Beacon No. 1 2004 - Skuld

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In the last issue of Beacon we presented our Copenhagen office. Now the time has come for a presentation of Skuld Hellas and of one of our local members, Target Marine. Skuld Hellas – local expertise for By Ingeborg S. Berge, Skuld, in Piraeus, Greece Skuld Hellas was established in 2000 due to the heartfelt need for a dedicated office closer to the Greek shipping community. We wanted to serve the Greek and Cypriot members in a better way, and there was an eagerness to play a more active role in this dynamic and challenging market. Closeness to members – We are very well acquainted with the Greek Shipping Community, says Lily Karaiscos-Samellas, head of Skuld’s Piraeus office. – Closeness to members means more flexibility and an added value for the member. Our service shall be flexible, and when required, tailor-made to the needs of each member. This is achieved by maintaining a very good working relationship with our members and by always keeping open the channels of communication. – We want to gain members’ trust so that they can lean on us and have confidence that we will sort out their problems in the quickest and most effective way. In the four years that our office has been open, feedback from members has been positive. They appreciate having a full service office on their doorstep. The Greek shipping community Today, Greek shipowners control one of the world’s largest ocean-going fleets and the fleet continues to expand. Greek owners place high priority on fleet renewal and a record number of newbuilding orders have been placed. – The Piraeus office operates within this highly competitive and demanding market, which is an inspiring challenge to all of us, says Mrs. Karaiscos-Samellas. – Being based locally, you know the unique qualities of the market and of each single member. This makes for smoother sailing as we go about our daily business of serving members. A competent staff Skuld Hellas has a staff of eight with considerable experience of Greek shipping. Lily Karaiscos-Samellas, Head of Office, is born and bred within the local shipping community. Prior to setting up Skuld’s Piraeus office in 2000, she was Managing Director of her familiy business, Close co-operation between syndicates help to ensure that members gain from the full experience of the Club. From left: Egil Gulbrandsen, Oslo, Anders Ulrik, Copenhagen and Lily Karaiscos-Samellas, Piraeus a company diversified in ship and cargo insurance representation, acting as P&I Clubs’ correspondent, etc. Underwriting is handled by Athina Sirimi, a maritime studies graduate from the University of Piraeus with a Masters degree in International Transport (Marine Law & Insurance) from the University of Wales. Her experience includes insurance and claims handling with a shipping company and a local broking firm, before joining Skuld in 2002. Claims handling requires legal expertise and we are well equipped in this respect. Michael Boje-Larsen and Elina Souli hold LLM degrees in Maritime Law from the University of Southampton. Michael is a Danish lawyer and has been with Skuld Hellas since it was established in 2000. Elina is a member of the Athens Bar Association and has worked in shipping litigation before she started working for Skuld. Skuld Hellas’ English Solicitor, Ken Stewart, has experience from both Skuld Hong Kong and the head office in Oslo, before joining the Piraeus office in 2003. This summer Michael Boje-Larsen will be returning to Skuld Copenhagen. He will be replaced by Maria Tierris, a Greek lawyer and qualified Solicitor, with an LLM degree from the University of Southampton. 4 BEACON
a growing market She is familiar with the Greek shipping community after working as a Senior Claims Executive for Thomas Miller’s office in Piraeus for the last six years. Read more under ‘Personnel news’ on page 30. – All day-to-day underwriting and claims work for current members is handled at the local office. Our staff also has the competence and necessary authority to handle all new requests originating from Greece and Cyprus. We are dedicated to providing the best service possible in a swift and effective manner, says Lily Karaiscos-Samellas. Future events Posidonia, the bi-annual shipping conference in Piraeus, is coming up in June. This means additional opportunities to meet members and other contacts, and a separate Skuld pre-Posidonia dinner party is being arranged. This autumn there will also be a local Skuld seminar for Greek members. Skuld Hellas. From left: Ken Stewart, Michael Boje-Larsen, Lily Karaiscos-Samellas, Elina Souli and Athina Sirimi A case example: containers overboard By Michael Boje-Larsen, Claims Manager, Skuld Hellas In March 2001, a Target Marine vessel ran into a storm in the North Atlantic on its way from Le Havre to New York. A total of 120 containers was lost overboard. When the first call came in from Target Marine to Skuld, steps were immediately taken to contact our correspondent in New York, Anchor Marine. They sent lawyers and surveyors to meet the vessel on arrival in New York. The remaining containers – some smashed or damaged – were lifted off the vessel and, within a matter of days, the initial cleanup had been finalised. Quickly it became clear that the shipowner and Skuld would face huge cargo claims from various container owners and their cargo underwriters. To avoid costly and lengthy litigation in the US, a strategy for claims handling was set up between Skuld Hellas and the head of Target Marine’s legal department. The offices are literally five minutes apart and the close cooperation between our two companies meant a lot through these meetings. The strategy ensured that cargo claimants were dealt with fairly and costly court appearances were avoided. Early contact between Anchor Marine and Target Marine’s US lawyers established a good working environment with cargo claimants’ lawyers in New York. At the same time, Skuld arranged an apportionment with charterers, whereby any cargo settlement in the US would be split between charterers and owners in a pre-determined way. This avoided a potentially expensive legal battle over the correct apportionment under the charterparty. A case that could have become substantial was trimmed down to a manageable size. The closeness between club and member facilitated the drawing up of an initial strategy, as well as later adjustments, and proved to be decisive for the outcome of the case. BEACON 5
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Page 27 and 28: LEGAL NOTES Ronny Larsen, Claims Ex
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Page 31 and 32: Contact Skuld HONG KONG Christian R

Beacon No. 1 2004 - Skuld

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