As TT Talk goes to press, there are reports of another container, allegedly laden with pesticides, exploding. The Club has frequently highlighted the risks arising from errors throughout the supply chain from manufacture through packing and labelling to documentation.
A remarkable aspect in MSC v Trafigura Beheer (discussed in item 2, just above) was, in the words of Aikens J, the 'international conspiracy' to steal the 18 containers.
The TT Club is strongly urging container terminal operators to fit electronic sensor devices to quay crane booms to prevent them accidentally colliding with vessels during loading and unloading operations in port.
The April 9 Edition of ForwarderLaw E-News carried an interesting article by Steve W. Block, entitled "Misleading Monikers of the Middleman". Steve Block is an attorney with the US firm of Betts Patterson and Mines, P.S based in Seattle. Extracts from the article are set out below. (For those not familiar with the slang word "Monickers", it means 'name' or 'title').
With effect from 6 April 2007, significant changes have been made to the Civil Procedure Rules in England. As a result, it is no longer necessary for a Defendant party to litigation, who wishes to protect his position in regard to costs, to make a payment into court under Part 36 - the relevant Rule.
Readers may be interested in the following article on this well-advertised casualty. The article appeared in the March 2007 edition of BIFALink, the monthly magazine published by the British International Freight Association.
The International Maritime Organisation has set up a new sub-division within the UN secretariat's maritime safety division in response to enhanced focus on maritime security.
That the bill of lading is said to have been lost is no excuse for delivering the shipment without production of the original document. The reality is one can never be 100% sure what has happened to the original set of bill(s) of lading: are they indeed lost, or has someone just overlooked the business of paying the seller? If the carrier releases cargo without firm evidence of the consignee's right to take delivery, the carrier does so entirely at its peril.
