BOW WAVE 286

Bow Wave Issue 286--London Underground Edition

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2005 WavyLine.com	Issue No 286 16 May 05
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. In the Wake--the views of Gray Page for May
3. How do you Mean when you say Damage?
4. European Port Directive-The Good or the Last Try ?
5. The News is Dead--Long Live the News
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

Hamlet's Cat's Soliloquy
Shakespaw

To go outside, and there perchance to stay
Or to remain within: that is the question:
Whether 'tis better for a cat to suffer
The cuffs and buffets of inclement weather
That Nature rains on those who roam abroad,
Or take a nap upon a scrap of carpet,
And so by dozing melt the solid hours
That clog the clock's bright gears with sullen time
And stall the dinner bell. To sit, to stare
Outdoors, and by a stare to seem to state
A wish to venture forth without delay,
Then when the portal's opened up, to stand
As if transfixed by doubt. To prowl; to sleep;
To choose not knowing when we may once more
Our re-admittance again: aye, there's the hairball;
For if a paw were shaped to turn a knob,
Or work a lock or slip a window-catch,
And going out and coming in were made
As simple as the breaking of a bowl,
What cat would bear the household's petty plagues,
The cook's well-practised kicks, the butler's broom,
The infant's careless pokes, the tickled ears,
The trampled tail, and all the daily shocks
That fur is heir to, when, of his own free will,
He might his exodus or entrance make
with a mere mitten? Who would spaniels fear,
Or strays trespassing from a neighbour's yard,
But that the dread of our unheeded cries
And scratches at a barricaded door
No claw can open up, dispels our nerve
And makes us rather bear our humans' faults
Than run away to unguessed miseries?
Thus caution doth make house cats of us all;
And thus the bristling hair of resolution
Is softened up with the pale brush of thought,
And since our choices hinge on weighty things,
We pause upon the threshold of decision.

by Jack Kolb, Department of English UCLA
(kindly sent in by Patrick Moore in Melbourne)

New Readers this week include:

James Wilson of the Fipra Group
Paul Knight of Thomas Miller & Co
Solicitor Chrysa Papthanasiou
Bulk Shipping guru Dennis Barber of Marico in Southampton
Fer van de Laar of the IAPH in Rotterdam
Napoleon Smith of the Panama Maritime Authority
Teh Kong Leong of the Singapore Maritime Foundation
Marcel Krol of Hamburg brokers Georg Duncker

News of Readers

Senior Managers at the Allianz have a multifaceted life all right. A proposal by a small shareholder to withhold approval from the Board of Directors for failure to investigate signs of insurance fraud on 9/11 was published on the website of the Allianz Group, in preparation for its May 4th annual meeting.

Allianz carried a significant portion of the insurance coverage on the WTC, and stands to pay a corresponding portion of the $3.5 billion payout currently under litigation in New York. In his proposal, shareholder John Leonard, a California native and a publisher of books on 9/11, pointed to reports that building WTC 7 apparently collapsed by demolition, and for no plausible reason related to the 9/11 attacks. Management replied that it relied on official US government reports which made no mention of such evidence.

The Allianz Group is incorporated in Germany and has approximately 570,000 shareholders. Under German Stock Companies law, publicly held companies are required to publish shareholder proposals that meet certain criteria.

http://www.allianzgroup.com/azgrp/dp/cda/0,,100646-49,00.html

Bruno Boulanger who is BP Shipping’s head of freight trading has been appointed chairman of the Baltic Exchange Tanker Freight Market Information Group User Group (FMIUG).

Former investment banker Roz Savage is planning to become the first solo female ever to compete in the Atlantic Rowing Race when she sets out on 27th November 2005 to row from the Canaries to Antigua.

Read all about it at:-

http://www.rozsavage.com

Roger Foord is organising a breakfast meeting to help her and her favoured charity on Tuesday 7th June at Balls Brothers, Lime Street starting at 8.30 and finishing no later than 10.00. The guest speaker will be Lord (Robin) Butler the Master of University College, Oxford whod wrote the report on the Iraq war. The cost is £15 per person for full English breakfast and a donation to the charity.

Contact him at:-

info@rogerfoord.com020-7891-2701

The new officers of the Average Adjusters' Association are Chairman Nigel Rogers, Vice-chairman Richard Cornah and Honorary Treasurer, Ian Tucker.

Readers Write

From Ed Ion, the Managing Partner of Helix Media in Singapore

I noticed the GB Shaw quote in Bow Wave Issue 285 and it's one in which the old so and so gets quite close to something called the truth.

