Claims Review

18/09/2014

Loose lips…

A young trainee shipbroker, no more than a few months in the job, attended a function at a major industry conference. He was introduced to a young associate attorney from a prominent local law firm. He asked her “what are you working on?”, to which the reply was that she had been working on the arrest of a ship belonging to an owner who she named. The broker responded that he was aware of the ship and the owner, as they were working on something for them as well.

18/09/2014

Polite persistence pays off

A ship agency had persistent problems obtaining settlement of port disbursements from a recognised and important ship operator in Vietnam. They reported the problem under their ITIC, Rule 10, additional legal expenses and debt collection cover.

18/09/2014

Failure to forward full information

A shipbroker received a request to find a suitable ship for a shipment of steel pipes. Shortly after negotiations had commenced the charterer called to inform the broker that there was an additional dunnage requirement of approximately 7cm between each of the layers of pipes. Unfortunately the broker failed to forward this new information over to the owners.

18/09/2014

Wheat-a-mix up of port costs

A mistake in the calculation of port dues for two pro forma invoices happened when a ship agent incorrectly used the cheaper rate for malt, instead of that for wheat. The cargoes of wheat were discharged from two ships and the final invoices for port dues were sent out, before the error was discovered.

18/09/2014

Translation troubles

Notice of readiness was tendered by a ship on arriving at a port in the Middle East. The local port agent then submitted all the relevant cargo declarations, which included a document which the agent had translated into Arabic and English, which described the cargo and the names of the consignees.

18/09/2014

Expensive expenses

A ship was fixed on a charterparty form containing a time bar clause that provided that all claims, charges and expenses had to be submitted within 90 days of the completion of the discharge or otherwise would be deemed waived.

27/03/2014

The high cost of enforcing your right to commission

A survey of London solicitors by ITIC shows the high cost of litigation. A simple claim for commission in the English Courts will cost over GBP 175,000. ITIC gave a panel of London solicitors – all who had previously been instructed on cases involving ITIC’s members – a claim scenario involving a broker who 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.

27/03/2014

Grand theft marine

Cash was stolen from a Master’s safe on a vessel. The matter was reported to the local police and investigated. The Master also initiated his own onboard investigations. The safe had a combination lock and only the Master knew...

27/03/2014

Shipbroker gets lost commission

A shipbroker fixed a ship on time charter from owners to charterers and then a voyage charter from the time charters to voyager charterers.

A sinking feeling

A naval architect was approached by a research and development company who had produced a prototype “wave power generator” (WPG), a floating device used to convert ocean wave energy into electricity using air pressure created by waves. The naval architect was engaged to provide the necessary design and stability approval for the prototype, as required by local regulations.