Cause and effect

Cause and effect

IN our last issue I nominated European Shippers Council policy manager Nicolette van der Jagt for the most fatuous analogy of the year so far. I should have known better. It was only August. A challenger had emerged even before the brown leaves of autumn had started to fall in Europe. The challenger was the UK shipping minister, and I am confident he will not be bested this side of the new year.

UK shipping ministers are not supposed to know anything about shipping, and have seemingly always been chosen with that imperative in mind. They are not expected to turn up half the time, and people wish they hadn't the other half. Minister Keith Hill didn't keep his appointment to address the Mare Forum in Athens recently. He was too busy attending the labour party conference in Brighton. He sent a hapless civil servant in his stead, but the end result was the same.

"There would not be the problem of substandard shipping if nobody was prepared to insure it." That was the gist of the UK government's message in Athens. Brilliant. And there would be no divorces if the church or state refused to marry people who were temperamentally unsuited for it.

I would like to tell all UK shipping ministers - and their stand-ins - to go and hard-boil their heads, and for much longer than the regulation five minutes, which is usually about the length of their term in office.

As a trite observation that adds nothing to the sum of human knowledge, but instead serves to fan the fires of misdirected ire which plague any sane attempt to apportion responsibility on an equitable basis in the shipping industry, the UK shipping ministry's decision to play the insurance card takes the biscuit. It doesn't even do us the courtesy of keeping up to date with the tide of fashionable prejudice. Had it done so, it would have known that it is classification societies who are currently in pole position on the catherine wheel of soft-option persecution which runs throughout the shipping industry whenever things go wrong.

Class shares this uncomfortable position on a rotating basis with the insurance industry and the banks, although the banks only feature once for every two appearances by insurance and class. At the moment, any old buck-dodger with something to hide, or any self-appointed pundit with crabmeat for brains, blames class for everything bad that happens to shipping, including El Nino and the fear that world barley consumption is likely to outstrip supply for the third year in succession. We don't need any help from politicians.

Mr Hill might be well-advised to roll himself in a turkey carpet and wait quietly for his successor to achieve nothing. He shouldn't have long to wait.

Ad hominem

EARLIER this year, we told you that two law firms - Cabinet D'Avocats Monthe & Achu in Cameroon, and Mumbia-based Consulta Juris - had failed to pay for advertisements which they had asked to be placed in this magazine. Well, they still haven't paid.

Our debt recovery agent is a nice man. He is also very resourceful, but getting in touch with our debtor in Cameroon has so far been beyond his considerable resources. Consulta Juris, however, is another matter.

Mr Muchikkal Prabhakaran's first response was to say that he was going to sue The Maritime Advocate for defamation of character. So far, he hasn't. Then he said that he would pay our bill, if we recorded that fact in our columns. We said we would. But we didn't, because he still didn't pay. Then he said that, in fact, we owed him money - $2,250 to be exact - as his fee for writing an article for the magazine.

We did publish Mr Prabhakaran's article. It was good. But there was no question of payment. In fact, we never pay lawyers - or anybody else - for articles that appear in this magazine. That way, we like to think we help keep everybody honest.

So Mr Prabhakaran is either mistaken, or lying. You can make up your own mind. You might also like to know that the rate of editorial payment which Mr Prabhakaran alludes to is, in rough terms, five times what the most generous maritime publisher in the world would pay an experienced freelance journalist. Nice work if you can get it.

Do or die

IUMI is the International Union of Marine Insurance. Not the International Union of Marine Underwriters. Not the International Underwriting Institute. Not even the International Union of Marine Insurers, or any of the other countless names foisted on it by the shipping industry, and by the insurance industry for that matter. And when referred to by its acronym it is "You Me", not "Eye You Me".

In the past few weeks I have seen and heard IUMI referred to by everything except its proper name by people who have no reason to care one way or another about what they regard as a pitiful milquetoast of an organisation. Just how ineffectual is it possible to be? Here is a union of the world's foremost marine underwriters, and yet who can remember one single worthwhile cause that it has initiated in the last fifty years. Or the last hundred years for that matter. IUMI's most recent annual conference - in London - has come and gone without so much as a layer of dust being disturbed within a thousand miles of its being.

IUMI was formed to co-ordinate systems of co-insurance and reinsurance. But it was formed in 1877, and shipping has changed a lot since then. You can buy cover and sell claims in outer space now. In 1877, you had to turn up on the doorstep with a painstakingly copperplated signing slip in your hand, ready to plod round the market in sparking clogs with nothing but a half-ounce of ready-rubbed in your pocket, until you had enough scratches on your slip to put some steam on the table.

IUMI has lots of good people. But it needs to start doing something. It needs to have a voice on things that matter. It needs to punch its weight, which could be considerable. And it needs to start complaining when people get its name wrong. Only then will people stop getting its name wrong. And only when people stop getting its name wrong will it be able to claim that it is being taken seriously.

I've been sticking up for IUMI for 25 years, and it's time somebody else had a go. If IUMI doesn't do something soon, it should be allowed to die. Who would miss it, after all?

