the charterer newsletter - Charterers P&I Club

More documents

Recommendations

Info

THE CARIBBEAN – A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVEBy Rupert Steer – Caribbean correspondentWhen instructing asurveyor to make anurgent visit to a vessel,will I ever growaccustomed to beingtold: “Sorry, I havesomething to do in towntoday”? Is there asolution to Carnival thatmeans that someone willattend during the event,rather than waiting forthe music to stop andthe rum to run drybefore thumbing thediary to see when theremight be an availablewindow, perhaps next week?After twelve years spent as a correspondentplying the blue waters of the Bahamas down tothe muddy rivers of Guyana I have come to theconclusion that few nations in the regionrecognize a common bond with theirneighbours. There is more trade betweenFelixstowe and Antigua than between St. Luciaand St. Vincent. Trinidad and Barbados areseemingly always in one dispute or another,whether it’s fishing rights, mineral rights, orsupplies of natural gas. The NetherlandsAntilles are breaking up their federation, butmissed the date in 2006, maybe 2007.Of the fifteen CSME (Caribbean Single Marketand Economy) states committed to fullintegration at various times over the last tenyears, only two have adopted the keystoneCaribbean Court of Justice as their final courtof appeal, three maintain exchange controls,and none have fully cleared the way formobility of labour.A UK passport holder is free to travel betweenGrenada and Guadeloupe, but the Frenchislands remain a part of Europe, rather than theCaribbean, so the Grenadian needs a visa. A$1,000 work permit is required to do businessin Grand Cayman (unless the ChiefImmigration officer can be persuadedotherwise), but only a dark suit is required inCARICONSULT GROUPTrinidad. For a meeting in St. John, USVI, leavethe suit at home, and if it is in Bermuda, justwear the top half.If Barbados is “Little England”, then the regionis “Little Europe”, boasting nations speakingEnglish, French, Spanish and Dutch each as afirst language, but even the English speakingterritories are divided by a common tongue.Ask for akee in Jamaica, and you will be given“vegetable-brain”, eaten with salt fish. Ask forakee in Barbados and you will receive a clusterof small round fruit with a crisp skin, popped toexpose the thin green flesh and large seed.But behind the politics and idiosyncracies liesthe human face of the Caribbean. Aside fromthe daily frustrations, being a correspondent inthe Caribbean has its compensations, not leastof which is the outlook it affords on life. Yearsspent crossing London Bridge twice a day hadled me to the conclusion that there was noalternative, until round one of life’s hiddencorners I found the way to this beautiful islandwhich has become home. This new perspectivehas me wondering whether a people that putslife before work, takes time out to talk to thenext person in the queue, produces adisproportionate number of centenarians,smiles more than frowns, gets by where fewcontinued on page 32
continued from page 2things work for very long, laughs at life’sinconveniences, and only reads about “roadrage”, is holding on to something lost long agoin more developed places, something trulyworthwhile to pass on to the children. There isthe common ground of the Caribbean.So, to paraphrase Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame,the message from the many peoples of theCaribbean is: “Live slow and prosper”. Icontinue to struggle with the concept, butperhaps after another twelve years I will haveit mastered.SPEED IS THE KEY TO GOOD SETTLEMENTSIN NORTH AFRICABy Shtewi Legal and Pandi Services – Tripoli, LibyaLibya has undergone the biggest politicalchange since the revolution in 1969. The LibyanGovernment, as a result of a concerted effortto re-establish links with the Western powers,is now enjoying an unprecedented interest intheir country and its resources. Several largecorporations including Shell Transport andTrading and Texaco Oil have opened offices inTripoli and have negotiated contracts with thelocal oil companies to redevelop their oilfields.Also, further offshore drill test sites are beingestablished .This upsurge in interest plus theunprecedented oil price has resulted in abooming economy with the Governmentannouncing several major projects relating toinfrastructure and communications. In addition,there are plans to build a completely newFreeport outside Tripoli and to establish aHong Kong style International commercialbase including several new hotels toaccommodate the upsurge in visitors.This change has resulted in a substantialincrease in International trade as well as anincreased demand for technical equipment andbuilding materials for oil exploration bothashore and offshore and for the purpose ofupdating existing oilfields.Unfortunately, this increase in Internationalawareness has not extended to the judiciarywhich often gives decisions contrary to theexisting law. Despite the fact that Libya hasratified the Hague Rules, rarely will shipowners and charterers be given the benefit ofthe exceptions contained within those rules. Inaddition, in cases involving cargo, judges tend tofind in favour of the importer, usually agovernment body. In these circumstances it isessential to maintain a pragmatic view whenhandling claims and an early settlement, evenbefore the vessel has departed, very oftenproduces the least expensive result.Face to face negotiation is still the way businessis done in North Africa and maintenance oftrust is essential. The correspondent’s biggestweapon is to be able to tempt claimants withan immediate settlement which, although itmay be less than they would probably receivein the long run, is more attractive thanprotracted arguing and court action.Defendants, when dealing with the localcorrespondent, must give clear instructionsand be prepared to act quickly when asettlement is agreed.Any deviation or delay will not only jeopardisechances of a satisfactory settlement but canseriously compromise the correspondent’sstanding and his position in future cases. Itshould be remembered that most things oftenmove slowly in the MAGHREB, except wheremoney is at stake.3
Page 1: THE CHARTERERTHE CHARTERERS P&I CLU
Page 5 and 6: continued from page 4writers. There
Page 7 and 8: 2007 GROWTH AND 2008 DEVELOPMENTSWe

the charterer newsletter - Charterers P&I Club

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?