Personally, I prefer a line from Graham Green in which he puts it all in context.

"The truth has never been of any real value to any human being. It is a symbol for mathematicians and philosophers. In terms of human kind, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths."

Contact Ed at:-

edward.ion@helixmedia.com.sg

AfterOfficeHours News

The latest firms to sign up to After Office Hours include:

-->Van Hall Health

Dutch-born Michael Van Hall from Colorado runs a global medical expenses business which is wresting control away from what he calls Dock Docs beloved of some shipping agents (who have been known to supply rather high invoices) to approved local clinics with established rates and procedures. He is very busy these days.

To get an idea of what the firm is all about, go to:

http://www.vanhallhealth.com/

-->Richards Butler

We are delighted that Richards Butler, the leading maritime law firm has subscribed.

http://www.richardsbutler.com/index.php

-->Lemle Kelleher

This well known law firm working in the rich and complex maritime community in New Orleans will be the first to list in After Office Hours And idea of the firm's range of interests can be found at:-

http://www.lemle.com

After Office Hours Subscription Rates

Basic Subscription £250
Silver Subscription £600

There is a Free 3 Month Trial Period
Register at:-
http://www.afterofficehours.com

This edition of Bow Wave finds your editor enjoying a bright but cool spring. Later on in the summer, travellers on the London Underground expect unusually warm conditions. The long range forecasters are calling a hot one. See item 6.

Item 5 below is very interesting. It describes a dumbed down future for the printed word. We wonder whether there would be any sense in trying to describe the marine and transport insurance world in 2014 following its transformation by new global market patterns and the adoption of decent IT?

Enjoy.

2. In the Wake--the views of Gray Page for May

-->From Mega to Mighty, or is it Gargantuan to Colossus?

As widely covered in the press in recent days, consolidation in the liner industry has taken a step forward with Maersk's US$2.9 billion offer for Anglo-Dutch container line P&O Nedlloyd. Lloyds List report this cash offer to be a 40% premium on P&O Nedlloyd's share price of the 9th May. Both companies confirm the offer, with P&O Nedlloyd's board recommending it to shareholders.

Consolidation in liner shipping is certainly not new and nor have recent examples shown it to be an easy process. Maersk knows this all too well having taken years to amalgamate the operations of Sea-Land under its umbrella, facing-down considerable hurdles in the process. Nobody thinks that merging the operations of P&O Nedlloyd will be straight-forward either. Whether integrating IT systems, keeping hold of the staff you want (and dealing with those you don't), avoiding anti-trust legislation and legal pit-falls, or just deciding on the branding for the merged business, the P&O Nedlloyd scenario is sure to be long and complex.

John Fredriksen is will stand to make a handsome profit from his 4.7% shareholding in P&O Nedlloyd. He may be disappointed at the timing of the reduction in his holding in the company, as only six months ago it stood at just below 10%. Never mind, we're sure he has more fish to fry.

Leaving the teething details aside, there is a significant possibility that the merger of these two giants will create such an enormous container line that the current mix of conference systems, alliances and slot arrangements may come under severe pressure, and possibly collapse altogether. How true this will be partly depends on the form the merger will take and the reactions of the other liner operators, particularly NYK, Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and MISC all of whom are members, alongside P&O Nedlloyd (its largest member), in the Grand Alliance. What happens to the Grand Alliance will most likely set-out the implications for the broader web of conferences around the world, and the fall-out could really change some parts of shipping as we know it.

With Maersk already a goliath amongst mega-carriers, just what should one dub the new entity that may emerge? Suggestions are welcome.

-->An Olympian Task?

An entrepreneurial spirit for shipping is an undoubted attribute of the Greeks that has made one of Europe's smaller nations an international force to be reckoned with in any sector of the maritime world. By comparison, when it comes to airlines the stories of Greece's international success is somewhat more limited. Take the example of Olympic Airlines, Greece's national carrier that has been labouring under considerable financial problems for some time. Its fate has been the subject of talks for many years, although the time for talking now appears to have run out as the Greek government makes a last effort to sell the company to private investors. A decision on the sale and Olympic's future is expected for June 2005.

The Greek government has made the development of tourism a major part of its strategy for growth. Tourism, which contributes around 15% of Greece's annual GDP, is second only to the contribution of the country's shipping portfolio. However, much of the tourism-related legislation introduced to lead this drive on growing and investing in tourism has targeted the construction and refurbishment of hotels, with little (if any) seeming to relate to transportation infrastructure. As a national flag carrier, some would say that Olympic Airlines should have a pivotal role to play.

