Africa Focus
Omar Omar Partner, Head of Transport & Insurance
Ameen Kim Paralegal, Transport & Insurance
Can ships be built as big as it gets? And if yes, will the owners/managers be exposed to a different level of liabilities? Subjected to a different level of disclosure? And are required to exercise a different level of due diligence and training?
Let us analyze what actually made the Ever Given perhaps and so far, the most talked about maritime incident of the century? Was it the first incident to take place in the Suez Canal? Of course not! Then what? The reason the Ever Given was famous disturbing even international political relationships and prompting many other countries to volunteer to save the world economy related to the size of the vessel rather the incident itself. Similar incidents could have very much happened. However, the size of those vessels involved did not cause a complete shutdown of the canal. The Ever Given did cause a complete shutdown of the most important water passage worldwide for days. Vessels of the same size are very few and not all of them are going through the canal.
It is stating the obvious and the old now to reaffirm that the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) did a splendid job along with the private sector partners involved to float the Ever Given and close this file. Nonetheless, the real arguments did start after resolving the crises. Who is responsible? Who will pay? And how much? Starting with the last, I guess the settlement figure which was reached between the SCA and the owners remains unknown. All in all, it was proven that the SCA on nay incident taking place inside the Canal or even at the northern/southern borders of the canal will always shave the upper hand. No treaties, no conventions, no local law or even a court will override the ruling of the SCA. The SCA will always have the right to perform salvage, even if not invited to, and then claim the cost from the vessel owners. The SCA will has the sole right to assess whether there is a need for its intervention or not and act upon it. The SCA has the right to claim any expenses and damages caused because of the incident or the salvage operations performed by it otherwise, the vessel owners will face an arrest order. Do all of this seem fair? Perhaps not. However, is it necessary and required? My firm opinion is yes! Why? Because it is vital for the SCA to hold such swift and immediate authority to make sure that the most important water channel in the world is always accessible, safe, navigational and available to all the time. In my opinion, subjecting such a vital water passage to this old heavy world of treaties and conventions will lead to a thrombosis to world economy leading to endless debates about many small incidents.
All in all, we do of course need to continue the quest to harmonies international law adopting as flexible as possible conventions and treaties. Yet and furthermore, I believe we, in the legal industry, should start gathering the momentum to call for more laws, regulations and procedures to legalize and standardize build up, operation and life of those mega large vessels such as the Ever given. The shipping industry itself should be more attentive to providing special training to masters and crews operating such vessels. Needless to say, a more detailed “heads up” is definitely required for ports and canals similar vessels are using. Who knows, maybe one day we will actually see a law called The Mega Sized Vessels Law.
For further information, please contact Omar Omar.
Published in September 2022
