Wasted Words: Post-casualty Apologies Are ‘Sorry’ Excuses
Vessel collisions on America’s busy inland waterways have been a fact of life for a very long time. With towboats, barges, ferries, oceangoing ships and recreational vessels all jockeying for position in limited space, collisions (and even more near misses) are inevitable.Most of these incidents involving professional mariners do not lead to suspension and revocation (S&R) proceedings against the involved USCG licensed mariners, but, depending on the human and/or financial costs associated with the collision…
US Marshals Service Detains Tanker in Philadelphia
The U.S. Marshals Service has blocked a vessel headed to the Monroe Energy refinery outside of Philadelphia from leaving the port in connection with a civil court order, the federal agency said. The order was issued by a civil court judge in Eastern federal court related to failure to make payments, the federal agency said on Friday. The vessel's name is Advantage Avenue, the federal agency said. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Chris Reese)
American Investors and Colombian Government Battle over $17 Billion Treasure Salvage
A group of investors sued the Colombian government for preventing American salvage group Sea Search Armada from recovering San Jose, a ship that sank in 1708, often referred to as the “Holy Grail of Shipwrecks.” With numerous court rulings throughout the years, the battle has lasted since 1979. In a case filed March 29 with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a group of American investors claimed the government of Colombia violated their human rights by preventing them from salvaging their jointly owned property, a Spanish galleon sunk in 800 feet of water near Cartagena, Colombia. The investment group, named Sea Search Armada (SSA), brought the suit after more than 20 years of various legal efforts to affirm SSA’s initial agreement with Colombia.
SKH Product Counterfeiter Sentenced
Swedish court rules for criminal conviction in SKF counterfeit court case. A Swedish court has sentenced one person to a one-year jail term and a five-year ban from trade, and awarded damages to SKF, after finding him guilty of violation of Swedish trademark law in relation to the SKF trademark. The court found that he intentionally purchased counterfeit SKF products. The products were thereafter sold with a high profit margin to unknowing customers. The criminal and civil court case was the result of a police raid in March 2010 of stores in Stockholm and Avesta (located in the central parts of Sweden) where the police found thousands of counterfeit SKF products. SKF cooperated with the police in the identification of the counterfeit bearings.
Loose Lips Sink Ships…and Careers
Valuable Lessons Learned – the Hard Way. Unfortunately, vessel collisions on America’s busy (but too often overlooked) inland waters have been a fact of life for a very long time. With towboats, barges, ferries, oceangoing vessels and recreational vessels all jockeying for position in limited space, many collisions, and even more near misses, are bound to happen. And while, thankfully, most of these incidents involving professional mariners do not lead to suspension and revocation proceedings against the involved licensed mariners…
Watch Out For Dispute Resolution Pitfalls
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.
Judge Prohibits Liquidators from Sea Malta Selling Ships
Liquidators who had been appointed to dispose of Sea Malta's assets have been prohibited from selling two vessels after an application filed in the First Hall of the Civil Court by a group of 42 former employees of the company, who claimed that their employment had been terminated, was upheld by the Court, according to a report on www.di-ve.com. The former employees claimed that their employment with the company had been terminated, and that the company was in liquidation with liquidators being appointed to dispose of its assets. However, all of the 42 former employees, were still owed money from the company for their salaries and other benefits including termination benefits.
