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1. Rotterdam Rules -
status of signatures and ‘instruments’ 2. Montreal Convention
1999 - increase of liability limit from 17 SDR to 19 SDR per kg 4. Conclusion |
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1. Rotterdam Rules - status of signatures and ‘instruments’ As
is now widely known in the industry, 16 countries signed the Rotterdam Rules
at the signing ceremony of 23 September 2009. By 26 October 2009, the number
of signatures increased to 21 countries. The
Rotterdam Rules will enter into force one year after ‘the twentieth
instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession’ hence signing
up to the Rules is a precursor to such ratification, acceptance or approval
(countries which are not signatory states can directly accede to the Rules). Thus,
the real counting will start with the first instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession. As the Secretary-General of the United
Nations is the depositary of the Rotterdam Rules, we recommend that Rotterdam
Rules aficionados use the following UN web link for the latest status: http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XI-D-8&chapter=11&lang=en Incidentally,
the TT Club is running a series of presentations on the Rotterdam Rules for
Members and brokers at key locations around the world. These presentations
aim to generate a clearer understanding of the impact the Rotterdam Rules
might have. The first two of these presentations have been held in London and
Hong Kong and taken together have attracted more than 100
delegates. 2. Montreal Convention 1999 - increase of liability limit from
17 SDR to 19 SDR per kg a)
Montreal Convention 1999 By
the end of 2009 the liability limit for cargo in Art 22(3) of the Montreal
Convention 1999 for international carriage by air will increase from 17 SDR
to 19 SDR per kilogram. A SDR (Special Drawing Right) currently equals about
USD 1.60. The
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), who is the depositary of
the Montreal Convention 1999, stated that this increase would enter into
force six months after the ICAO notification of 30 June 2009 (whether the
precise date is the 30 Dec 2009, 31 Dec 2009 or 1 Jan 2010 is maybe not
entirely clear). The
reason for this increase from 17 SDR to 19 SDR per kilogram is the ‘escalator
clause’ in Art 24(1) of the Montreal Convention 1999, which requires ICAO as
depositary to review the liability limits in this convention at five-year
intervals. The increase from 17 SDR to 19 SDR per kilogram is said to reflect
inflation of 13.1% over that period (this figure is apparently based on the
IMF world economic outlook database). This
increase from 17 SDR to 19 SDR per kilogram will apply only under the
Montreal Convention 1999, i.e. to air carriage contracts where the Montreal
Convention 1999 is in force in both the country of departure and destination.
The TT Club Conventions Handbook, which was published a few months ago, explains
the plethora of air carriage conventions and contains the table ‘Carriage
conventions per country’. b)
IATA air waybill form The
Conditions of Contract in the IATA air waybill set the global industry
standard. They are based on IATA Resolution 600b, which currently includes a
limit of 17 SDR. Any revision of IATA Resolution 600b has to be approved at
an IATA Cargo Service Conference (CSC) and authorised by government
authorities, such as the US Department of Transport DOT. It is unlikely that
this process will already be completed when the new limit of 19 SDR comes
into force at the end of 2009, yet IATA advised its members (the vast
majority of the world’s airlines) to continue using, for the time being,
Resolution 600b in its current version of 17 March 2008. It is expected that
the new IATA Conditions of Contract will become available in the first half
of 2010. c)
Transport Operators’ house air waybills and standard trading conditions For
Transport Operators (freight forwarders) who assume liability as contracting
air carriers under their own house air waybills, the Club strongly
recommended in TT Talk Edition 108 (of 30 May 2008) the use of the IATA air
waybill form based on IATA Resolution 600b, supplemented at the bottom of the
air waybill back with the following FIATA recommended ‘Note’: ‘If
this air waybill is used by a forwarder in a capacity as contracting carrier
for air transportation, any transportation or other service which is not
subject to an international air carriage convention will not be subject to
the terms and conditions of this air waybill but will instead be subject to
the forwarder's general conditions as have already been provided to you.’ In
addition to including this ‘Note’ in its house air waybill, the Transport
Operator must of course validly incorporate its general conditions to which
this ‘Note’ refers. This
recommended approach is not affected by the increase to 19 SDR per kilogram
under the Montreal Convention 1999. While the current version of IATA Resolution
600b with its liability limit of 17 SDR per kg will not comply with the new
liability limit of 19 SDR under the Montreal Convention 1999, it is believed
that this is tolerable for what is likely to be a transitional period of a
few months only. Naturally,
the liability limit of 19 SDR per kilogram in the Montreal Convention 1999
has compulsory force of law and will therefore simply override lower limits
in contractual documents such as house air waybills or standard trading
conditions. Transport Operators might therefore want to review the limit of
liability for air carriage in their standard trading conditions; in any case,
Members should be reminded of the importance of a clause which states that
any provision in the standard trading conditions shall be overridden to the
extent that it conflicts with compulsory legislation, but no further. The
TT Club is happy to assist its Members with any enquires in connection with
the increase of the Montreal Convention liability limit to 19 SDR per kg. In
any case, Members are advised to keep their stock of current air waybills at
suitably low levels. In
a concerted effort to reduce injuries and equipment damage in port operations,
the TT Club, the Port Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) and ICHCA
International have announced a joint initiative to establish minimum safety
standards for quayside container cranes. There are many features available
for the design of quay container cranes which can dramatically improve
safety, reducing exposure to injury, damage and disruption costs. The
initiative aims to ensure that such features are included as standard and not
optional in specifications tendered by equipment manufacturers. TT
Club has an established reputation for researching, assessing and nurturing
technological advances that will enhance safety and performance in the
operational port environment. In the past TT has recommended, for example,
the installation of boom anti-collision sensors, which have proven benefits
in preventing damage costs and business disruption, as well as improving
safety for crane operators, terminal personnel and ships’ crews. Port
Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) President, Ottonel Popesco said,
‘The issue that the project seeks to address is developing a benchmarked
minimum standard safety specification for quayside container cranes. This may
include issues such as boom anti-collision sensors, appropriate interlocking
and gate locks between the crane cabin and boom, safe stairway inclines and
handrail heights, gantry drive and braking systems, storm brakes, storm pins
and tie-downs. Just like seat belts in cars, critical safety features should
be standard and not optional. As part of PEMA’s mission to support and
contribute to best practice initiatives, we hope that this project will make
a valuable contribution to our industry and our customers by defining common
guidelines for quay crane safety features.’ John
Strang, the Chairman of ICHCA International, added his backing to the
project, ‘Inevitably, crane procurement is price sensitive and requires
significant budget. However, buyers will not always be familiar with the most
effective safety technologies. Furthermore, the process of specification is
complex; any quote needs to be carefully assessed against the invitation to
tender, and subsequent change requests can be costly. For all these reasons,
there should be a standard safe baseline provided in every tender to ensure
the industry has the safest cranes possible. This issue is not restricted to
quay container cranes; it is equally relevant for other cranes and other
terminal equipment. Our long term aim is to establish international and
national baseline safety standards for all terminal equipment.’ Initial
work will involve agreeing the list of safety features that should be
standard. Thereafter. the partners will seek a commitment from all quayside
container crane suppliers on the baseline standard specification in relation
to safety that will be used in tendering. We
hope that you will have found the above items interesting. If you would like
to have further information about any of them, or have any comments you would
like to make, please email the editor at tt.talk@ttclub.com. We look
forward to hearing from you. Peter
Stockli Editor
for
the TT Club TT
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