So far Olympic has received 5 bids. These bids reportedly include Intro (the investment group that owns German low cost operator DBA), US-based Olympic Investors (backed by Greek-American equity investors), London's Klesch & Co. and Sure Estates, reportedly Dutch-backed. The shipping world does not miss out in this process as the last known bidder is Aegean Airlines, backed by the shipowning Laskaridis family.

All the bids are under scrutiny, although observers say that if none of the parties meets the government's requirements for Olympic (whatever they may be) then a closure of the airline is a real possibility. This latest attempt at privatisation is no less than the fifth effort in the last six years, a factor that further fuels the concerns for the fate of Olympic, should a sale not come through. In line with its drive on tourism, the Greek government would do well to see the marketing value that Olympic Airlines, and the famous 5 rings emblazoning its aircraft, can contribute.

-->Greek Bites

In early May, Stamatis Molaris's Marshall Islands registered Quintana Maritime notified the SEC of a US$300 million public offering ahead of its expected listing on the Nasdaq. This latest dry-bulk IPO is to fund the acquisition of eight Panamax bulkers. Quintana is already linked to the ownership of five Panamax bulkers bought by Blossom Maritime earlier this year for a reported US$160 million. Pundits indicate that Quintana has a view on the coal trades with strong backers from the industry.

Vafias-backed Stealthgas has been connected to the purchase of the Petredec LPG tankers Hamilton and Wetherby, as wel l as the Philippine-run Gas Eternity. Price indications range from US$9.5 million to US$11.5 million for each vessel.

Greek shipping company Aegean Cargo is reportedly to be fined US$6.6 million by the Greek authorities for breaching a ban on calls to Turkish-Cypriot ports following the early-May call to Famagusta of the Aegean Sun.

A new FFA and freight-derivatives trading company has been established in Bermuda, named Freight Trading Limited. Backed by Livanos and Nomikos interests, the trading activities of the company will be managed by Monte-Carlo based CC Maritime. Italian shipping group Coeclerici is also part of this venture, having sold CC Transport to Livanos interests in 2004, although Coeclerici is reported to be a minor participant.

http://www.graypagelimited.com

3. How do you Mean when you say Damage?

The speech of Michael Harvey, the outgoing Chairman of the Association of Average Adjusters, at the Association's AGM was entitled "A tale of blocked pipes, fly tipping, acid, Degas and an alcoholic beverage". He said that Average adjusters will be confronted with important issues as the hull insurance market continues its trend away from named perils and toward all risks coverage.

According to Harvey what constitutes physical damage is becoming an increasingly important issue in dealing with marine insurance claims. The definition of physical damage has been 'a running sore' for many years in relation to energy claims.

The issue at stake is 'what constitutes physical damage?' he said. 'Offshore energy policies have traditionally provided protection in respect of all risks of physical loss of or damage to the insured property.'This has lead to debates over the definition of physical damage covered by an all risks policy involving circumstances such as: · a piece of angle iron left inside a pipeline, or · a pipeline blocked by frozen or solidified product, or · a molecular change in structural steelwork as a result of stress, or · contaminated property.

Coverage is, of course, also dependent upon whether or not such physical damage, if correctly identified as such, was the result of an insured peril.

'So - what constitutes physical damage? An easy question you may think, but I would suggest that although many, in fact, probably the vast majority of instances of physical damage are clear cut, there are instances, such as those already mentioned, which sit on the dividing line,' Mr Harvey continued.

'The problem is that, in some instances, not even the elephant test can be applied - physical damage may not in every case be easily recognised. 'Take a blocked pipeline for example. A close visual external examination may well satisfy you that it is in perfect condition. However, does the fact that it is also perfectly useless for its intended purpose make any difference?' During his address to the Association, Mr Harvey considered the law on this point and suggested guidelines for consideration of the issue.

For a copy of the speech contact Bridget Hogan at:-

bridget_hogan@btinternet.com

4. European Port Directive-The Good or the Last Try ?

Peter-Carlo Lehrell has sent word in about this one day conference in Antwerp to be held on 20MAY05 and presided over by Professor Eric Van Hooydonk.

The brochure for the Conference says:

On 20 November 2003, the European Parliament rejected the first EU attempt to introduce a legal framework on market access to port services. Some greeted this decision with great relief; others were very much disappointed that, after a bumpy ride of almost three years through Parliament and Council, no concrete result was achieved.

