BAREBOAT CHARTERS

• What makes a bareboat charter different from other forms?
• All operational and managerial functions controlled by charterer (except capital costs)
• Bareboat charters and purchase options – a form of ‘financial leasing’
• Other reasons for Bareboat charters – not wanting to make additional investment (therefore risk) – additional tonnage required for a specific period of time
• Important clauses – vessel description and characteristics, the ‘hire’ period, delivery and redelivery of vessel ‘hire’ amount, payment, ship maintenance, Insurance
• Overlap and underlap
• Class exercise

CONTRACTS OF AFFREIGHTMENT (CONTRACT CHARTERS)

• A ‘hybrid charter’ combination of elements of both time and voyage charters – AKA ‘volume contract’
• Safe port and berth warranties
• Case Study: The Ocean Victory
• Force Majeure and CoA
• Case Study: Classic Maritime v Limbungan Makmur SDN BHD & Anor [2019]:
• The BIMCO War Cancellation Clause
  Other potential contractual issues within CoA’s
• ‘Hardship’ Clauses
• Some problems for CoA’s regarding the impact of Covid-19

BILLS OF LADING – MAJOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In this section the key terms and conditions associated with the Bill of Lading are examined and why they are important from a drafting perspective – issues such as The ‘Clause Paramount’; Responsibility for Carriage; ‘Voyage Clause’; ‘Container Clause’, The ‘Transhipment Clause’; Dangerous goods; ‘Freight Clause, Lien, General Average Clause, ‘Both to blame’ collision clause, the New Jason Clause; etc. are discussed

• The 3 fundamental problems with B/L’s
• The Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990 (including The Rome Convention)
• The problem with a B/L being a ‘negotiable instrument’
• The evolution of the eB/L
• The 2 key legal issues of an eB/L – validity and replication
• Problems with eB/L’s
• Advantages of eB/L’s
• Case Study: MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. v. Glencore International AG (‘The MSC Eugenia’)
• The Rotterdam Rules
• UNCITRAL MELETR

MARITIME LIENS

• What is a maritime Lien?
• The Brussels Conventions of 1926 and 1952
• Variance in jurisdictional treatments examined
• Maritime Liens; mortgages and the arrest of a ship
• 2 major rights – against the property and on the property
• Where does the Lien rank against other creditors (order of priority)?
• Extinction of Liens
• The issue of sovereign immunity from a maritime lien

MARINE INSURANCE CONTRACTS

• The Marine Insurance Act 1906
• The scope of marine insurance
• Some different types of policies
• Insurable interest
• Subrogation and ‘double’ insurance
• Assignment
• Warranties – express and implied
• Deviation
• Institute Cargo Clauses A, B and C

THE LAW OF SALVAGE

• What is Salvage?
• The Salvor’s duty of care
• AG Ofir Marketing Ltd v Menora Insurance Co Ltd, CC 2429/01, February 18 2014. (Israel)
• The “Vinalines Pioneer”[2015] SGHC 278
• 4 key factors relevant to damages and salvage
• The International Convention on Salvage 1989
• The LOF (Lloyds Open Form)
• Pure’(Merit) and ‘Contract’ Salvage – an important distinction legally
• ‘High Order’ and ‘Low Order’ salvage – inherent criteria necessary
• The Bunker convention 2001 Art 3.5– (removal of responder immunity) – implications
• The potential of criminal sanctions – The Water Resources Act (UK) – The ‘Sea Empress’
• Salvor misconduct
• IMO International Convention On Salvage 1989; Art 18
• IMO International Convention On Salvage 1989; Art 23 – ‘time bars’
• Section 236 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995
• The issue of concurrent liability (i.e. a ‘later’ salvage operation held liable for an earlier one)
• Sveriges Angfartygs Assurans Forening (The Swedish Club) and others v Connect Shipping Inc and another
• The Capella (1891)
• Military wrecks – illegal salvage?
• The Protection of Military Remains Act (1986) (UK)
• Case Studies – The ‘Tasman Spirit’; The ‘Amoco Cadiz’, The ‘Prestige’,
• Marine collision and salvage

THE LAW OF GENERAL AVERAGE

• General Average defined – The Marine Insurance Act 1906
• The Doctrine of General Average
• The 5 ‘components’ of General Average
• Common events that trigger a GA claim – fire (vessel and/or cargo); Foul weather (storms, etc.); Collision; equipment/structural failure (i.e. engines); displacement of cargo; running aground, other events (i.e. piracy; salvage)
• GA bonds
• The SCOPIC Clause
• Marine collision and GA
• Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (1972; 1981)
• The Substantive Law of Collision at Sea – the law of negligence
• Civil and criminal jurisdictions
• Assessment of damages
• The key areas of issue of marine casualty – loss of life; serious injury; loss/destruction of property; damage/loss of/ to the vessel

IMO: MARPOL

• Sulphur emissions
• Ballast water regulations