Page 59 - SMI Issue 62

Ship suppliers can now benefit from further EU integrationARotterdam-based law firm has said that suppliers of goods and services to the international shipping industry, such as bunker suppliers, can modify the jurisdiction clauses in their standard terms to explicitly include the Rotterdam Court, thereby making it possible to apply to the Rotterdam Court to issue trans-border arrest orders against debtors’ assets.Haco van der Houven van Oordt, Partner at AKD, said: “Suppliers to the shipping industry are facing difficult times due to the present economic environment. Invoices remain unpaid and creditors, such as bunker suppliers, are often left with no option but to consider taking action against the ships to which they have supplied goods.“It is, however, not possible or attractive to take action against ships in every jurisdiction. Significant counter- securities and all sorts of formal requirements are often necessary, meaning that it is not an option to arrest a ship.“There are a few arrest paradises in the world, however, and the Netherlands is certainly one of those.”He said in the Netherlands, no counter-securities were required and applications were commonly granted in a matter of hours without the need for the formalities required elsewhere.“Thus it has long been long possible to arrest, quickly, ships calling at Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and also those sailing to the port of Antwerp,which must first pass the River Scheldt in the Netherlands.Mr van der Houven van Oordt said EU Regulation 1215/2012, which provides for even further integration of EU jurisdiction, now makes it possible to also apply tothe courts in the Netherlands to issue an order for a ship arrest elsewhere in the EU, an order which is to be recognised and enforced immediately in any other EU Member State without further local court intervention.The willingness of the courts in the Netherlands to allow seizure of assetsin EU Member States other than the Netherlands was underlined recently when the arrest of a seagoing bulkerin the port of Castellon, Spain was authorised within in a matter of hours. uMarket NewsMiko Marine launches emergency pipe repair kitAkit that can be used to seal leaks in high pressure pipes has been developed by Oslo-based Miko Marine in response to a specific request from St1 in Norway.The system uses specially formulated rubber patches that are slid over a leak and held in place by ratchet straps and the kits can be used to seal leaks in pipes ranging from two inches to 20 inches in diameter and can cover holes up to one inch across.Extensive testing has shown that the patch can successfully seal a leak through which liquid is escaping at pressures up to 10 Bar. It is suitable for use in many areas of the offshore oil and gas industry as well as the marine, chemical and construction industries and also for naval and armed forces applications.Tom Solhaug, Manager of the Sjurøya Depot in Oslo, who took the initiative and was responsible for the procurement of the kits at St1, said: “We are very happy with the final product as it is very reassuring for us to know that we now have the ability to cope with leaks in a quick and professional manner. By adding the pipe sealer kits to our emergency repair equipment we are now better prepared to deal with any problem, which must be as reassuring for our neighbours as it is for our own personnel.”Miko specialises in the design and manufacture of tools and products for the marine salvage and offshore engineering industry. uIssue 70 2016 | The Ship Supplier | 57