Know your contractual partner

FIT Alliance launches eBL declaration to secure commitment to digitalisation

BIMCO, DCSA, FIATA, ICC, and Swift (The FIT Alliance) have launched the “Declaration of the electronic Bill of Lading” as the adoption of eBLs can help make international trade more efficient, reliable, sustainable, and secure. The aim of the declaration is to secure commitment from all stakeholders in international trade to collaborate on driving digitalisation, starting with eBLs, within their industries.

Rumours on compulsory use of bunker mass flow meters in Chinese ports

Bunker fuel traders in China say the use of mass flow meters at local ports is increasing amid growing expectations their usage will become mandatory in the near future.

Electronic bills of lading (eBLs) are already transforming the iron ore trade

“We don’t want to be a first mover on eBLs” is what we often hear – yet this is despite the first eBL systems having been around for more than 20 years.

eBills of Lading

Is my contractual partner or broker fake?

We regularly hear from members with concerns about scams. A typical example is when an owner is asked to make prepayments, for example by covering “liner in” costs or settling proforma disbursements before the ship arrives at the loading port.

Background

Linos Choo

Linos Choo focuses on general commercial litigation and arbitration with particular emphasis on shipping, commodities, and international trade finance. He has concluded many successful arbitrations under the auspices of the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, LMAA, FOSFA, GAFTA, CIETAC, and SCMA amongst others. Linos' experience includes complex charterparty, bills of lading, ship sale and purchase, shipbuilding, ship finance, marine insurance, international sale of goods, and maritime cross-border insolvency litigation and arbitration. Linos also has experience in the areas offshore floating production and storage, logistics, ports, and infrastructure. In the sphere of international trade, Linos frequently advises banks involved in the finance of international trade on complex issues concerning payment obligations and bank-to-bank reimbursements under letters of credit, demand guarantees, performance bonds, standby credits, and forfeiting. Linos is also regularly instructed in the fields of commodities, banking and financial services litigation and regulation, civil fraud, asset tracing, and professional negligence.

Baris Soyer

Professor Soyer is the Director of the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law at Swansea University (www.swansea.ac.uk/law/istl). He is a member of the British Maritime Law Association and British Insurance Law Association. He is the author of Warranties in Marine Insurance published by Cavendish Publishing (2001), Marine Insurance Fraud published by Informa Publishing and of an extensive list of journal articles published in elite journals such as Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, Journal of Business Law, Cambridge Law Journal, Edinburgh Law Review, Law Quarterly Review, Torts Law Journal and Journal of Contract Law. He sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of International Maritime Law, Shipping and Trade Law and editorial committee of the Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly (International Maritime and Commercial Law Yearbook). He currently teaches Admiralty Law, Charterparties: Law and Practice and Marine Insurance on the LLM Programme, and is the Director of Shipping and Trade LLM programmes at Swansea.

Clean bills of lading