BOW WAVE 626

Bow Wave Issue 626--Small but Global Edition

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

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(c)2012 WavyLine.com	Issue No 626 05 Feb 12
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
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In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. QBE v. Dymoke and Others
3. China Media Platform Launched
4. Do EU Law-Makers Understand P&I?
5. New IUA Newsletter
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Poem of the Week

Nick Elliott of ISS writes:-

3rd February marks the 201st anniversary of the first lighting of the Bell Rock Lighthouse and the first anniversary of our celebrations out at the Rock and in Edinburgh last year to mark the 200th. We take our name from the Inchcape Reef as I’m sure you know -- but see this link to learn about our Lighthouse Relay Voyage that was launched out there last year and has to date raised over $75,000 for charities in the countries where we do business:-

http://www.iss-shipping.com/ISS-Lighthouse-Relay-Voyage.aspx

The rock is called Bell Rock because of a 14th century attempt by the abbot from Arbroath ("Aberbrothock") to install a warning bell on it. It was removed by a Dutch pirate who then perished a year later on the same rocks. This story is immortalised in "The Inchcape Rock" (1820) which is reproduced below:-

The Inchcape Rock

No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The Ship was still as she could be;
Her sails from heaven received no motion,
Her keel was steady in the ocean.

Without either sign or sound of their shock,
The waves flow’d over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell,
They did not move the Inchcape Bell.

The Abbot of Aberbrothok
Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock;
On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,
And over the waves its warning rung.

When the Rock was hid by the surge’s swell,
The Mariners heard the warning Bell;
And then they knew the perilous Rock,
And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok

The Sun in the heaven was shining gay,
All things were joyful on that day;
The sea-birds scream’d as they wheel’d round,
And there was joyaunce in their sound.

The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen
A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover walk’d his deck,
And fix’d his eye on the darker speck.

He felt the cheering power of spring,
It made him whistle, it made him sing;
His heart was mirthful to excess,
But the Rover’s mirth was wickedness.

His eye was on the Inchcape Float;
Quoth he, "My men, put out the boat,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I’ll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok."

The boat is lower’d, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,
And he cut the bell from the Inchcape Float.

Down sank the Bell with a gurgling sound,
The bubbles rose and burst around;
Quoth Sir Ralph, "The next who comes to the Rock, Won’t bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok."

Sir Ralph the Rover sail’d away,
He scour’d the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plunder’d store,
He steers his course for Scotland’s shore.

So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky,
They cannot see the sun on high;
The wind hath blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away.

On the deck the Rover takes his stand,
So dark it is they see no land.
Quoth Sir Ralph, "It will be lighter soon,
For there is the dawn of the rising Moon."

"Canst hear," said one, "the breakers roar?
For methinks we should be near the shore."
"Now, where we are I cannot tell,
But I wish we could hear the Inchcape Bell."

They hear no sound, the swell is strong,
Though the wind hath fallen they drift along;
Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,
"Oh Christ! It is the Inchcape Rock!"

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,
He curst himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.

But even is his dying fear,
One dreadful sound could the Rover hear;
A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell,
The Devil below was ringing his knell.

Robert Southey (1820)

New Readers this week include:-

Anna Kountouriotou--Maritime Lawyer in Athens
Alexander Mackey of lawyers Wallmans in Adelaide
Chris Hall of the American Club

Note from the Editor

Greetings. The field of activities covered in Bow Wave never seems to want for items of interest. Item 2 refers.

Enjoy!

2. QBE v. Dymoke and Others

In the annals of P&I there has been nothing quite like the litigation between QBE and its former employees working for British Marine.

The link below is to the full Judgment by Justice Haddon-Cave which casts a strong light onto the world of small ships P&I, the plan by Dymoke and others to set up a rival venture to British Marine and the steps preparatory to this goal.

You could construct a very good play around the human dimensions of this unhappy story. The deceptions of the plotters, the partial sightedness of the bystanders, the wavering of loyalties, the narrow calculations of the interested individuals, the want of vigilance and fiduciary rigour of senior figures, the unhappiness of a small historic unit of the marine insurance world incorporated into the tender corporate mercies of a very large insurance organisation.

There cannot be many judgments in the English law reports which feature the organograms of a company as well as the team sheets for a rival venture. Only a few lines of the judgment even mention Robert Johnson, the Chairman of British Marine (now retired). A little more space is devoted to Colin O'Farrell, whose evidence the Judge much preferred.

How will all this appear to the small ship clients of British Marine? They have appeared to go along with equanimity to the demutualisation of the old British Marine Club, to the subsequent acquisition of the unit by QBE and to its incorporation into a large London market insurance operation. But the story of British Marine since all the changes does not seem on the reading of this judgment to be much of a testimonial to the winning virtues of demutualisation. The forthcoming P&I renewal reports will no doubt be carefully scanned for signs.

