BOW WAVE 328

Bow Wave Issue 328--Foreigners Edition

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2006 WavyLine.com	Issue No 328 06 Mar 06
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. The Month of February 2006 in Marine
3. ILO Maritime Labour Convention and ICMA
4. Cement Charter Update
5. Dubai Ports World and the USA
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room

Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room;
and hermits are contented with their cells;
and students with their pensive citadels;
maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom,
sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom,
high as the highest Peak of Furness-fells,
will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells:
in truth the prison, into which we doom
ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me,
in sundry moods, 'twas pastime to be bound
within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground;
pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be)
who have felt the weight of too much liberty,
should find brief solace there, as I have found.

William Wordsworth

New Readers this week include:-

Tanya Conyers-Silverthorn, Administrator at Lloyd's Agency Department
Marine Liability Underwriter Nicola Dawson of the AIG Aviation
Claims man Henry Tours in South Africa
Thomas Stevens of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary in Singapore

Readers Write

Phil Pearce writes:-

Your reference to the role of retirees in the ownership of Club management companies (Bow Wave Issue 237) puts me in mind of P&O and Brittany Ferries.

Both seem to think that by keeping prices high for the cross channel holiday makers they can stay in competition...

As a cross channel user I always go the long way around via Speedferry...Why, because I refuse to pay their prices.For every one guy I know who uses them
--reluctantly--I know a further 10 users who DO NOT and WILL NOT pay their prices. Not that we do not wish to go to France/Spain on holiday but we cannot and will not pay over £400 plus just for the journey. I go via Dover on Speedferry, building the extra miles into the
holiday and pay a sensible rate to cross the channel.

If only the "BIG", boys would listen to the people they would be increasing numbers of ships they run rather than casting the ships off half empty.

(Phil Pearce runs the "Help desk" at Midlands and Western region for the (British) Road Haulage Association (RHA) dealing with the thousand and one questions from members in relation to anything and everything)

Contact him at:-

p.pearce@rha.net

Note from the Editor

Rather a long edition this week, but with plenty of food for thought.

Enjoy.

2. The Month of February 2006 in Marine

Dear Mariners,

Mario Ciancarelli writes:-

D-Day + 32 after Walter hit the shoreline of retirement and eternal happiness. Before leaving the office he grabbed his few belongings (incl. a Witherby) and stuffed the whole lot in his dodgy-non-executive-brown-Doctor Zhivago briefcase for the last high security check out. Definitely a sight to remember. As far as my person is concerned I would t end to agree with most of what Walter said except the perfect cast in a Francis Ford Coppola movie. If I really had that glint in my eyes I wouldn't be here trying to resolve ensnared Marine related issues. This is why, as Walter's "consigliere", I graciously accepted to continue with the tradition and I will do the utmost to live up to the high expectations.

On a different note: A last thank you to Walter's efforts, commitment and indefatigable drive demonstrated to "his line of business Marine" during all these years at Swiss Re. He was not only a true mentor to many of us but also a safe port of call where one could always drop the anchor before set sail for the next turbulent sea crossing. Thanks Walter and God bless you.

The highlights of this month:-

-->Swiss Re cutting-edge: Closed first ever credit reinsurance securitisation deal.

-->Allianz showing commitment to issue Sharia law-compliant policies in Indonesia.

-->Top Scandinavian hull underwriter rebuts accusation that rate pressure on hull is coming from Scandinavia. Apparently, the culprit is new capacity rather than aggression on rates of existing players.

-->Financial analysts suggest: Reinsurance is out of step with the wider economy - inherently counter-cyclical - and thus, by definition, not a systematic risk. Transparency is looming!

-->Hong Kong port not the busiest harbour anymore with 22.4M. TEU (+2% compared to 2004) handled in 2005.

-->Some maths: Do increasing/decreasing freight rates correlate to a specific PA or total loss pattern of a vessel?

-->Bird Flu has the potential to develop to the 14th century black death.Implications for Marine? Something to consider!

-->Is the good old subscription market in London gone? The Lloyd's brand is strong but without a good product and economically viable as well as competitive business processes the brand goes eventually too says a Lloyd's insider.

-->Getting rid of "Clemenceau" will not be as easy as one might have thought. Its ultimate scrapping will culminate in new scrapping procedures both in terms of quality and safety.

-->IACS: New common structural rules in force as per 2006 for tankers and dry bulk vessels aiming at making these vessels robuster and safer.Lloyds keen in Asian business.

-->The growth forecast in Marine Cargo is expected to grow from USD940 million in 2005 to USD1.15 billion in 2007!

-->QUOTE OF THE MONTH: None....yet.

-->A new book by Merrel Publishers is out telling the compelling story of the Gherkin, 30 St Mary Axe, London.

