BOW WAVE 361

Bow Wave Issue 361--Regulators' Retreat Edition

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

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Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2006 WavyLine.com	Issue No 361 23 Oct 06
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. Ports and Terminals Insurance Quickens Interest
3. International Marine Claims Conference
4. FSA turns back from Regulating Freight Forwarders
5. Ship Arrests--the Pattern
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

Map

A hill, a farm,
A forest, and a valley.
Half a hill plowed, half woods.
A forest valley and a valley field.

Sun passes over;
Two solstices a year
Cow in the pasture
Sometimes deer

A farmhouse built of wood.
A forest built on bones.
The high field, hawks
The low field, crows

Wren in the brambles
Frogs in the creek
Hot in summer
Cold in snow

The woods fade and pass.
The farm goes on.
The farm quits and fails
The woods creep down

Stocks fall you can't sell corn
Big frost and tree-mice starve
Who wins who cares?
The woods have time.
The farmer has heirs

Gary Snyder, from Left Out in the Rain

New Readers this week include:-

Brian Robinson,Technical Editor of Cargo Systems
Mark Ellis of NYK Line
Lillian Cheung
Julian Meindl of Kuehne & Nagel

News of Readers

Capt Jeff Carlisle-Dodd has been an avid Reader of Bow Wave for many years even when working in far flung offshore oil-related locations as a shipmaster and marine pilot ensured he missed many issues. However, he is now shorebased in Nigeria as a Fleet Manager for PhoenixTide and Marine Advisor for Chevron and has easy access to the internet.

Contact him at:-

captjcd@yahoo.co.uk

Reporter Jim Wilson is leaving Fairplay after two year's service under the Fairplay masthead. He will shortly be taking up a new position as deputy editor of a legal-focused title out in the Middle East.

Judy Crick is moving to pastures new, working for Lloyd's in the Underwriting and Business Plan Review Department of the Franchise Performance Board of Lloyd's. This team manages proposed syndicate pre-emptions (increase in capacity), reviews, approves and monitors syndicate performance and works with syndicates to improve underwriting performance. Lloyd's have created 4 new roles and sh has the one entitled "Marine and Energy Class of Business Executive".The role entails liaising with all the marine and energy class of business underwriters who underwrite in Lloyd's and discussing amongst other things, their business plans.

Contact her at:-

judy.crick@1stclasspost.com

Jeffrey Blum, Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers London Branch, invites all London Readers to a free seminar on 7th Floor of St Gregory Hotel, 100 Shoreditch High Street E1 on 25OCT06 at 17:30 for a joint Intertanko/Intercargo presentation on the 'Poseidon Challenge' and 'Current Ship Management Trends' .
ICS London Branch is also holding a fun Hallowe'en party on 31st October at Turnmills with live music and food (toe tapping and tapas) at £35 for the night. See the site for more details:-

http://www.icslondon.org.uk

AfterOfficeHours News

The latest edition of the Maritime Advocate online (Issue 275) can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

http://afterofficehours.com/news.php

Readers who would like to subscribe to this highly readable fraternal publication--which is edited by Chris Hewer and published free to Readers--should send an e-mail to:-

contactus@afterofficehours.com

The Maritime Advocate online archive

The publishers are proposing to create an archive for the Maritime Advocate which will provide an opportunity for a number of firms to demonstrate their expertise to our readership.

In addition to the back editions of the Maritime Advocate itself, there will be two central aspects to the archive:

1. To provide regular case-law updates on transport and insurance law from their particular jurisdiction. It is expected that a wide range of jurisdictions will form part of the case-note database.

2. To provide an overview of the transport law in each jurisdiction.

An example of this overview which has already been prepared for India by BJ Macfarlane & Co can be supplied.

In New Zealand, the firm of Wilson Harle has now agreed to be the sponsors for the country summary.

Each jurisdiction will only be represented by two sponsoring law firms. One will provide the case law updates. The other will provide the country summary. If you or your firm is interested in supplying these materials please contact the publishers at:

contactus@afterofficehours.com

Note from the Editor

The tides of regulation are shifting as the FSA thinks again in respect of freight forwarders. (see item 4) Good to see.

Enjoy!

2. Ports and Terminals Insurance Quickens Interest

It is remarkable how fashions in underwriting turn and turn again. We always think of the waterfront sectors as technically and financially demanding ones. The potential for things to go wrong in the port or terminal is rarely negligible and volatility can be very high. The scale of losses handed around the reinsurance market in recent years by one leading player does not seem to have dampened the ardour of companies contending for this sector. We learned this week that the ranks of the underwriting players for ports and terminals--established and wannabe--are to be swelled by the Watkins Syndicate at Lloyds. It is presumably the property premium which prompts such excitement, but your editor can recall with sadness, with the overview of decades, that absent some very efficient layings off and retrocessions, the gold seam in them thar hills is a good deal thinner than it might at first blush appear.

3. International Marine Claims Conference

Scott Farley writes:-

An interactive ship collision investigation scenario was among the highlights at the third International Marine Claims Conference in Dublin. A record total of 175 claims professionals from 20 different countries attended the annual event supported by the International Underwriting Association (IUA) and Lloyd’s Market Association.

To demonstrate the issues Captain John L. David and Captain Terry Ogg of Marine Professionals acted out a role play sketch in which two ships collide. Delegates then heard a number of experts present their investigations and were challenged to vote via electronic keypads on questions raised during the collision inquiry.

