To read the full text of the articles in the March 2011 edition of Mainbrace, please download the attached pdf.
CMA Shipping 2011
By John D. Kimball
The theme of this year's Connecticut Maritime Association ("CMA") Shipping 2011 Conference "forward"— is laden with ambiguity. Given the current business climate, that is as it should be. Does "forward" reflect the fact that there was positive movement and profitability in the shipping industry in the past year? That certainly was the case for some segments of the industry. Or is "forward" only an aspiration, recognizing there is a long way to go before we will have a business climate which most would agree is good for shipping? ( View PDF to read the rest of this article.)
Effect of the National Commission's Recommendations and Final Report on the Deepwater Horizon Incident on the Offshore Industry
By Jonathan K. Waldron
As scheduled, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill submitted its report and recommendations to President Obama on January 11, 2011. The National Commission, co-chaired by former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency William K. Reilly, was tasked with providing recommendations on how we can prevent—and mitigate the impact of—any future spills that result from offshore drilling. ( View PDF to read the rest of this article.)
Recovery of Hedging Losses as Consequential Damages in New York
Arbitration
By Thomas H. Belknap, Jr.
The scenario is common enough: an owner voyage-charters its bulk cargo vessel to a charterer to load a cargo of, say, wheat, for carriage from Point A to Point B. En route, the vessel suffers serious mechanical problems resulting in a long delay in the delivery of the cargo. The cargo is undamaged, but indexed market values for wheat drop substantially between the time the cargo was expected to be delivered and the date it was actually delivered. To complicate matters, the charterer, a sophisticated international grain trading company, claims that it entered certain futures contracts at the time it purchased the cargo in order to fully hedge against the risk of such market fluctuation; however, as a result of the delay, it suffered a further loss on the hedge positions because they matured before the cargo arrived. ( View PDF to read the rest of this article.)
Impact of Changes in Congress on the Maritime Industry
By Joan M. Bondareff and Duncan C. Smith
On January 5, 2011, the Members of the 112th Congress were sworn in. The Republicans gained control of the House and all its Committees; the Senate continued in Democratic control, but with a smaller majority. While the practical effect of these changes remains to be seen, some policy ones are evident: the new emphasis on shrinking the Federal deficit and the number of new Committee Chairs in the House are likely to change the landscape and the outlook for maritime legislation and budgets. ( View PDF to read the rest of this article.)
No Speeding—You May Be Subject to a Whale of a
Penalty!
By Jeanne M. Grasso
Over the past few months, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ("NOAA") has issued several Notices of Violation and Assessment ("NOVAs") to commercial vessels for violating the U.S. East Coast seasonal 10-knot speed limit established to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Penalties in the nine reported enforcement actions, all from NOAA's Southeast Region, range from about $15,000 to $50,000. NOAA identified the violations by using the Automatic Identification System ("AIS"), which allows NOAA to calculate and chart the vessel's speed over its entire route. ( View PDF to read the rest of this article.)
Protecting Your Good Name—Some Special Considerations
for Protecting Maritime Trademarks in the United States
By Susan B. Flohr
Whether you are a cruise line, drilling company, vessel owner, cargo owner, shipbuilding and repair company, watercraft rental company or employment company crewing vessels, protecting your name and trademarks around the world is vital to your business. The unique challenges facing maritime companies arise out of the nature of the goods and services provided by these companies and the locations in which they do business. View PDF to read the rest of this article.)
Foreign Maritime Workers with B-1 Visas May Now Apply for
Transportation Worker Identification Credentials
By Jeanne M. Grasso
On February 9, 2011, after an intensive 2+ year effort by maritime industry representatives, the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") and the Department of State ("DOS") announced the creation of an annotated version of the B-1 visa—issued to a foreign citizen visiting the United States for business purposes—that will allow a foreign maritime worker to apply for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential ("TWIC"). A TWIC is a biometric identification card that a maritime worker must obtain in order to gain unescorted access to secure areas of facilities subject to the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 ("MTSA"). The announcement is an important step in ensuring that foreign maritime workers can obtain the necessary credentials to do their jobs when ships they are responsible for are in U.S. ports. ( View PDF to read the rest of this article.)
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