Read the Judgment here:-

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2012/80.html

3. China Media Platform Launched

Sam Chambers writes from Dalian:-

Every year I would guess I receive at least 20-plus inquiries from shipping companies and PR firms asking me for the leading shipping related newspapers and magazines in China. As East Asia Editor for Lloyd's List and Seatrade for the past 12 years I have been in a position to furnish people with the information they needed but have always felt there has never been the ideal vehicle for reporting the China shipping scene.

SinoShip has been launched this year with my business partner and long-term colleague Grant Rowles. We are creating a hub for all things China maritime -- whether it be hard copy, online, data or niche events.

We have developed a network of correspondents in Dalian, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taipei that are unmatched in the maritime media world and should add someone in Guangzhou shortly.

SinoShip’s unique business model ensures it'll be the perfect vehicle for outward-bound promotion by Chinese firms as well as inward bound marketing for international firms. All members of the China Shipowners’ Association and the China National Association of Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) will receive our dual language publication free of charge, as will ordinary members of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association. Indeed, any Chinese firm will be able to receive this publication free. Overseas firms have to subscribe.

We will guarantee that the quarterly publication (due to go bi-monthly in 2013) is heavily distributed at all the leading shows around the world. We are negotiating a number of SinoShip conferences at top global exhibitions as well as a series of business breakfasts related to various aspects of Chinese shipping such as finance or logistics.

In addition there will be a daily news website (free of charge) in English and Chinese launching end-March while perhaps the thing I am most excited about is the development of the SinoShip Indices. This unique data will come for an additional subscription fee within a fortnightly newsletter and will be vital for those wanting to understand where the Chinese economy and by extension global shipping is headed.

Find out more at:-

http://www.sinoship.org

4. Do EU Law-Makers Understand P&I?

Justin Stares who is the editor of maritimewatch.eu writes:-

Do European Union law-makers understand the principles of P&I liability cover? To judge by the latest round of Iran sanctions, they don't.

Shipowners lobbied the European External Acton Service prior to the publication of January's Iranian crude oil embargo in the hope of preventing what one lobbyist called "something stupid" from appearing in the final text. The EU nevertheless outlawed all insurance cover for tankers carrying Iranian crude, not only between Iran and the EU but also from Iran non-EU countries.

Outlawing hull and machinery cover is to a certain extent understandable, as it targets shipowners. The crude embargo itself will no doubt hurt the Iranian regime.

But P&I liability cover is designed to compensate the innocent victims of an oil spill. By including liability cover within the scope of the Iran sanctions insurance ban, the EU has arguably put its own citizens at risk.

"What would happen if an Iranian tanker broke up in the Mediterranean?" asks Andrew Bardot, executive officer at the International Group of P&I Clubs. "Would the shipowner's insurance arrangements pay out? Messing around with liability insurance is hurting the victims."

Lifting crude from Iran to non-EU destinations such as India remains perfectly legal; indeed, India has stated publicly that it intends to keep importing Iranian oil. The tanker owners on this trade will however be forced to seek cover outside the International Group of Clubs scheme, as Iran-based tanker owners have already done.

On one hand, this is an ideal opportunity for Asian liability insurers and reinsurers to step into the breach. On the other, there is a question mark as to whether these insurers have the same capacity to respond to a major casualty as the International Group mutuals - with their huge reinsurance contract - do. If the P&I insurer is Iranian, the ban on financial transactions with Tehran might prevent the settlement of any liability claim, Mr Bardot points out.

The European External Action Service evidently got the message but nevertheless did not think it appropriate to press for a liability exemption in the Iran sanctions legislation. Contacts between law-makers and industry continue, but it is thought unlikely that any re-think will take place. EU sanctions against Syria imposed a similar liability insurance ban.

http://www.maritimewatch.eu

5. New IUA Newsletter

Scott Farley has sent in a link to the freshly launched newsletter issued by the International Underwriting Association. The IUA does a lot of good things in a fairly self-effacing way and we wish them all the best with their new webzine:-

http://iual.informz.ca/IUAL/archives/archive_177273.html

6. And Finally...

From the House of Frazer Hunt comes this professional anecdote:-

A motorcycle mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a BMW M3 when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop.

The cardiologist was there waiting for the service manager to come and take a look at his car when the mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?" The cardiologist, a bit surprised walked over to where the mechanic was working on the motorcycle.

The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, "So Doc, look at this engine. I opened its heart, took the valves out, repaired or replaced anything damaged, and then put everything back in, and when I finished, it worked just like new. So how is that I make $24,000 a year and you make $1.7M when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

The cardiologist paused, leaned over, and then whispered to the mechanic.....

"Try doing it with the engine running."

P.S. Merci Paul Dixon:-

A man visits God and says "God, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

God says "No, ask me anything at all."

So the man says "God, you've been around for a very long time, so, for you, how long is a thousand years?"

God replies "For me, a thousand years is only five minutes."

The man then says "That's interesting God. And, for you, how much is a million dollars?"

God replies "For me, a million dollars is only five cents."

The man says "Really? Well then God, could you lend me five cents please?"

God looks at the man, smiles, and says "Of course my son. Just wait five minutes!"

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