NOGA area

THESE days, ship arrest rarely involves tall ships. There are those, though, willing to give it a try, as shown by the following incident passed on to us by Frans de Vries Lensch, a lawyer with the Rotterdam office of Nauta Dutilh, who also happens to be a keen sailor.

According to de Vries Lentsch, NOGA, a Swiss trading company that found itself on the short end of a deal-gone-wrong with the Russian state, won a court judgement against Russia and arrested the Sedov, a Russian tall ship, during the Sail Brest 2000 event earlier this year. The French lifted the arrest, however, and NOGA was forced to adopt a different tack.

The Sedov was scheduled to appear at the Sail Amsterdam 2000 event soon after, along with another Russian tall ship, the Kruzensthern. NOGA threatened to arrest both vessels as soon as they appeared in the Netherlands. The Russians, in turn, threatened not to come. Bad news for the event's organisers, who stood to lose two of their prize attractions if they couldn't find a way of protecting the ships from NOGA.

The organisers sought an injunction to prevent NOGA from arresting the ships during the event. Applying Russian law, which stipulates that there had been a separation between state and property in Russia, the court in Haarlem agreed to the injunction, arguing that as the state could not own the ships they could not be arrested to enforce a state debt. It found that, rather than being state-owned, the vessels now belonged to Russian training institutions. A court of appeal in Amsterdam reached the same conclusion a few days later, paving the way for the ships' successful participation in Sail Amsterdam 2000.

Discussing Dali

THEY say a car tells you something about the driver. In the world of corporate entertainment, the venue apparently speaks volumes about the company. If that's the case, what does a reception at an exhibition celebrating the work of the art world's master of eccentricity say about Richards Butler?

Located on London's fashionable South Bank, the Dali Universe, heralding the life and work of Spain's Salvador Dali, was the venue for the recent annual reception of Richards Butler's commercial disputes group. Receptions have become a weekly ritual, often punctuated by the big cheese giving a big speech which receives big applause, whereupon the guests leave with a big corporate pack in their hands. Not so at Richards Butler.

Dali may have been the master of eccentricity - or a fruitcake, depending on your point of view - but there was no madness in the choice of venue this time. Just an opportunity to see Dali's use of sensuality, femininity, religion, mythology, dreams and fantasy in over five-hundred pieces of his work, many of which have not been exhibited in the UK before. In fact, the guest list did all the talking - BBC, Express Newspapers, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Shell International, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros to name a few.

How refreshing. How Dali.

The lion's den

PEOPLE who enjoy public speaking are probably either politicians, wannabe politicians, town criers or pure showboaters. But more conferences in shipping mean more speakers are needed, and those who agree to take on the job must, like comedians, hope for the right combination of content and audience. That brings me to the recent Cadwallader Annual Memorial Lecture in London, where the guest speaker was Georgette Lalis, director of maritime transport at the European Commission.

Georgette began with an overview of the EC's powers in its role as a producer of legislation affecting shipping. But it was the second half of her speech that set passions among the audience running high. She outlined the proposals under discussion at the EC, including a rethink on liability in respect of the carriage of oil by sea, and the acceleration of the phasing out of single-hull tankers.

More than 150 shipowners, brokers, consultants, lawyers, accountants and others ensured that question time was both lengthy and animated as the audience launched into a barrage of questions about the consequences for world oil of a drastically reduced tanker fleet and the effect on Europe's shipping industry of changes to the liability regime.

Georgette's answers were civil, considered and honest. Not popular, mind. But it was at least heartening to see a speaker trying to create unity between industry and regulators. "We may not be cheerful friends yet," concluded Georgette, " and perhaps we will never become friends, but at least we accept and respect each other, and more and more aim towards dialogue instead of confrontation."

Not the best message in the world for the legal profession, perhaps, but not a bad one to carry forward into the new millennium.

Share and share alike

MY favourite newspaper headline in the last three months is that which appeared in Lloyd's List on November 6. "Freight Traders is funded by Mars," it said. I know nothing about Freight Traders, and bear it no malice, but this confirms my worst fears about electronic commerce.

According to one IT expert who is trying to sell me something, the legal sector is an information-rich industry. True, but not everybody wants to share the information.

The question I have to ask myself is whether I really want to buy some "ground-breaking technology that utilises an artificial intelligence, neural and pattern recognition programme which understands text-based information in any language".

The answer is no I don't, not on your nelly. I would rather spend Christmas Day naked, chained to the rostrum in the Lloyd's Building, go three rounds with Mike Tyson on Boxing Day with only one good arm, and then see in the new year by giving a paper at a ship finance conference, without laughing.

Lacking intellect

IMAGINE a maritime conference with two hundred and fifty people in the audience, and not a lawyer amongst them. Than take a further leap into the impossible. Someone asks a question that needs a lawyer to answer it. It could only happen at a slightly dotty conference. You've got it. It was Shipping.com - what's it all about?

