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and .overview
Admiralty and Shipping Law is a truly international species of legal doctrine, recognized around the world by both practitioners and the courts. It dates back over the centuries and continues to evolve as time and the maritime industry changes, yet many of the original tenets remain relatively unchanged. It is both a deep and complex area of law – being multifaceted and subject to many variations dependent upon jurisdictional treatment and legal system. It is governed by a multitude of conventions and treaties which attempt to create harmonization in international commercial dealings.
This course has been designed to be an immersive experience, considering some of the key issues and components within the ambit of these laws that impact upon international maritime commerce. There is emphasis on Case Law, interactive discussion and problem solving.
Key Learning Outcomes & Case Studies Include
- Become familiar with the range of international treaties and laws that govern the international maritime trade
- Grasp what fundamental legal concepts must be included within maritime based commercial contracts
- Understand the mechanics of drafting both Time and Voyage Charters
- Be able to differentiate between the above and a Bareboat Charter
- Know what a ‘Contract of Affreightment’ (COA) is
- Gain an understanding of the mechanics and operations of Bills of Lading
- Ascertain what is involved within the topic of Maritime Liens
- Become familiar with some of the key elements of Marine Insurance Contracts
- Understand the key elements of the Law of Salvage; the Law of General Average and aspects of the Law of Marine Collision
- Know some of the key facts contained within the IMO legislation relevant to Sulphur emissions and ballast water
Who Will Benefit
- People engaged with shipping activities
- Ship management
- Legal personnel
- Contractual personnel
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
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