David Taylor, Special Advisor to the IUA, has performed the role of conference Chairman from the event's outset. Hehe International Marine Claims Conference has gone from strength to strength. This year the event was given the title CSI: Dublin. But rather than announcing a new television crime drama this referred to a fascinating and absorbing collision scene investigation.

"One of the features of the conference in previous years has been the enthusiastic level of audience participation. This was again very much in evidence and further enhanced through the use of electronic voting."

Other keynote speakers at the Dublin conference included Robin Middleton, the Secretary of State’s Representative in Salvage and Intervention at the Maritime Coastguard Agency and Deidre Littlefield, the newly elected President of the International Union of Marine Insurers (IUMI) who promised support and cooperation from IUMI for future Dublin claims conferences.

Reports were also delivered to the conference outlining important progress that has been made on the two key issues raised in previous years. In 2005 the concept of a ‘claims leader’s protocol’ was proposed to provide a voluntary guide on how the leader of a marine insurance contract communicates with other parties when handling a claim. Over the past 12 months an international sub committee of the conference has drawn up a draft document which was presented and discussed in Dublin. The protocol’s acceptability in various international markets will now be subject to further discussion.

A second key theme for the conference in the past has been the promotion of education and training initiatives for claims adjusters. An outline syllabus for an international marine claims diploma qualification has now been drawn up and after endorsement by delegates in Dublin will now be discussed with interested educational providers.

Theodore Papaioannu, Associate Director of Marine Hull Claims at SIAT, said: "I firmly believe that this conference is a 'must attend' for all hull claims practitioners. The level of presentations is always at the maximum and the added value represented by the gathering of almost 200 delegates from many different markets is priceless."

Another delegate, Brian Sales, Claims Manager at American Hull Insurance Syndicate, added: "The contacts made at the conference have been invaluable and serve to expand communication amongst world markets."

Plans for next year's International Marine Claims Conference in Dublin are already underway. The event is run by a voluntary organising committee consisting of Steve Hill, Senior Marine Adjuster at XL London Market, Ken Freeman, Claims Manager at SR BIshop, Simon Langridge, Manager Hull and Cargo Claims at Allianz Global Corp and Specialty and Gill Langford, Claims Director at Talbot Underwriting Ltd. For more information email:-

imcc_2007@yahoo.co.uk.

4. FSA turns back from Regulating Freight Forwarders

Ian Matheson writes:-

The UK's leading independent freight forwarder has welcomed the UK Government's decision (announced by Ed Balls, the Economic Secretary to the UK Treasury) to remove freight forwarders from the scope of FSA regulations covering marine or cargo insurance.

Davies Turner's joint managing director, Philip Stephenson commented: "We welcome the news that freight and logistics companies will no longer need authorisation from the Financial Services Authority to offer such insurance direct to customers.

"Anyone in the international trading environment who has followed the issue before and after January 14th 2005 will know that individual companies and trade or freight associations such as BIFA have lobbied long and hard to amend or simplify the implementation of the Insurance Mediation Directive. From the outset, Davies Turner shared the view that additional regulation was unnecessary as there weren't any significant consumer protection issues, and our industry should compete on a level playing field along with the rest of Europe.

"We were one of the first UK freight forwarders to register with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) before the new Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD) took effect on January 14th last year and have therefore been able to continue providing marine insurance cover for our customers.

"But the FSA registration process was not a simple one and significant costs have been involved, both in support of registration and its continued maintenance, including staff training.

"So we welcome the news that later this year there will be a short consultation paper on the change, along with draft secondary legislation that we hope will become law as soon as possible."

info@impresscommunications.org

5. Ship Arrests--the Pattern

Chris Hewer, the editor of our fraternal publication, writes:-

SOME European attorneys have reported a noticeable drop in the number of ship arrest appointments coming their way in the past couple of years. It is thought that fewer port calls, due to recent changes in European and international regulations relating to substandard vessels, and a newbuildings surge financed by booming freight rates, may be significant contributory factors. When trade is booming, owners, managers, operators and others don’t have so much trouble paying for their bunkers, club calls and port dues.

The maritime advocate online would be interested in hearing from readers who have views on the matter. Please write to:

editor@maritimeadvocate.com

6. And Finally...

Many thanks to Barbara Yeninas for this one:-

Abe and Esther are flying to Australia for a two-week vacation to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Suddenly, over the public address system, the Captain announces, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have some very bad news. Our engines have ceased functioning and we will attempt an emergency landing. Luckily, I see an uncharted island below us and we should be able to land on the beach. However, the odds are that we may never be rescued and will have to live on the island for the rest of our lives!"

Thanks to the skill of the flight crew, the plane lands safely on the island.

An hour later Abe turns to his wife and asks, "Esther, did we pay our $5,000 PBS pledge check yet?"

"No, sweetheart," she responds.

Abe, still shaken from the crash landing, then asks, "Esther, did we pay our American Express card yet?"

"Oh, no! I'm sorry. I forgot to send the check," she says.

"One last thing, Esther. Did you remember to send checks for the Visa and Master Card this month?" he asks.

"Oy, forgive me, Abie," begged Esther. "I didn't send that one, either."

Abe grabs her and gives her the biggest kiss in 40 years.

Esther pulls away and asks him, "So, why did you kiss me?"

Abe answers, "They'll find us!"

P.S. Anagrams from data man David Dobbings

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

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