BOW WAVE 295

Bow Wave Issue 295--Sailing On Edition

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

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(c)2000 WavyLine.com	Issue No 295 18 Jul 00
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. Quarterpoints for July
3. Jan Fallon Chairs Port Initiative
4. All Change at the "Kiperousa"
5. International P&I Seminar
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Verse of the Week

From Much Ado About Nothing
Act II Scene iii

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no more,
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leafy:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

William Shakespeare

New Readers this week include:

Paul Rodwell, Managing Director of James Fisher (Tankships) Ltd
R/I man Rod Gilbert
Greg Marcarelli of ConocoPhillips Shipping in Houston
Alexandra Lewis of Aon in the UK
Roberta Blumenshine

News of Readers

Larry Jacobson has joined the law firm of Houck, Hamilton & Anderson, PA as an associate attorney representing the interests of ship owners, operators and underwriters in the state of Florida.

Contact him at:-

ljacobson@houckhamilton.com.

Readers Write

From Richard Soloman

I would like to announce to my many friends and colleagues across the world that I have in effect "retired" from active senior management of Crawford & Company. Apparently there are legal reasons why this cannot be called "early retirement", as I technically continue to be employed--it is just that I have no role or responsibilities until my normal retirement which falls due in October, 2007.

As a former Head of Global Operations of THG, and thence a foundation member of the International Management Team of Crawford, and as such a major contributor to the development of Crawford's current extensive and unrivalled international platform, I have greatly enjoyed my formal working life with the company, however, it is time to move on.

I admit to being in my late 50s, and have served the Loss Adjusting industry for over 31 years, of which I have been employed by Crawford or its antecedents for almost 25 years.

My last role was based out of the UK, being the reorganisation of UK Technical Services management. On completion of this involvement, I recognised that I am approaching normal retirement age, and took the view that I did not wish to continue with the stress and strain of a full time senior management function right to the end.

I have climbed my ladder, enjoyed the view, and am now looking forward to enjoying the fruits of my labours. I shall retain an interest in the Claims world, and am considering a couple of Consultancies, however, for the moment I am truly a man of leisure -- and it is just great!

contact Richard at:

richardsolomon@easynet.co.uk

AfterOfficeHours News

The latest firm to sign up to the new on-line emergency directory of services providers is Houston attornies:

Eastham, Watson, Dale & Forney, L.L.P.

http://www.easthamlaw.com/

AfterOfficeHours Subscription Rates

Basic Subscription £250
Silver Subscription £600
Private Directory £tba

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

Greetings from sunny Britain, which has spent the week coming to terms with the idea that even local lads can be recruited to be highly motivated terrorists. Stupid of them and their masters all the same as we watch all manner of welcome mats being taken inside the door.

Your editor cast worldly cares aside on Friday last to sail as a highly sun roasted guest on board Mike Steven's "Marinero", which he calls "A Boat for All Seasons"

http://www.marinerocharters.co.uk/

Enjoy.

2. Quarterpoints for July

Your editor's recent column in Lloyd's List ponders the question whether the works of the terrorist form a background to a certain kind of life...

Regularly too close for comfort?

The latest bombings in London for a short time at least has thawed the customary reserve of Londoners. Instead of commenting on the weather, people ask each other where they were at the time of the blasts. So far as I can tell, noone in the marine/transport world figures in the list of the victims, a list which amply reflects the great diversity of London and its ever changing population. But all this talk of terrorist bombs and terrorist bombers has prompted me to examine how they have figured in my life. It is a life whose 50 years have so far been spent in peacetime, in prosperity, in a civilian white collar occupation mostly concerned with liability laws, financial settlements and computing. And yet the work of the terrorists has been something of a theme. It is even possible to chart this life between the episodes which came a bit too close for comfort. Is this kind of thing an inevitable part of a metropolitan life working in a major financial district?

The first brush with the armed zealot is second hand. Parents based in Tehran fly out on a US Government provided evacuation flight--they rendezvous at the American embassy on Takte Jamshid--they notice that armed revolutionary guards are already inside the embassy grounds.

The next is a proxy as well but a pretty grisly one. A family friend , a young career diplomat, is in a car in the Hague which is strafed by IRA gunmen at close quarters. She escapes uninjured. The ambassador with her is killed.

The closest the IRA get to me is the Baltic Bomb. My office in the TT Club is at the back of the Exchange in Holland House. The office is wrecked but salvageable. The first relief is that noone is hurt, the next is that the IT system has survived. I am tired and hungover from the election night party I attended the day before. So I am dozing in my flat in the Barbican and wake to get a bird’s eye view of the plume of smoke and debris which goes up in St Mary Axe. The next few days are spent in the weird exclusion zone established in the City which keeps everyone else out.

A rerun (with less damage for our office) comes with the Bishopsgate Bomb. I am out shopping with my daughter in Safeways in White Cross Street. There is a dull thud. All the windows suddenly flex. The first word is that there has been a bomb in Moorgate--but it soon emerges that the bomb blast travelling down the tunnel has led to this confused assumption.

