Institute Of Arbitrators News

Chris Charman took over as Chief Executive of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) in December of last year. IMCA’s Chief Executive leads the IMCA secretariat and is responsible for delivering the association’s extensive global work program. Charman, perhaps not widely known to our North American readership, nevertheless brings impressive qualifications to this important advocacy group for the international offshore, marine and underwater engineering sectors.

NOL Group has announced the appointment of Senior Counsel Mr Alvin Yeo to its Board of Directors. Subject to shareholders’ approval at NOL’s Annual General Meeting on 18 April 2013 (“AGM”),  Mr Yeo, Senior Partner at WongPartnership LLP, will join the Board after the AGM. He will serve as a member of the Executive Committee and Nominating Committee. Two of NOL’s current Directors, Mr Christopher Lau Loke Sam and Mr Peter Wagner, will retire from the Board at the AGM. Mr Lau is currently the Chairman of the Audit Committee and Member of the Enterprise Risk Management Committee.

Chris Charman is appointed Chief Executive of IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) taking over from Hugh Williams who is retiring. Chris Charman is greatly looking forward to his new role: "IMCA will bring together so many of my professional skills and capabilities – my working life began in the Royal Navy as an officer where I gained invaluable marine experience," he explains. "I have worked with a number of trade associations and 'not-for-profit' organisations; and the vast majority of my working life has been devoted to risk management.

Chris Charman has been appointed as Chief Executive of IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) taking over from Hugh Williams who is retiring. He will take up the position on 3 December 2012. IMCA is the international trade association for offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies with about 850 members in over 60 countries all around the world. It focuses on offshore construction and marine operations mainly in support of offshore oil & gas, but also marine renewable energy, dredging and telecommunications cable laying.

Petrospot Limited has recently published Legal Issues in Bunkering: An Introduction to the Law Relating to the Sale and Use of Marine Fuels: a new book by barrister and legal consultant Trevor Harrison. The book offers an accessible overview of the legal aspects of bunkering, distilling salient points and summarizing the more arcane elements of the subject. The book is not intended as a substitute for professional help or casebooks on shipping law, but it will certainly educate the reader about the key legal topics and, importantly, guide him in the right direction should a contract go wrong.

London law firm Lawrence Graham says users of dispute resolution services should be aware of pitfalls arising in relation to claims for interest under the Arbitration Act 1996. In its latest shipping newsletter - dubbed Shipping Lawgram - Lawrence Graham's shipping team comments on the Commercial Court case of Walker -v- Rowe, in which it was held that the courts had no power to make an order for interest to be paid on unpaid arbitration awards unless the interest had actually been set by the arbitrators. Lawrence Graham notes that, under the 1996 Arbitration Act, a party seeking post-award interest must apply to arbitrators to provide for it in the award and, if the arbitrators forget to award it, must immediately apply for a correction or a further award.

Marine Liens Ltd., has formed an alliance with London-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) to assist in the resolution of disputes between maritime contractors or suppliers and vessel owners world-wide. Innovative forms of online dispute resolution will be used to mediate and/or arbitrate disputes. The year-old MarineLiens.com, a forum for posting and searching maritime lien claims, maintains its own online resolution process. Once a claim of lien is posted, notification is sent to the owner of the vessel, who then has the opportunity to refute. Notification of rebuttal is sent to the claimant, who then has 30 days to respond. If s/he does not respond, the claim is automatically marked as settled.