BOW WAVE 136

Broad Brush Edition

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2002 WavyLine.com	Issue No 136 01 Jul 02
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. Toxic Mould--The Next Big Thing?
3. Dunelm Launches Own Newsletter
4. FMC Rules on Self Insurance
5. Sun Hing Seminar on Air Liability all in Cantonese
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

P&I and the Long Arm of the Law

More in on the numerous connections between the mutual insurance of shipowners' third party liabilities and the thin blue line....

Richard Nemeth of the expert broking house Alston Gaynor says:

My chum Elder Brown Jnr of Covenant Underwriters in Covington, Louisiana -
writer of hull and P&I for Florida Gulf owners - was a member of the New Orleans PD for some years, as well as a sometime rock and roll musician

Our Readers in lawyers Crump & Co in Hong Kong have also reported as follows:

On the maritime Mr.Plod front, Crumps can contribute our very own portwise sleuth, Henry Lo, ex Senior Inspector Marine, Royal Hong Kong Police. He was
commended 5 times in his career including for rescuing passengers off a jetfoil which had been in collision with another off Adamasta Rock. Henry has
been our Marine Casualty Investigator for the past 6 years.

Are there any more out there?

New Readers this week include:

Michael Newbery of Terra Nova PandI London
Joseph Misenti of lawyers Cozen
James Wilkie of XL Insurance in London
Kendall Chen of Global Marine Security Systems
Alastair Bond Gunning of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw
Writer Sharon Cunningham of Dunelm Public Relations Vivek Narain in Hong Kong
Canadian sea forwarder Tony Young
Peter Lorbeer the Legal Adviser to Shell (China) in Beijing

News of Readers

Bruce Virgo writes:

"As an Australian in Scotland, working in the excellent maritime department at Henderson Boyd Jackson Edinburgh, I have found your E-Zine extremely informative and often entertaining (thanks Bruce--ed).

I am moving to head up a new maritime practice division at insurance law firm Barry & Nilsson in Brisbane, Queensland. I would like to use your medium, if I may, to convey my gratitude to all and sundry amongst your Readers for their help and support in the marine industry over the past 5 years."

Bruceynil.com.au "
from the end of July.

News in from marketing guru Mike Revans. He has discovered he does a dependable job writing b2b stuff, so he now mainly writes for a living. He does quite a lot for an agency in West London, much of it coming from RIBA, Dow and other building companies, and for Continuing Professional Development seminars where there is quite a lot of growth.

Nothing like enough maritime and transport stuff here, we must say. Rust never sleeps.

International Trade Person Louise Barrington in Hong Kong points out:

As a resident of Hong Kong I was quite interested in the piece on China - and HK's role in its market development. While long term, I agree that Hong Kong and Guangzhou will probably "merge" into one huge metropolis, in the next 5 to 10 years, I see HK's immediate importance as the most convenient port of entry for many of those trying to get into the China market.

The "big guys" are already in China, and have the resources to take the risks and make the long term commitment necessary to see a profit. But the medium-sized companies will still be happier to come through Hong Kong, where the language is English, the culture is western and the legal system is tried and true.

Right now, HK, like almost all the rest of Asia, is in a slump, but for people coming here it is a boon. Real estate values are down, so rent is cheaper that it's been for decades. Our unemployment rate is 7% - inconsequential in the west, but more serious here where there is a minimal social safety net. For a company looking for staff, it means good people are available at a fraction of the salary cost of 5 years ago.

Hong Kong is also negotiating closer economic ties with Mainland China, which will provide an even greater incentive for foreign companies to come here and use HK as a gateway to China. My company works with investors from Europe and America who are just getting their feet wet in the China market.

In short, HK became the city it is because Shanghai was closed for 50 years. It is recovering, but not to the profile it had pre-1997. That doesn't mean its future is finished however; I agree that it will, over time, be more integrated with Mainland business; HK will provide western style comfort for foreign business eager to explore the many markets of the Mainland from the security of our known and trusted business and legal culture. It's a "Janus-faced" culture; like the ancient god, we look to both East and West.

Poem of the Week

now is a ship

which captain am
sails out of sleep

steering for dream

- e. e. cummings

A broad brushed sort of issue.

Enjoy.

