International Centre News

RigNet, Inc. announced that it has reached a settlement with Inmarsat Global Limited that concludes the GX Arbitration pending before the International Center for Dispute Resolution. Pursuant to the settlement, RigNet will pay Inmarsat $45 million immediately, $5 million in the third quarter of 2019, and $750,000 in the third quarter of 2020.“We are glad to put this matter behind us. While we are disappointed in the panel’s Phase I findings that a take or pay obligation under our January 2014 agreement had commenced, we believe that settling this matter reduces risk for our shareholders, customers, and employees. We were able avoid additional costs related to the arbitration and to secure value for our counterclaims which offsets Inmarsat’s additional claims…

U.S. oil firm ConocoPhillips has moved to take Caribbean assets of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA to enforce a $2 billion arbitration award over a decade-oil nationalization of its projects in the South American country, according to three sources familiar with its actions. The U.S. firm targeted facilities on the islands of Curacao, Bonaire and St. Eustatius that accounted for about a quarter of Venezuela's oil exports last year. The three play key roles in processing, storing and blending PDVSA's oil for export. The company received court attachments freezing assets at least two of the facilities, and could move to sell them, one of the sources said. Conoco's legal maneuvers could further impair PDVSA's declining oil revenue and the country's convulsing economy.

The 5th ICC International Commercial Mediation Conference has brought together leading mediators, arbitrators, corporate managers and in-house counsel from around the world to focus on how companies can improve their chances of settling commercial disputes through direct negotiation, mediation and sound dispute resolution planning. Entitled “Plan to Succeed”, the lively event was designed by an international board of experts in using mediation to end complex commercial disputes with contractors, governments or clients, saving time for all involved. “The real added value of commercial mediation is that it helps businesses reach early and less expensive settlements of disputes in circumstances where direct negotiations have failed…

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos welcomed the launch of the Seafarers’ Rights International Centre, an independent forum dedicated to advancing seafarers’ interests, describing it as an important development on World Maritime Day, the theme of which is “2010: Year of the Seafarer”. The new Centre will be located at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)’s London offices, with initial funding coming from the ITF’s Seafarers’ Trust. An international Advisory Board, currently 10-strong, has already been established and the Centre’s stakeholders will include seafarers, lawyers and other advisers, non-governmental organizations…

Merchant marine cadets from a United Arab Emirates training ship graduated at a special ceremony held during Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2008, the largest maritime event of its kind in the region, which opened Sunday, 14 December 2008. The deck cadets were the sixth batch of students of the Birla Institute of Technology International Centre for Maritime Studies and Ship Management to pass out after training on the Ras Al Khaimah-berthed training ship Sindbad. Seatrade Middle East Maritime which ran until Tuesday 16 December is under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum…