Maritime London News

Jeffrey Mountevans has been appointed Chairman of the Baltic Exchange Council, effective January 1, 2023. He succeeds Denis Petropoulos, who has held the position since June 2019.A former Lord Mayor of London (2015/2016) and ex-Clarksons shipbroker, Mountevans is an elected hereditary cross-bench member of the House of Lords where he plays an active role on maritime, defense and Reserves and Cadet issues. He was made an Honorary Life Member of the Baltic Exchange in 2016.The Baltic Exchange Council is the Baltic Exchange's governing body which sets its strategy for membership services…

Shipping and asset finance lawyer, Harry Theochari OBE, has been appointed as the new Chair of the Belfast Maritime Consortium.Theochari holds the position of Senior Consultant at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. He is also current Chair Emeritus of Maritime UK, Chair of Maritime London, and esteemed member of the Institute of Maritime Law Advisory Board at the University of Southampton, and brings with him over thirty seven years’ experience in the maritime sector and…

Britain's position as a top hub for maritime services is being eroded by competition, a loss of shipping finance business and the removal of tycoon-friendly tax breaks, a report said, deepening uncertainty for its financial sector as Brexit nears.The UK has been a pivotal global shipping centre for centuries, especially the City of London, and has dominated marine insurance, ship broking, shipping finance and other maritime services.These contribute $5.6 billion a year to Britain’s economy…

Representatives of the British and Hong Kong maritime business sectors have agreed to forge a closer working relationship. Under the terms of a new Memorandum of Understanding, Maritime London and the Hong Kong Maritime & Port Board (HKMPB) will cooperate in a range of areas including promotional activity, training and sharing of best practice for maritime business services. The agreement was signed in London during London International Shipping Week by Chan Fan, Frank, JP, Secretary for Transport & Housing…

BBC Chartering announces the opening of a new representative office in London, United Kingdom, starting immediately. “We continue to strengthen our position at important shipping hubs for breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargo”, said Svend Andersen, CEO of BBC Chartering. The London branch is the second location of BBC Chartering in the UK and closely cooperates with the existing representative office in Liverpool. Ms. Valeria Salzano, who transferred from BBC Chartering Genoa Srl., was appointed as regional Sales & Chartering Manager for the London office. Both UK offices are managed from BBC Chartering’s European hub and global HQ in Leer, Germany.

China’s 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and Economic Belt development vision has takers in UK maritime sector, reports Xinhua News Agency. Both countries expected to improve bilateral maritime cooperation in the "Belt and Road" initiative, chairman of Maritime London Lord Mountevans said. ‘All maritime roads lead to London’ stated moderator Doug Barrow, chief executive of promotional body Maritime London, organiser of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) event. CMA CGM, the third biggest container operator globally, signed a strategic "Belt and Road" project with China Merchants Holdings, investment arm of China Merchants (CM) Group, to investigate and evaluate together investment opportunities.

Fuel saving measures can have a negative effect on the lashing forces on the containers, according to Maritime London member BMT Surveys. The company's risk & quality manager and marine surveyor, Olivier van der Kruijs, bases this warning on audits on more than 100 container vessels last year. He says that the latest generation of container ships have been designed not only to increase capacity but also to improve energy efficiency and environmental performance. The rise in fuel prices in combination with a continuing pressure on freight rates has forced ship owners and operators to look closely at the amount of fuel being used. This has resulted in economical steaming and other fuel efficiency measures.

The total Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from global maritime transport are estimated to have been over 20% lower in 2012 than in 2007, according to "London Matters – the official Maritime London Newsletter", citing the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). ICS reports that the global shipping industry, which transports by sea around 90% of all world trade, is thought to have produced only about 2.2% of the world’s total GHG emissions during 2012 compared to 2.8% in 2007. The estimates are contained in the latest comprehensive study of the shipping industry’s GHG emissions prepared by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which will be considered by its Marine Environment Protection Committee next month.

The UK Chamber of Shipping is taking a neutral position in the Scottish independence debate and has given both the Yes and Better Together sides space on its website to argue their respective positions in articles focusing on the future of Scotland's shipping industry, reports trade association Maritime London in its latest 'London Matters' newsletter. By contrast, at the 12th annual Lloyd’s City Dinner, Lloyd's of London chairman John Nelson put forward the case for the UK to remain together as part of the EU. He said: “I would be extremely sad to see Scotland leave the United Kingdom and I very much hope that the Scottish people vote to stay in the Union.

If the Scots vote for independence in September's referendum, it could hit the country's shipping and offshore maritime sector, according to a survey by leading international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens, cited in Maritime London’s fortnightly news – ‘London Matters’. The survey of leading members of the shipping industry found that 55 per cent of respondents believed a yes vote damage the industry. However, 74 per cent said they had no plan of action if Scotland voted to abandon the Union, indicating a high level of confidence in a no vote on 18 September. According to the Moore Stephens survey, 74 per cent said they had no plan of action if Scotland voted to abandon the Union, indicating a high level of confidence in a no vote on 18 September.

Three global shipping organisations have issued guidance to their members on the risks posed to ships’ crews calling in countries affected by the Ebola virus, and similar alerts have been issued by the P&I clubs, according to trade organization Maritime London. 1.     The master should ensure that the crew are aware of the risks, how the virus can be spread and how to reduce the risk. 2.     The ISPS requirements on ensuring that unauthorised personnel do not board the vessel should be strictly enforced throughout the duration of the vessel being in port. 3.     The master should give careful consideration to granting any shore leave whilst in impacted ports. 4.     The shipowner/operator should avoid making crew changes in the ports of an affected country.

Shipping is currently attracting a great deal of interest from investors in the private equity sector, according to UK-based accountants Moore Stephens, members of shipping trade organization Maritime London and as reported in its fortnightly 'London Matters'. In its Shipping Group newsletter 'Bottom Line' Moore Stephens notes that it has been estimated that at least USD7-bn  of private equity funding could find its way into shipping this year. The shipping industry, however, still accounts for only a tiny percentage of overall private equity investment, so there is arguably scope for significantly more. The timing appears to be good. A shipping industry emerging from a protracted slump offers potentially exciting opportunities for private equity investors.

Germany, which currently is home to the world’s biggest container vessel fleet, will in future have fewer small shipping firms as European banks avoid the industry and American and Asian financiers focus on bigger peers, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) cited by shipping industry trade publication 'Maritime London' in its latest newsletter. As shipowners face pressure to put more fuel-efficient vessels into service to get better rates, they will need to team up with peers in alliances or mergers to tap financing sources, according to PwC’s Claus Brandt. Smaller shipping companies will bid farewell to the market, because they don’t have access to financing sources. Only companies of a certain size will get foreign capital.

Overall confidence levels in the shipping industry fell slightly during the three-month period to May 2014, due to concerns that overtonnaging could hit freight rates, but nevertheless remain at their second-highest level for the past six years with shipmanagers in particular remaining upbeat, according to international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens, as reported by shipping industry trade publication 'Maritime London'. In May 2014, the average confidence level expressed by respondents in the markets in which they operate was 6.3, compared to February's 6.5, which was the highest figure since the 6.8 recorded when the survey was launched in May 2008.

An attempt by the UK’s Chamber of Shipping last week to persuade the British government that the industry needed more time to comply with new sulphur emission limits entering force on 1 January next year received short shrift from the shipping minister. However the Chamber, along with other European shipowners' associations, is reported to be determined to continue its campaign, reports shipping trade association Maritime London. The owners’ organisations say that switching to distillate fuel will be too costly and would lead to job losses and modal shifts from sea to road transport while the other option of fitting scrubbers has only just become available and it will take time to to fit this equipment.

Having an excellent set of Standard Terms and Conditions (Terms) in your desk drawer or on your website, is all very well, but unless you have incorporated them into your dealings with your client, they will not form part of your legal relationship with your client and you will not be able to rely on the terms should a dispute arise. It is therefore very important that you incorporate your Terms into your dealings, advises intermediaries professional indemnity insurer ITIC. In the latest issue of its Claim Review, ITIC cites the case of a marine surveyor instructed by the shippers of a cargo of wheat to survey and certify the holds of a bulk carrier as fit for loading. The surveyor issued a certificate of fitness to load, and 70,000 metric tonnes of wheat was loaded.

Videotel, in association with Steamship Mutual, has launched a new training programme  developed in conjunction with the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) and BIMCO, informs UK trade association Maritime London. Videotel points out that it is easy to forget that the use of Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) has only become commonplace in the last few years and that the selection and deployment of armed guards is still an unknown quantity for many operators and crew. The company notes that, as part of their anti-piracy measures, many shipping companies now employ armed security guards aboard vessels that transit…

Shipowners have been warned they could face being saddled with ‘negative equity’ in the insurance aftermath of disasters at sea, according to Keith Jones the outgoing chairman of the Association of Average Adjusters (AAA) at its London AGM, reports UK shipping trade association Maritime London. Jones listed a potential series of pitfalls awaiting shipping companies when a ‘constructive total loss’ (CTL) is declared. He urged owners to be wary from the outset of the costs over which they had control, of the expensive business of maintaining a wreck pending investigation of the cause of the casualty, and cautioned that they may be unable to recover their costs if the sums exceeded the eventual proceeds of sale of the wreck.

Willis Group Holdings has launched a new insurance facility, called Undercover, to protect cargo in transit and in store against all types of political violence, terrorism and war risks, informs shipping trade association Maritime London. The global risk adviser, insurance and reinsurance broker says that, in recent years, cargo losses worth more than one hundred million dollars have not been recovered under traditional cargo insurance policies due to critical exposures being excluded. Willis explains that traditional cargo insurance policies typically exclude certain losses, such as those arising from civil war, insurrection, rebellion and terrorism for goods in store.

The European Commission has given new guidance on the interpretation of EU cabotage regulation, which allows contracts of up to 12 years instead of the current six years, according to trade organisation Maritime London. The EC statement explains: “With the new guidance competent authorities will have more legal certainty when awarding public service contracts and imposing public service obligations. According to the statement, the main change in the Commission's interpretation relates to the duration of public service contracts. It says that public service contracts should have a limited duration in order to allow regular and open prospecting of the market.

“Think of a number. Any number will do, so long as it is very big. Then double it. The answer is likely to be as accurate as any supposedly informed estimates currently circulating in the shipping sector about the likely size of the industry’s bill for achieving compliance with incipient environmentally-inspired regulations governing the operation of ships," Maritime London quotes Moore Stephens shipping partner Michael Simms as saying. Finding enough money to remain compliant with environmental regulation is going to be a challenge for shipowners and operators over the next few years, according to international accountant and Maritime London member Moore Stephens.

A survey of London solicitors by specialist intermediaries insurer ITIC has highlighted the high cost of litigation for shipbrokers and others seeking judgment in the English courts, reports trade association Maritime London. Indemnity insurers ITIC gave a panel of London solicitors – all of whom had previously been instructed on cases involving ITIC members – a hypothetical claim scenario involving a broker which had been cut out of commission. The solicitors were asked to estimate the costs that the broker would have to pay to take the matter to court. The average estimate of the costs was £177,163. The claim scenario given to the solicitors was based on actual cases financed by ITIC under its debt collection cover.

New research by the UK's Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) claims the cruise industry is ignoring its responsibility to the environments and societies it visits. The research has provoked a strong response from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) according to shipping trade association Maritime London. According to LMU, 65% of the 80 cruise companies analysed worldwide do not mention corporate social responsibility on their websites and only 12 brands publish corporate social reports - all belonging to only four companies: Carnival Corporation…