-->Italians do it better?! Siba Ships to run the biggest livestock carrier with the following capacities: 120,000 sheep and 25,000 cattle.

-->"Ece" 1988 built Chemical Tanker goes belly up after a collision with the Bulk Carrier "General Grot-Rowecki" in the English Channel.

-->"Al Salaam Boccaccio 98" a 35 years old passenger/ro ro ship insured in the London market sinks off the coast of Egypt carrying roughly 1,300 passengers; and there was enough equipment around to save all on board! RINA to provide full details of last survey.

-->Caribbean Cruises to invest in the biggest cruise ship in the world.Project Name: Genesis. Worth USD1.1bn, 360 meter long, beam of 60m and can accommodate up to 5,400 passengers. Amazing.

-->IMB (International Maritime Bureau) report shows piracy attacks on a record low from 329 in 2004 to 275 in 2005 due to affected governments being more proactive in patrolling and shipmasters taking anti-piracy watches more seriously.

-->Will the economies of scales also hit the classification societies? Suggestions are made to join forces in R&D and to take advantages of certain synergies.

-->The famous John Charman to quit Axis in 2008 because of divorce and apparent fight over a £65mio. "dynastic" trust fund. It goes to show:It's all about contract certainty!

-->P & I renewal: Shipowners might have to dig into their pockets towards Group Reinsurance cover.

-->"APL Panama" going for a sun tan on the beach of Ensenada, Mexico. Watch the pictures:
http://www.cargolaw.com/2006nightmare_apl_panama2.html#current-day

-->Widespread view in the reinsurance industry after the 01JAN06 renewal: Cedants are retaining more business and use excess-of-loss reinsurance due to increased risk management tools becoming more sophisticated.

-->First time ever: Academic study by the European Commission's collaborative research project on tanker accidents and the age/type of hulls involved.

-->Emerging market with submerged Marine rates: First indication on the Indian Reinsurance renewal suggests no hardening of reinsurance rates.

-->Reverse picture: US lawyers and politicians object to Dubai based DP World buying P&O assets on US soil for $6.9bn.

-->QM2: Class action lawsuit by upset passengers to be dropped after the cruise liner missed three port stops after a propeller damage.

-->The Institute Time Clauses - Hulls 1995 are still not very popular among shipowners. A recent survey shows the following figures in terms of utilization for 2005: ITCH-1983 = 45.6% vs ITCH-1995 = 7.1%.

Any opinion expressed in this newsletter should be regarded as the personal opinion of Mario Ciancarelli and not one made in his capacity as an employee of Swiss Re and any such opinion is not the opinion of Swiss Re, of any of its affiliated companies or of any of its officers or employees. Accordingly, Swiss Re hereby expressly disclaims any liability, loss, cost or expenses arising directly or indirectly from the content or expression of views of this newsletter or of other Websites to which this newsletter may provide a link.

3. ILO Maritime Labour Convention and ICMA

Dr. Jürgen R.A. Kanz, the General Secretary of the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) writes:-

The International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Conference, attended by more than 970 delegates from 106 counties, on 23FEB06 voted to adopt a new comprehensive maritime labour convention. The new convention, entitled the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, consolidates more than 65 international maritime labour instruments that had been adopted by the International Labour Organization over the past 80 years. Today’s vote culminates five years of effort by governments, ship owners’ organizations, labour organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Popularly called "the Seafarers’ Bill of Rights" and "the Seafarers’ Magna Carta", the Convention sets international standards on a wide range of seafarers’ rights including medical care, welfare facilities, food, accommodation, safety, minimum age, recruitment, repatriation, hours of work and other crucial seafarers’ concerns. It is intended to be the fourth regulatory pillar of fundamental maritime standards joining the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers (STCW).

With its 526 seafarers’ centres and 927 chaplains, the 27 ICMA member associations provide the most of the world’s shore side seafarers’ welfare facilities and services. ICMA helped develop the new Convention as an accredited ILO non-governmental organization. ICMA’s Standing Delegation to the International Labour Organization shared ICMA’s vast experience and knowledge of seafarers’ issues with ILO member governments, ship owners and trade unions throughout the five year process of preparing the Convention.

According to the ICMA delegation’s chair and maritime attorney Douglas Stevenson: "This Convention is the most significant accomplishment ever in seafarers’ rights law. For the first time in the long history of seafarers’ rights - rights that have evolved piecemeal over the centuries - the Convention codifies in one comprehensive instrument, customary seafarers’ legal protections as well as those more recently legislated."

"Adopting the Convention was a major accomplishment, but it was only the first step," said the ICMA delegation’s vice chair Ken Peters. "We must now devote our energies to ensuring that the Convention’s promise to seafarers is fulfilled by encouraging maritime nations to ratify and implement the Convention."

* * *

The International Christian Maritime Association is a free association of 27 Christian non-profit organizations engaged in welfare work for seafarers who include those working on merchant, fishing and passenger vessels.

These 27 organizations represent different Christian Churches and Christian communities. Each member
keeps its independence and autonomy. ICMA was founded in 1969 to encourage ecumenical collaboration and mutual assistance between these different organizations on the local port level as well as on the national and international levels.

In a fragmented and divided society, ICMA’s mission is to promote unity, peace and tolerance. ICMA chaplains and volunteers serve seafarers, fishers and their dependents without regard to their nationality, religion, culture language, sex or race. ICMA’s Standing Delegation to the International Labour Organization is comprised of Mr. Douglas Stevenson from the Seamen’s Church Institute of NY & NJ (chair), The Rev. Canon Ken Peters from the Missions to Seafarers (vice chair), Commodore Christopher York from the United Kingdom Apostleship of the Sea, Mr. Domingo Gonzales from the Spanish Apostleship of the Sea and the Rev. Jaakko Laasio from the Finnish Seamen’s Mission.

For additional information, contact:-

Douglasschurch.org)
Canoniontoseafarers.org) ortconnect.com)

4. Cement Charter Update

Grant Hunter the Head of BIMCO's Documentary Department writes:-

At a meeting held at BIMCO House on 16 February, the team of cement trade specialists working on the revision of CEMENTVOY made good progress in restructuring the form to reflect current trade practice.

The team, consisting of representatives from shipowners Klaveness and Norden, charterers H C Trading, brokers Alfra Chartering and P&I Club Skuld, are focusing their efforts on streamlining CEMENTVOY to separate the provisions common to all types of cement carrier from those that apply specifically to conventional bulk carriers and specialised/pnuematic cement carriers.

A more detailed Annex will provide vessel and terminal details based on vessel type. The key operational clauses are being reviewed and revised to improve clarity and remove ambiguity.

The target date for the completion of the revised CEMENTVOY is November 2006 when the finalised draft will be presented to BIMCO's Documentary Committee for adoption.

Contact Grant at:-

gh@bimco.org

5. Dubai Ports World and the USA

The lastest edition of the CargoLaw e-zine, published by our good friends at Countryman and McDaniel, cargo attornies in LAX, contains the following--very sensible--top story:-

Any U.S. Port In A Storm ........ as Dubai Ports World's Feb. 24, announcement of a voluntary 45 day cooling off period in which it will proceed to close its acquisition of Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation Co. on March 2 without taking operational control of U.S. facilities is a "fraud" that doesn't change anything, said an attorney representing the Miami-based company that has filed suit to force P&O to sell its U.S.
terminals & port services to domestic companies. In an attempt to lower the temperature of the controversy surrounding the sale, DP World said it would proceed to take over the British port operator in its entirety, but refrain from exercising management control over U.S. operations to give the Bush administration, Congress and states governments time to sort out disagreements over regulatory approval of the sale. Critics have said that giving the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part, access to vulnerable ports raises the risk of terrorism. DP World officials have previously made clear that they intend to keep British & American managers in place to run the company.

The Dubai company said it will keep the U.S. terminals, including New York-New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans, under P&O management while it consults with the Bush administration, Congress. "In practice, this will mean that DP World will not exercise control over, or otherwise influence the management of, P&O's U.S. operations pending the outcome of these further discussions," DP World
said. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Feb. 23, Stewart Baker, the Dept. of Homeland
Security's assistant secretary for policy & Int'l affairs, confirmed that DP World will keep the
structure of the P&O Ports North America Inc. in
place, meaning that P&O Ports would operate as a
U.S. subsidiary. "DP World has been working for many years with U.S. Customs, Navy & other U.S.
security officials at its ports in Dubai to ensure the protection of the U.S. We are highly respected for the efficiency and integrity of our operations," said Ted Bilkey, DP World's COO (an American).
"The reaction in the U.S. has occurred in no other country in the world. We need to understand the
concerns of the people in the U.S. who are worried about this transaction and make sure that they are addressed to the benefit of all parties. Security is everybody's business," he added.

Criticism of the proposed port investment by a sheikdom in the United Arab Emirates has centered on concerns that a foreign government could manage U.S. marine facilities as an instrument of foreign policy to aid a terrorist attack on the U.S. But in the eyes of some the real problem is foreign companies of any type controlling terminals they believe should be reserved for American businesses. The current debate has focused on P&O's container terminals located in 6 major ports: New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami & New Orleans. But P&O Ports North America actually operates at least 20 facilities in U.S. ports handling bulk, breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off cargo in places such as Port Arthur and Freeport, Texas; Baton Rouge, La.; and Gulfport, Miss. P&O also handles containers at the Port of Houston and has a container joint venture in Norfolk, Va. In Jan., P&O signed a long-term lease to operate terminal at the Port of Tampa, including the recently completed Hooker
Container Terminal. The deal was made possible
after a U.S. company, Seattle-based SSA Marine,
agreed to terminate its concession agreement for terminal space & stevedoring services, according to the Tampa Port Authority. P&O recently renewed a contract with the Defense Dept. to load & unload military equipment at the ports of Beaumont & Corpus Christi, Texas. All those operations would turn over to DP World once the sale is finalized. Industry experts estimate that up to 70% of U.S. marine
terminals are operated by companies from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Denmark, Singapore, China & other countries.

Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fla., has announced his intention to introduce legislation aimed at preventing foreign entities from operating U.S. seaports. Shaw's approach is favored by the Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters and Eller & Co. Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based cargo handling company that has a 50% share of operations with P&O at the Port of Miami's main public terminal. The Teamsters, which has tried without much success to organize independent port drivers who shuttle containers on & off the docks to warehouses for
distribution throughout the country, called on Congress to block the P&O sale to DP World because of the "increased security threat of opening our nation's ports to the UAE." Opponents of the sale say that the UAE served as operational & financial base for some of the Sept. 11, 2001 attackers, even though the Defense & State departments have emphasized
that the Persian Gulf nation is a major ally in
combating terrorism and supporting U.S. military
forces in the region. North America only represents about 10% of P&O's business, which means it wouldn't hurt DP World to leave the U.S. facilities behind.

Partially lost in all the commotion about a foreign government-owned company acquiring the right to operate portions of several U.S. ports is the fact that
Americans account for a sizable portion of the
management team at Dubai Ports World .... or that 13 of 14 terminals at Port of Los Angeles are foreign operated.

As security concerns were being raised on Capitol Hill, P&O Ports announced it had signed a contract with the U.S. Surface Deployment & Distribution Command to provide stevedoring of military equipment at the Port of Beaumont and the Port of Corpus Christi. The contract continues a relationship P&O has had since 1989.

http://www.cargolaw.com

(Your editor spent a goodly part of his 30s and 40s meeting the foriegn owners of terminals located in the United States. Whether or not DWP could easily dispense with its US operations without great loss may be arguable but we can be sure the insurance underwriters would benefit from any such proposition)

Many Categories and Reasonable Weekly Rates. You Can Use these pages to reach people in the Bow Wave Community

Among the ads in this weeks classifieds Readers will find:

Seeking Pastures New--Odile Plegat--Look in CVs
Green Mountain Coffee Mail Order--Look in Food and Drink
A Night out with the Blues Burglars--Look in Sounds
Tangerine Homes for Expat Bliss--Look in Real Estate
Pipework Monitoring Technology--Look in Equipment
Distance Learning for Ship Agents--Look in Training
PC Maritime's Navmaster ECDIS--Look in IT Software
Your Communications Cuts Your Call Costs--Look in Phones

Go to:-

http://www.wavyline.com/ads

6. And Finally...

Thanks to Frazer Hunt in Sydney for these boom booms

1. Two blondes walk into a building.......... you'd think at least one of them would have seen it.

2. Phone answering machine message - "...If you want to buy marijuana, press the hash key..."

3. A guy walks into the psychiatrist wearing only Clingfilm for shorts. The shrink says, "Well, I can clearly see you're nuts."

4. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.

5. I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf. He said, "No, the steaks are too high."

6. My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant pulled him in.

7. A man came round in hospital after a serious accident . He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!" The doctor replied "I know you can't, I've cut your arms off".

8. I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a muscle.

9. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly. They lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it.

10.Our ice cream man was found lying on the floor of his van covered with hundreds and thousands. Police say that he topped himself.

11.Man goes to the doctor, with a strawberry growing out of his head. Doc says "I'll give you some cream to put on it."

12.'Doc I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home' "That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. 'Is it common?' "It's not unusual."

13.A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet. "My dog is cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?" "Well," said the vet, "let's have a look at him" So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then he checks his teeth. Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down." "What? Because he's cross-eyed?" "No, because he's really heavy".

14.Two elephants walk off a cliff...boom, boom!

15.What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

16.So I was getting into my car, and this bloke says to me "Can you give me a lift?" I said "Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it.'

17.Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. There are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my Dad, or my older Brother Colin, or my younger Brother Ho-Cha-Chu? But I think its Colin.

18.Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other "Your round." The other one says "So are you, you fat bast**d!"

19.Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, and the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off.

20."You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.' So that was nice."

21.A man walked into the doctors, he said, "I've hurt my arm in several places" The doctor said, "Well don't go there anymore"

22.Ireland's worst air disaster occurred early this morning when a small two-seater Cessna plane crashed into a cemetery. Irish search and rescue workers have recovered 1826 bodies so far and expect that number to climb as digging continues into the night

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