Eleven months later, on 13 October 2004, the European Commission launched a new Directive proposal which seems to create even more opposition than the first one. Traditional adversaries of the initiative, such as trade unions, pilots and terminal operators, are joined in their criticism by port authorities and other stakeholders.

Is the second attempt doomed to fail again ? Or is it possible to turn the new proposal into a legislative tool which will actually help the port sector in meeting the challenges it is currently facing ?

Building on the know-how brought together at the seminar on the European legal regime of ports and port services held in December 2000, the European Institute of Maritime and Transport Law of the Antwerp University has taken the initiative, in co-operation with the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), to organise an international workshop analysing the new Directive proposal both from a legal and an economic perspective. The workshop brings together international academic and legal experts, representatives of the different European stakeholder organisations as well as EU policy makers and is the first dedicated event on the new attempt to regulate market access to port services in Europe.

For further details contact Mrs. Henriette Horoba at the University of Antwerp

henriette.horoba@ua.ac.be

5. The News is Dead--Long Live the News

Charles de Trenck writes:-

This is an interesting clip about the future of media (the implications are being taken seriously by media organisations), where news organizations are history and news is on demand and personalized. It takes about 8-10 minutes to watch. There may even be an investment idea in here.

The implications of this way of thinking for the the specialist shipping and transport trade press are plain enough, aren't they?

http://www.lightover.com/epic/

6. And Finally...

Frazer Hunt kindly supplied these

THINGS THAT HALLMARK CARDS DON'T SAY

My tire was thumping.
I thought it was flat
When I looked at the tire...
I noticed your cat.
Sorry!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heard your wife left you,
How upset you must be.
But don't fret about it...
She moved in with me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking back over the years
that we've been together,
I can't help but wonder...
"What the hell was I thinking?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations on your wedding day!
Too bad no one likes your husband.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How could two people as beautiful as you
have such an ugly baby?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've always wanted to have
someone to hold,
someone to love.
After having met you,
changed my mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the days go by, I think of how lucky I am...
That you're not here to ruin it for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations on your promotion.
Before you go...
Would you like to take this knife out of my back?

You'll probably need it again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy Birthday, Uncle Dad!
(Available only in New Zealand & Tasmania)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy birthday! You look great for your age.
Almost Lifelike!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we were together,
you always said you'd die for me.
Now that we've broken up,
I think it's time you kept your promise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We have been friends for a very long time ..
let's say we stop?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm so miserable without you
it's almost like you're here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations on your new bundle of joy.
Did you ever find out who the father was?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your friends and I wanted to do
something special for your birthday.
So we're having you put to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS

Many thanks to Paul Dixon for these:-

Here is a list of (alleged) actual announcements that London Tube train drivers have made to their passengers Very difficult to judge their veracity, but they sound true enough. It gets hot down there...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I do apologise for the delay to your service. I know you're all dying to get home, unless, of course, you happen to be married to my ex-wife, in which case you'll want to cross over to the Westbound and go in the opposite direction."

"Your delay this evening is caused by the line controller suffering from E & B syndrome, not knowing his elbow from his backside. I'll let you know any further information as soon as I'm given any."

"Do you want the good news first or the bad news? The good news is that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great time. The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere between Stratford and East Ham, which means we probably won't reach our destination."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for the delay, but there is a security alert at Victoria station and we are therefore stuck here for the foreseeable future, so let's take our minds off it and pass some time together. All together now....'Ten green bottles, hanging on a wall.....'."

"We are now travelling through Baker Street, as you can see Baker Street is closed. It would have been nice if they had actually told me, so I could tell you earlier, but no, they don't think about things like that."

"Beggars are operating on this train, please do NOT encourage these professional beggars; if you have any spare change, please give it to a registered charity, failing that, give it to me."

"Let the passengers off the train FIRST!" (Pause ...) "Oh go on then, stuff yourselves in like sardines, see if I care - I'm going home...."

"Please allow the doors to close. Try not to confuse this with 'Please hold the doors open'. The two are distinct and separate instructions."

"Please note that the beeping noise coming from the doors means that the doors are about to close. It does not mean throw yourself or your bags into the doors."

"We can't move off because some idiot has their hand stuck in the door."

"Please move all baggage away from the doors (Pause..) Please move ALL belongings away from the doors (Pause...) This is a personal message to the man in the brown suit wearing glasses at the rear of the train - put the pie down, four-eyes, and move your bloody golf clubs away from the door before I come down there and shove them up your arse sideways!"

"May I remind all passengers that there is strictly no smoking allowed on any part of the Underground. However, if you are smoking a joint, it's only fair that you pass it round the rest of the carriage."

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