30th September 2020
In February 1977 a vessel in ballast, Unique Mariner, ran aground in Indonesian waters not far from Singapore. The master was advised by ship’s agents that a tug would be sourced. A professional salvor’s tug turned up from Singapore and the master mistakenly thinking that it was the tug procured by the agents, signed Lloyd’s…
15th July 2020
I am into week six of lockdown. The new office is closed and all partners and staff working, more or less happily, from home. The roses are out, the potatoes are in, the lettuce are pushing on but there is absolutely no sign of the parsley (sown late because more efficient people ordered up the…
12th May 2020
In this article we discuss the main practicalities of invoking clause 20 of the BARGEHIRE 2008 contract which is a force majeure clause. This might be because a shutdown in the field of operation means that it cannot be manned or loaded, that the cargo destined to be carried is very seriously delayed or simply…
6th May 2020
At the time of writing, Northern Europe has been hit by large storms, posing danger to shipping. Imagine then, that your tug is on return passage to Scandinavia from the US when it picks up a Pan-Pan signal. Deviating towards the ship in distress, its master advises by VHF that they have been drifting for…
5th March 2020
On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organisation designated the Covid 19 virus as a pandemic. We have since received a number of enquiries…
20th January 2020
Lloyd’s has declared, like a good port, the new Lloyd’s Open Form 2020. It’s the 13th iteration of what is arguably the longest standing and most successful of marine services contracts. Is this a vintage edition? For sure, much work has been devoted by colleagues in the Salvage Working Group, in London, to bring the…
