Shipping News - February 2013

CBP News

At the Comité Maritime International (CMI) Conference in Beijing in October 2012, Stuart Hetherington was appointed President of this prestigious organisation, which was founded in Antwerp in 1897 and drafted many of the Conventions in the maritime area, including Collision, Limitation, Hague Rules, Salvage, Arrest, Liens and Mortgages and many more.

The Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference

The annual conference was held in Brisbane on 12-14 September 2012. The following papers were given:

FS Dethridge Memorial Address: Ron Salter

Navigating the Reef: Simon Meyjes (CEO, Australian Reef Pilots), Brad Groves (General Manager, AMSA - Maritime Standards Division) and Steve Raaymakers (EcoStrategic Consultants)

Salvage and GA - Jonathan Spencer

The Australian Year in Arbitration - Peter McQueen

Collision Evidence in the E-Age - Captain Peter Listrup and the Hon Justice James Allsop

Crime and the Cruise Liner Industry - Kate Lewins

An Overview of the Maritime Powers Bill - Commander Ian Campbell RAN

The Asian Year in Review - Kah Wah Leong

The UK Year in Review - Chris Edwards

"The Rena" - Kate Manch (Director, Maritime NZ), Neil Beadle and Pauline Barratt

Shipping Reforms and Industrial Issues in Shipping - Ian Maitland, Angela Gillham, Sarah Cerche and Captain Dale Cole

The Australian Year in Review - Sandy Thompson SC

The New Zealand Year in Review - Kerryn Webster

Offshore Oil, Gas & Mining - Mick Palmer, Shane Bosma, Wylie Spicer QC and Paul David

CMI Issues - Greg Nell SC, Michelle Taylor and Sarah Derrington

Copies of the papers can be obtained from MLAANZ.

Matthew Harvey was appointed to succeed Sarah Derrington as President of MLAANZ.

Maritime conventions

On 15 October 2012 the Department of Infrastructure and Transport carried out further stakeholder consultation ahead of taking steps to facilitate Australia becoming a State Party to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea 2010 (2010 HNS Convention). New regulations requiring Garbage Management Plans, under the Amended Annex V to Marpol 73/78, came into force on 1 January 2013. P&I Club renewals 2013

Early reports suggest that the Clubs' reinsurers are seeking significant rises in premiums following the major casualties of the "Costa Concordia" and "Rena", giving rise to substantial wreck removal and SCOPIC claims. The individual Club retention is to be increased from US$8 million to US$9 million, and the International Group Pool is to be increased from US$60 million to US$70 million.

NSW Supreme Court decisions

Pacific Resources International Pty Ltd v UTI (Aust) Pty Ltd; Brackley Industries Pty Ltd v UTI (Aust) Pty Ltd [2012] NSWSC 1274, Stevenson J. In these two bailment cases, which were heard together, in which goods stored in a warehouse had been destroyed in a fire, Stevenson J held in the NSW Supreme Court that the lessee did not establish that it had acted with reasonable care in cleaning up fish oil which had spilled in...