London School of Shipping Lecturer Appointment
WQW congratulate Ed Woollam on his appointment as a lecturer at the new London School of Shipping evening school in their Ship Finance and Ship Sale & Purchase modules. Ed comments “I am very glad to be involved with this new educational venture launched by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. 2019 promises to be an interesting and turbulent year for the UK marine industries and supporting professional education in the sector has never been more important.” Please click he
Contract ambiguity – When Part I and Part II collide
It’s not often that I end up reading US appeal Court judgments, but there was an article in the Law Society Gazette last month which caught my eye and I couldn’t help myself. Glad I did, too, as the judgment raised some interesting points which are worth bringing up as we do come across similar issues every now and again. The case itself, Internaves de Mexico S.A. de C.V. -v- Andromeda Steamship Corporation (& ors), was heard in the United States Court of Appeals for the Elev
BREAKING: Final destination for yacht leasing schemes?
“Such practices violate EU law and must come to an end”. With this strongly worded statement, the EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Union, Pierre Moscovici, may well have sounded the death knell for the long-term viability of lease-purchase schemes available to private yacht purchasers in Cyprus and, most notably, Malta. The European Commission has on 8 March 2018 sent letters of formal notice to Malta, Cyprus (and also Greece) for not
A renaissance of the UK flag?
“…do not be carried away by success into demanding more than is right or prudent.” Winston Churchill 1919 On the 15th of November the UK Ship Register announced that the UK flag was, by gross tonnage, now the 14th largest in the world with its tonnage having increased by more than 6 per cent in the year to that date to over 16 million GT. Perhaps even more encouraging was the evident quality of the ships on the register with 85% of internationally trading vessels over 500
Land Tribunal Decision Affecting Pendennis
In a judgment handed down on 24 November 2017, Pendennis Shipyard learned the outcome of its application to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in the Royal Courts of Justice for the modification of a restrictive covenant affecting part of its estate in Falmouth. In summary, Pendennis invested some £8 million in developing a wet basin on its estate, to allow works to be undertaken in a sheltered location. The land on which the wet basin is situated was subject to a restrictiv
MCA – HS-OSC Code – a well-timed step forward for the offshore wind farm industry
On 9th May 2017, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency published the result of its consultation on a new Code for High Speed Offshore Service Craft (HS-OSC) with a revised Code. This Code applies to vessels under 500GT carrying less than 60 persons and is intended to provide equivalency to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 (SOLAS) requirements in terms of personnel safety, ship construction, equipment and operation for, primarily, vessels operating as
ICS Educational Trust Fund Trustee Appointment
WQW Limited would like to congratulate Ed Woollam on his appointment as a trustee of the ICS Educational Trust Fund. This charitable fund was set up in 1978 with the object to promote professional education in the commercial shipping sector. Ed Woollam comments “As an examiner and tutor for the ICS for some years, I have been aware of the good work that the ICS do internationally to promote professional education in the shipping sector and I am proud to be associated with the
Fergal Quinn joins the Roll of Solicitors of the Republic of Ireland
WQW is delighted to announce that, as of 28th February 2017, founding partner Fergal Quinn has been entered on the Roll of Solicitors of the Republic of Ireland. With Brexit on the horizon, Fergal’s dual qualification in the jurisdictions of England & Wales and Ireland will allow WQW to explore a wider range of Brexit mitigation strategies to maintain access to the Single European Market and the European Customs Union, and it demonstrates well the ambitiousness of WQW’s busi
The UK Ship Register – revisiting some old debates
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 KJV In December last year, KPMG delivered to the Department for Transport the report the ministry had commissioned on the future of the UK Ship Register. In brief KPMG recommended a “part-privatisation” of the Register by spinning it out into a “Govco”, i.e. a privately held state-owned company which though subject
“Magic Pipe” conjures polluting activities off the coast of Britain
It is not often that the venerable New York Times reports on marine matters relating to the coast of Britain. In its issue of 2 December 2016, the Times reports on the US$40m fine to be paid by Princess Cruise Lines after it pleaded guilty to a number of felony charges following the dumping by employees of oiled waste. In a statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, it was reported that employees of the “CARIBBEAN PRINCESS” used sever