2. Toxic Mould--The Next Big Thing?

Many people are saying the next big thing for the US Plaintiff Bar will not arise out of some man made product but instead arises from poor ventilation in buildings leading to what is commonly called black mould (the proper term for the toxic growth is stachybotrys chartarum) exposure to which can lead to infant death, bleeding lungs and neurological disorders.

According to the Spring 2002 edition of the Cozen O'Connor Insurance Law Observer (sent in by Reader Rivers Black), some 5 per cent of all US homes will have had stchybotrys at one time or another.

Is another Asbestos Claims Era upon us? Readers will recall how the insurance industry predicts a figure of $ 65 Billion will be paid out by the year 2020. Possibly not because the biological evidence for causation is less clear, injuries are less severe, the presence of mold is more immediately detected and cleared up and the potential defendents are not product manufacturers so much as builders, ventilation engineers and property owners. So less scope for a good old class action.

Readers who are interested in the measures they can take to deal with this emerging trend can request a copy of the publication on:

http://www.cozen.com/site/ilo.htm

3. Dunelm Launches Own Newsletter

Transport and Shipping PR Specialists Dunelm, led by David Cheslin have turned their attentions to producing a newsletter about themselves. Their list of clients is an interesting cross section in itself. Your editor first got to know about them about 12 years ago in connection with a competition held to garner in loss prevention ideas.

See in particular the Press Release page on the web site which saves the average journos' phone bill by allowing images to be pulled down on demand rather than pushed out to jam e-mail in boxes.

See the site at:

http://www.dunelmpr.co.uk/homepage.htm

4. FMC Rules on Self Insurance

Peter Carlo Lehrell who works the regulatory side of the shipping street reports:

The Federal Maritime Commission yesterday issued a final rule on the issue of self insurance and the sliding scale for guarantees against non-performance of transportation .

In essence the rule:

1) eliminates self-insurance by the operator as an option for guaranteeing recovery for non-performance

2) eliminates the sliding scale of guarantees and subjects all carriers (US and foreign) to the 110% of average unearned passenger revenue up to the cap of $15MM.

In comments to the FMC, many smaller US flag operators expressed concerns that this rulemaking would adversely affect their ability to continue operations as the rulemaking will cost them substantial costs to obtain the necessary financial guarantees

The rule can be found at:

http://www.fmc.gov

5. Sun Hing Seminar on Air Liability all in Cantonese

Our good friend Richard Chan at Sun Hing Brokers in HK,is planning another seminar:

"Hong Kong has adopted AWC by way of its Carriage by Air Ordinance (Chapter 500). Moreover, AWC is widely adopted by many other countries and incorporated into most House and Master Air Waybills.

This is an International Convention that every air forwarder and airline should know about. It in many cases it determines the liability of carrier under air waybill in respect of cargo claims. In fact, most of the participants who attended our Hague Visby Rules seminar
last October suggested we talk about AWC. As part of our risk management services to the transport industry, we are holding a seminar about the basics of AWC in relation to cargo claims. The details are as follows:

1. Date : Wednesday, 7th August 2002 (10:00am to 12:00 noon) 2. Venue: The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce - Theatre, 22/F., United Centre, 95 Queensway, Hong Kong.
3. Speaker: Mr Richard Chan
4. Language : Cantonese
5. Fee : HK$100 per person
6. Outline AWC application
: Air Waybill
: cargo disposal right between consignor and consignee : Article 8(c) notice
: 250 francs (65.5 milligrammes of gold of millesimal fineness 900) per kg or US$20 per kg or HK$135 per kg : intentional or reckless act or omission
: 14 day notice time limit for damage
: 21 day notice time limit for delay
: 2 year suit time limit"

Contact Richard at:
richardchan@sunhinginsurance.com

6. And Finally....

Thanks to Reader Utpal Kapadia for these statistics relating to accident prone Britain:

3 Brits die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.

142 Brits were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.

58 Brits are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.

31 Brits have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.

19 Brits have died in the last 3 years believing that Christmas decorations were chocolate.

British Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after cracker pulling accidents.

101 people since 1999 have had to have broken parts of plastic toys pulled out of the soles of their feet.

18 Brits had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

A massive 543 Brits were admitted to Hospital Casualty Departments in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth.

5 Brits were injured last year in accidents involving out of control Scalectrix (electric minature cars on tracks)

BOW WAVE is published each week to around 7200 Readers in the transport,insurance,shipping and finance industries.

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