5th April 2024
Simon Tatham explains the importance of security: LOUs and guarantees covering shipping claims, salvage and wreck removal “Security is nine-tenths of the law” was my first boss’s mantra. I explain this unique feature of maritime law with this analogy. A building has a lending bank, a builder, tenants, occupiers, suppliers, insurers and may store goods…
2nd April 2024
Simon Tatham provides examples of how vessel owners and seafarers are prosecuted by maritime administrations following avoidable accidents Maritime administrations continue to pursue the prosecution of both seafarers and owners following accidents and incidents. In the UK, a good number of these relate to the leisure sector, from over-enthusiastic partygoers setting off fire extinguishers on…
14th February 2024
Simon Tatham describes the legal conundrum and rigmarole after a barge and its cargo sliced through a naval floating dock during adverse weather. Setting the scene of an incident: a harbour tug is heading into port with barge and its cargo astern, undertaking the final part of a jack-up rig’s delivery for repairs. The jack-up…
24th October 2023
Simon Tatham explains why UK Standard Conditions of Towage enable substitute tug owners to sue shipowners for damage or loss In the tug world, tug damage, however caused, is generally at the risk and expense of the ships they assist. However, the terms that largely today protect tugs have their history and are frequently the…
1st September 2023
Simon Tatham describes the latest reported Lloyd’s arbitration award and the route to a fair payout Now Lloyd’s of London publishes Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF) awards it is useful to occasionally report on the latest cases. Such awards assist in managing the expectations of salvors and underwriters alike and act as guidance for future negotiations,…
4th August 2023
Each year, around 800 Bimco BARGEHIRE contracts are signed, currently on its SmartCon platform. It is understandable, with such an uptake, that Bimco should periodically review this barge-leasing contract. The most recent iteration of the 1994 and 2008 versions was published in 2021. The above usage excludes hybrid versions developed in-house by some of the…
19th May 2023
Smit Salvage BV & Ors v Luster Maritime SA & Anr (The ‘Ever Given’) [2023] EWHC 697 Admlty) Today we look at what went wrong and the lessons to be learned when in March 2021 the owners of the EVER GIVEN sought to avoid a salvage claim and started negotiations for a commercial contract to…
6th April 2023
The grounding of the 20,400 teu “EVER GIVEN” in the Suez Canal is well-known, but much less is understood about what was going on behind the scenes as the parties negotiated for her refloating. It has proven controversial. A recent Admiralty Court judgement has now thrown light upon exactly what happened. At about 07.40hrs LT…
17th February 2023
In the January 2023 issue of International Tug & Salvage, regular columnist Simon Tatham explains how the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea can intervene when tugs or crews are detained. Most problems encountered by tugs and other ships trading the high seas are resolvable. However, there are situations that arise where conventional…
25th October 2022
Simon Tatham examines an October Court of Appeal judgement that demonstrates salvors who strike silver should be compensated Wreck removal, a specialist activity usually required by coastal states when navigation or the environment is threatened, is an expensive exercise usually funded by a vessel’s protection and indemnity (P&I) insurers. In deep water, unless the bunkers…
