Watson Farley & Williams’ Post

Laws Of Salvage – 10 Things You Must Know Check out this article 👉 https://lnkd.in/dKkFGMxm #Salvagelaw #Salvage #Shipping #Maritime #MarineInsight #Merchantnavy #Merchantmarine #MerchantnavyShips

SMIT SALVAGE B.V. AND OTHERS (SMIT)v LUSTER MARITIME S.A. AND ANOTHER (Owners). On the 19 March 2024 the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment. Appealing the Admiralty judge’s decision, the Owners argued that a contract as to the remuneration to be paid to the salvors had been concluded, precluding a claim for salvage under the International Convention on Savage 1989 or at common law. The Court of Appeal disagreed. Reaffirming the legal principles related to contract formation, the case highlights that careful consideration must be given when trying to agree terms via email and/or telephone exchanges. Though terms such as ‘subject to contract’, ‘subject details’ or ‘fixed on subjects’ can be used to make clear that parties have not yet reached the stage of a binding contract, the absence of such terms (as in this case) is not decisive. What matters is the parties’ words and conduct towards each other, considered in their context. The decision Agreeing with the Admiralty judge’s decision, the Court of Appeal concluded that the parties’ exchanges fell ‘considerably sort’ of unequivocally evincing an intention to be bound, essentially for the reasons put forward by SMIT.

Make informed decisions about your contents claims with the help of Timmons Consulting Group. We'll help you decide what to claim, salvage, and restore. #ContentsClaims #InformedDecisions

Make informed decisions about your contents claims with the help of Timmons Consulting Group. We'll help you decide what to claim, salvage, and restore. #ContentsClaims #InformedDecisions

You'll remember that the Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, ran aground and blocked the Suez Canal in 2021. SMIT Salvage helped to get the ship going again. How much should the owners pay SMIT? That's the question at issue in today's decision in SMIT Salvage BV & Ors v Luster Maritime SA [2024] EWCA Civ 260. The owners say the amount payable is to be determined by a contract between the parties. The salvors say there was no such contract and that the amount should be decided by applying the International Convention on Salvage 1989 and/or common law. The parties had agreed some terms in principle but discussed drafting a written contract that never materialised. The High Court decided that the parties hadn't made a contract and the Court of Appeal has now agreed. Here's what caught my eye. Males LJ says at paragraph 71: "The burden is on the owners to demonstrate that the parties’ exchanges evince unequivocally an intention to be bound." Is that right? I thought the burden was on the owners to demonstrate an intention to be bound, without any extra requirement of unequivocality. (In RTS Flexible Systems v Molkerei Alois Müller Gmbh & Company KG, the Supreme Court said there had to be unequivocal evidence of intention to waive the clause requiring formal execution, but that's different, I think).

Definition of Salvage Specialist in Claims Processing.

For ethical and safety reasons, this is more than just a routine salvage operation.

After months of headlines and extensive salvage efforts, the infamous containership Dali—which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26—has made significant progress in its recovery journey. The vessel, managed by Synergy Group and chartered to Maersk, recently arrived at Norfolk International Terminal on August 11, marking a crucial milestone with its cargo fully offloaded and preparations underway for extensive repairs. The shocking incident, which claimed the lives of six construction workers, has drawn attention both to the ship’s technical failures and the broader repercussions. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the vessel experienced multiple electrical blackouts, including one just before the collision. The crash caused part of the bridge to collapse onto the ship's deck, leaving the starboard bow severely damaged. In the months following the accident, the Dali remained heavily laden with an estimated 4,800 containers. The ship's journey from Baltimore to Norfolk was fraught with challenges, The ship’s movements were complicated by the fact that it had no working anchors. The machinery on one side was destroyed when the bridge collapsed onto the ship. The other anchor was cut off when the salvage effort removed the ship from the accident site back to the Baltimore terminal. The complex operation to offload the containers concluded only recently, with images showing the ship’s cleared decks. As the Dali prepares for its next steps, a newly introduced bill in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to hold its owners, Grace Ocean of Singapore, financially accountable, proposing penalties up to 10 times higher for the damage inflicted. Meanwhile, Grace Ocean declared General Average in April, requiring cargo owners to post security bonds before their goods were released, reflecting the financial complexities of the ongoing situation. The ship’s future remains uncertain. Temporary repairs are planned while the vessel is in Virginia, with the U.S. Coast Guard indicating that a more comprehensive overhaul is expected once it reaches the Far East. However, a timeline for its departure and return to service is still up in the air, as further certifications and repairs are required. This incident brings back into the light the significant operational and financial risks involved in global shipping, particularly when unexpected disasters occur. The Dali’s journey is far from over, but its impact on the maritime industry and local communities remains. I’m sure that we will all remember the vision from that day.

B'More Bridge Update: PORT IN A STORM — 10 tugs, 9 barges, 8 salvage vessels and 7 cranes, including the Chesapeake 1000 — one of the largest marine cranes on the Eastern Seaboard — have descended on Baltimore. In the wake of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, when the cargo ship Dali lost control and collided with a key support pillar, $60 million in emergency federal funds and numerous salvage vessels have rushed to the city in an attempt to quickly clear the channel to one of the busiest ports in America. The efforts will also set the stage to rebuild the major bridge. According to experts who spoke with Nightly about the salvage and reconstruction, the initial attempts at clearing the channel mark merely the opening act of a much longer, multi-year effort to rebuild the structure. In the meantime, the closure of the port has major economic implications for the regional economy and supply chains across the United States: Thousands are already out of work as the port sits silent, while the economic impact to the region while the port is closed clocks in at over $191 million per day. https://lnkd.in/gCvbq5vM

MV Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge | March 31 Update & Who Pays for the Salvage? Who Pays? What's Going on With Shipping? March 31, 2024 In this episode - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - provides an update on MV Dali and discusses the insurance ramifications of the accident. #dali #baltimorebridge #baltimore #shipping #brdigecollapse #supplychain #containerships #containerships 1️⃣Update on MV Dali and Key Bridge 2️⃣Review of Power Outage on Dali 3️⃣Dali Sitting on Gas Lines 4️⃣Insurance Implications 5️⃣$3.1 Billion in Insurance! https://lnkd.in/ehKYhNCS