Organised by Phil Parry, managing director of Spinnaker Consulting, as a suitable vehicle to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of PYNDA, the Plymouth Nautical Degree Association, Shipping.com was an incredible success. How else would you get a roomful of people to attend a shipping conference? Safety would have got fifteen, ship finance one hundred and fifty, but dotcom filled the space. With people, and with hot air, despite the absence of lawyers.

Shipping.com was a one-day conference aimed a shining a light into what dotcom and shipping might actually have in common.

Many of those present were bursting to put their point across. At which point it became obvious that even if there are dotcom companies in shipping with a point, they have either changed the point recently, or don't know what the point is themselves, or simply cannot explain the point. Pointless, then?

Not at all, because a lively day of sometimes cutting question-and-answer sessions did a lot to help shipping and the dotcoms - at least those with the honesty and common sense to listen and understand what is happening, or, more importantly, what is not happening.

What isn't happening? Disintermediation isn't, which is a good thing for people who think this is a clumsy word for killing off the middleman. Remember when dotcom chartering sites were going to cut out brokers? Forget it. Dotcom after dotcom speaker fell over themselves to assure the audience that in fact they would not do away with the broker. Instead, they would make brokers' lives better, by helping the distribution of information, and by making transactions more efficient.

Efficiency has suddenly become the whole raison d'etre for dotcoms, be they in procurement, bunkering or chartering. Time and time again sellers of dotcom services spoke of "stripping out business process inefficiencies". From trying to make their massive investments pay by taking the brokers' tiny commissions, they have moved to the idea that they can make money by streamlining what Mark Stokes of onesea.com described as "shipowners' back ends."

The Baltic's Mike Elsom made clear that the one simple thing the internet could be used for to help shipping was to create a simpler means of information exchange, leaving contracting and follow-up to the people who understand it. Lawrence Royston, of Dataworks and ShipbrokerExchange, had the same message. Elsom outlined the Baltic's plan to provide that very service. Given its independent and well-financed platform, that should have upset the other commercial dotcoms. Perhaps not. It was easy to see in Plymouth that behind many of the shipping dotcoms is the son or daughter of an old shipping family. They need toys, which is why they are on the internet. Spending a lot of other people's money is just part of a big interactive computer game.

However, so far it provides nothing else to shipping. No-one present, and almost every one of the many dotcoms with shipping aspirations was present, actually makes a profit from transacting shipping business on the net.

Bill Boase of Tshipping, who is also a real shipowner, put the question. "What on earth are those companies who have raised millions of dollars of venture capital doing with the money?" Mark Stokes said the cash went on technology, which was proving tougher to develop than anyone thought. John Galani, of ShipVertical, said it went on marketing, which begs the question of how good an idea is if you need to spend zillions of dollars to convince people to use it.

Galani not only cannot explain his ideas, he cannot explain why no-one else can see just how wonderful they are. As for Ship IQ, don't ask.

Alex Papachristidis, of Seatramp, said, "I haven't heard the word 'ship'," then went on to point out that most people in the real shipping world cannot see the relevance of what most dotcoms are trying to do. More spending on marketing won't cure that. Better, simpler, more relevant ideas from people who understand shipping and who haven't got rich daddies to featherbed them will. And the legal question? "What is everyone doing about intellectual property?" The answer is simple, really. There is nothing to protect.

A place in the sun

MARITIME lawyer Ignacio de Ros is offering a place in the sun to young lawyers or P&I club people who would like an opportunity to experience Barcelona at its best. His busy maritime law practice can offer short-term placements which will give recently qualified lawyers exposure to international maritime legal work, while perfecting their Spanish.

Placement lawyers can follow the maritime law course offered by the Barcelona Bar Association, and can qualify in Spain by passing exams held annually in Madrid. It is not just about study, though. There is an opportunity to gain actual nautical experience through the Yachtmaster courses which de Ros supports in the Olympic Port of Barcelona.

Applicants from any EC country, willing to stay between six months and one year, are welcome to apply. They should be qualified as lawyers and have a good grasp of Spanish. And, of course, they should be looking forward to varied maritime work while enjoying one of Europe's most vibrant cities.

The placements are paid, and help is available with finding accommodation. If you know anyone who would like to take up this opportunity, please ask them to call Ignacio de Ros on +3493 205 0265 or e mail igna...@icab.es

Lars but no least

LARS Lindfelt has died at home, in his sleep. I'm glad he went peacefully. But I'm going to miss him. He was a big man, in every sense of the word.

Lars had the courage of his convictions. He also had the humility to consider the possibility that others might be right, and the time to try and persuade them that they weren't. And he had a heart as big as Sweden.

For as long as I can remember, Lars was the voice of the Swedish Club. He was the Swedish Club. But he was also a voice for shipping, and an almost lone voice for insurance in the shipping industry.

The last time I saw Lars was a couple of years ago, at an IMIF gathering in London. The meeting had just been rent asunder by an enormous snore that resonated throughout the room during the course of a particularly tedious debate, when Lars got up to make a point - probably a tirade against class or charterers, or both. "Yes, it was me," he said. Lars told me later that his own snoring had woken him up.

Thanks for the memories, Lars. It won't be the same now, but I'll carry on looking for that rare Howling Wolf track. Sleep well.