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ITIC Says: Ship Managers Must Beware of Increase in Claims by Owners

International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) says it has seen a noticeable increase in claims against ship managers by shipowners who are going through difficult financial times. In the latest issue of its Claims Review, ITIC notes that, as result of their financial difficulties, owners resist paying for the full maintenance of their ships and also end up owing ship managers not only for their own fees but also for disbursements paid on owners’ behalf. When ship managers try to collect the funds due, they are faced with a claim for negligence in the management of the ship. In ITIC’s experience, once shipowners fail to put managers in funds, the situation rarely improves, and usually deteriorates. The resulting claims are time-consuming and costly to defend. ITIC says that it is of the utmost importance that ship managers’ records and correspondence with shipowners are clear and in good order. By way of illustration it cites a dispute between the manager and owner of a ship involving a balance of funds owed to the manager. It was agreed that those funds would be put into an escrow account. The matter remained idle for five months, until the owner raised a claim against the ship manager, through its lawyers, for alleged negligence. The owner claimed that the ship manager was in breach of its duty to maintain the ship in an efficient, employable state and that, as a result, it had suffered significant losses

Exculpatory Clause in Maritime Contract

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a clear and unequivocal exculpatory clause may exonerate a marina owner from liability to vessel owners for simple negligence. In the instant case, owners of vessels berthed at the marina signed slip agreements containing exoneration clauses. A marina employee negligently repaired a fuel pump on a vessel at the marina. The vessel caught fire and the fire spread to adjacent vessels. The vessel owners sued the marina

Sea Tow Awards New U.S. Franchises

Sea Tow Services International Inc., announced the opening of four new franchises: Sea Tow Buzzards Bay (Mass.), Sea Tow Montauk (N.Y.), Sea Tow Lake Eufaula (Ala.) and Sea Tow Lake Lewisville (Tx.). The company also announced the sale and transfer of ownership of three existing franchise areas. Captain Walter Garschagen is the new owner of Sea Tow Central Hudson (N.Y.), Jim and Jan Pulley are the new owners of Sea Tow Table Rock Lake (Mo.), and Capt

Emergency Evacuation Plan Does Not Create Legal Duties

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that an Emergency Evacuation Plan for a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) does not create legal duties to third parties. U.S. Coast Guard requires the operator of MODUs located on the U.S. outer continental shelf to prepare and submit an emergency evacuation plan. Two employees on a MODU alleged that they were injured while being evacuated to shore as a hurricane approached

GAC China Launches New Pollution Control Service

GAC China launched a new specialist service to help ship owners comply with stringent new anti-pollution regulations that come into force at the country’s ports on March 1, 2012. Under the China Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) rules, owners and operators of vessels carrying any cargo deemed to represent a potential pollution risk in Chinese territorial waters must work with a Government-approved Ship Pollution Response Organisation (SPRO) to establish and implement a detailed Ship Pollution

Tanker Owners Fight Back

Tanker owners, who have been retreating on freight rates for crude cargoes for several weeks, have started to fight back in recent days, especially for prompt loading dates, brokers said on Thursday. The defiant mood was illustrated by the fixture of a VLCC from the Tankers International pool to Petronas at W57.5 ($0.45), about 40 percent above the prevailing market rate. Loading in the Mideast Gulf is scheduled for two days' time with discharge in Malacca, brokers said.

Port of Houston Deepening Project Hits Legal Snag

The Port of Houston Authority Commissioners voted recently to appeal the U.S. District Court's January 25 ruling that the Port should pay for the removal and relocation of pipelines to accommodate the widening and deepening of the Houston Ship Channel. "We believe Congress clearly specified in 1996 that pipeline owners, not the taxpayers of Harris County, should pay for the removal and relocation of pipelines needed to widen and deepen the Ship Channel," said Port Chairman James T. Edmonds

NOAA Fisheries Offer Gulf Shrimp Vessel Permit Reminder

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) reminds all shrimp vessels owners and operators who intend to fish for shrimp in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico that they must obtain a commercial vessel permit by December 5, 2002. The rule requiring shrimp vessel permits became effective on September 6, 2002. A previous bulletin provided incorrect dates for the effective date of the rule and the date by which all vessel owners or operators must have a shrimp vessel permit in

ITIC Warns Shipmanagers on Lay-Up Liability

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has urged its shipmanager members to seek legal advice before entering into any contracts with owners relating to the laying-up of vessels. ITIC said there has been a recent sharp increase in the number of lay-up contracts which it has been asked to review. Some of these agreements are based on amended shipmanagement contracts, where the manager acts as agent for and on behalf of the owner

ITIC Warning for Surveyors on Indemnities and Waivers

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has warned its surveyor members, wherever possible, not to sign indemnities or waivers before they have been authorized by the shipowner to board a vessel. And, in the event that this proves to be impossible, they should sign only a wording authorized by ITIC. Writing in the latest edition of its annual publication, The Intermediary, ITIC warns that the surveyor may be asked to sign a disclaimer or waiver of all his rights to claim or