Articles

This article examines how changing circumstances can be costly for salvage firms, especially if salvage or wreck removal contracts are not absolutely watertight at the start of any operation. Who pays if it doesn’t go to plan? Risk versus reward is key to the likely profitability – or, in a tough market, the viability – of…

This article examines how the first real test of EU Operational Guidelines on Places of Refuge allowed authorities to go some way towards redeeming their reputation Viva España on Place of Refuge Hats off to the Spanish authorities for granting the stricken Modern Express a place of refuge at Bilbao and full marks to Smit…

This article tells how four weeks of intense negotiations led to a lone middle-aged woman making a perilous journey to deliver a ransom to hostage-takers in Nigeria. Why everybody needs a Brave Betty Recently a middle-aged woman – let’s call her Betty or, better still, Brave Betty – headed out in her small car on a…

This article examines how overturning a very Victorian ruling on collisions with towage has not necessarily simplified matters for everyone involved. Judge decides tug and tow one unit A very long time ago, a very famous (and senior) judge steered a course that led to some very lucky escapes for negligent tug owners in cases of…

This article examines expert advice following a national supreme court ruling that left one company unable to take advantage of international convention to limit its liability With all due respect…you’re wrong In the last article I highlighted the recent increases under the 1976 Limitation Convention which, for vessels under 2,000 grt, now takes their limitation cap protection…

This article examines important measures aimed at curbing excessive costs by bringing some uniformity to the response of coastal states to major incidents. Why insurers are sleeping uneasily The reinsurers of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I) have had their fingers badly burnt with the Rena and Costa Concordia wreck removal operations, which set new…

  This article examines the extent to which commercial towage rates have been taken into account by arbitrators in the assessment of salvage awards. It raises some points of concern which operators should be aware of. Rescue towage requires an element of caution Tug owners should make sure they have the information they need to protect…

Simon Tatham reports on the recent increase in the amounts by which salvors, tug owners and the larger OSV operators can limit their liability under international convention. He also makes a case for private submission to arbitration in salvage cases to avoid costly litigation Tactics can make a big difference It is no coincidence that…

This article examines how highly technical charterparties are often ‘bread and butter’ work for English shipping solicitors Tug operators have a duty of readiness Towcon is a mainstay of this industry, as is IT&O, and is an appropriate subject to touch upon to mark the anniversary of this (now) venerable publication. Charterparties have always been…

Simon Tatham looks at how stricken vessels can get caught up in an extended game of political ping-pong between rival nations, increasing the risk of environmental damage I try not to miss the Salvage & Wreck Removal conference organised in London by Lloyd’s Maritime each December. Some interesting papers were presented on this occasion, not…