Later on the staggeringly effective WTC attack causes the insurance industry to wince and twist--many planning parties convene to discuss whether they can survive the incident and remain solvent. The insurance industry as a whole gushed solvency and has yet to recover its rating status in most cases. But it survived pretty well the immediate aftermath. I had the misfortune of planning the launch of a new insurance product for ports and terminals on 11 September 2001. The launch was put back.

The latest series of bombings were very much aimed at the commuting classes in central London in general and with Aldgate one of the targets,the financial services industry in particular. On my way up to the City from my place on the Isle of Wight,I turn around at Petersfield. The train I get back to Portsmouth already has one shaken man on board who was near one of the blasts. The first announcements have been saying that the whole underground system is closed due to a power surge.

Terrorism operates and operates well on the plane of mass psychology, seeking with ruthlessness and disregard for life, to impress and dishearten the society or societies concerned and undermine the confidence of people and markets. Yet to kill and destroy on this level is not a great attainment in the annals of mankind and in strategic terms it is pretty sterile and uninfluential.

For individuals who are injured or killed, a malign force has violated their lives like a force of nature. For the rest of us, we are unwilling witnesses to a grisly publicity stunt. For those who are behind this kind of thing in the modern age, they are rogues, a kind of land based pirate--liable to erupt with violence at unpredictable times. Even when they later attain lives of comparative political respectability they deservedly retain the attributes of the pariah.

But as regular as these things become in modern life and as far from perfect is the world of globalised markets and unequal wealth, we will always go to work in the financial industries confident in the knowledge that the practice of non-violence and the instinctive preference for civil peace is the surer way into a decent future.

3. Jan Fallon Chairs Port Initiative

The Port of Wokington has sent in the following release:

Marine lawyer Janet Fallon has been chosen to chair a new organisation that aims to transform the fortunes of the Port of Workington.

The 12-strong Workington Harbour Board, which met for the first time recently, comprises representatives of a number of organisations, including Cumbria County Council, the port’s owners.

It also features representatives from Allerdale Borough Council, West Lakes Renaissance (the Urban Regeneration Company for West Cumbria and Furness) and the private sector.

Its primary role is to produce a masterplan for the port’s development and seek funding to improve its infrastructure, both for commercial and leisure-related activities.

Mrs Fallon is a former underwriter in the City of London (ex TT Club actually--ed) whose area of expertise included ports and docks, mainly in Canada and North America.

She retrained as a lawyer, qualifying as a solicitor in 1996. Since then, she has worked in private practice in Liverpool and also spent five years as in-house lawyer for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company before moving to South Cumbria.

She said: "Our vision is to invest in the infrastructure of the port so that we can develop the commercial side, attract new customers, support local industry and also diversify into leisure and marina facilities.

Longer term, we would hope to attract cruise liners providing the necessary investment can be secured."

At its inaugural meeting, the board drew up an action plan that included the appointment of a Development Manager, whose role it would be to carry out extensive marketing on behalf of the port.

Two joint Vice Chairs were also appointed, Coun. Tim Stoddard, Leader of Cumbria County Council, and Coun. Jim Musgrave, Leader of Allerdale Borough Council.

Coun. Stoddard said: "The Port of Workington is a vital resource for the future social and economic growth of the whole of Cumbria, but in particular Workington.

"I am sure Janet Fallon, the Chairman, will take the successful partnership with Allerdale and West Lakes to new areas of activity which will ensure the port's future."

Contact Jan at:-

janet.fallon@Weightmans.com

4. All Change at the "Kiperousa"

This story appears courtesy of of FTNews / Cargo Info Africa

New plan to free grounded bulker

The hitherto unsuccessful attempt to free the 14 921 ton bulk carrier "Kiperousa" from her reefer perch off Bhega, near Hamburg in the Eastern Cape, was lent a fresh impetus last week after a series of misfortunes - damaged salvage tugs, inclement weather and the like - with the arrival of a "Goliath" helicopter.

The Russian-manufactured M126 'chopper', one of a pair based in Uganda and chartered by Greek salvage company Tsavrilis, is capable of lifting 20 tonnes and tasked with removing the Kiperousa's cargo, 6 000 tonnes of huge West African logs, enabling the lightened vessel to come free.

5. International P&I Seminar

A small mention for the upcoming conference on P&I to be held on 21-23 September this year in London organised by Lloyd's Maritime Academy who have kindly invited your editor to give an overview of current issues. To download a brochure click here:-

http://www.lloydsmaritimeacademy.com/lm1681

6. And Finally...

Thanks to Andy Maisey for this one:

A magician was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The audience would be different each week so the magician allowed himself to do the same tricks over and over again. There was only one problem: the captain's parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the magician did every trick. Once he understood he started shouting in the middle of the show: "Look, it's not the same hat" . "Look, he is hiding the flowers under the table". "Hey, why are all these cards the Ace of Spades?" The magician was furious but couldn't do anything; it was, after all, the captain's parrot. One day the ship had an accident and sank. The magician found himself on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean with the parrot, of course! They stared at each other with hate, but did not utter a word. this went on for a day and another and another. After a week the parrot said: "OK, I give up. Where's the boat?"

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