In recent months a number of claims have been reported to the Club arising from collisions involving cranes, RTGs, straddle carriers, fork-lift trucks and other handling equipment. In several of them, it is thought that the driver had been distracted by using a mobile (cell) phone in the cab; in one instance, unbelievably, in composing a text message.
The shipping and maritime law community is beginning to pay more attention to an issue that arises from ISPS and the enforcement of other security legislation: who pays when a ship and its myriad cargoes are delayed by government officials acting on suspicion of some danger which turns out to be unfounded?
In their December 2004 bulletin, our friends at ICHCA International (the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association) reported on a recent meeting of its International Safety Panel (ISP) in New Jersey. A paper was tabled summarising some 30 different ideas that had been mentioned at the TC meetings. Two of them are reported here and more will follow as they are published by ICHCA International.
