UPDATE 14:25 PM 9/12/14
The ship was togged away from the area in Saipan, as the authority judged that the explosives were not in working condition. Ocean containers will make it to their destinations delayed, but, it one piece.
General Average
Shippers will find this breaking story compelling. Others with shipments on that vessel will contact their insurer or wish they could!
ETC International Freight System offers import consolidations using Green Globe Line with Cargoes originating from all over Asia Consolidated in Busan, trans-shipped in Shanghai via Saipan to Honolulu. We have a consolidation on that ship: " Paull Russ Vessel " and notified the agent, the consolidators to advise the shippers / consignees.
Please see notice from Mariana Express below. The situation is indeed worsening in Saipan. Please notify all shippers of the status and that their individual insurers should be contacted accordingly.
As stated on Mariana Express Lines Original Bill of Lading
15 GENERAL AVERAGE
(1) The Carrier may declare General Average which shall be adjustable according to the York/Antwerp Rules of 1974 at any place at the option of the Carrier and the Amended Jason Clause as approved by BIMCO is to be considered as incorporated herein and the Merchant shall provide such security as may be required by the Carrier in this connection.
(2) Notwithstanding (1) above, the Merchant shall Indemnify the Carrier in respect of any claim (and any expense arising therefrom) of a General Average nature which may be made on the Carrier and shall provide such security as may be required by the Carried in this connection.
(3) The Carrier shall be under no obligation to take any steps whatsoever to collect security for General Average contributions due to the Merchant.
IMPORTANT SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear Customers,
Reference is made to our previous exchanges regarding to the grounding incident of MV. Paul Russ. On September 9, 2014 at 0630 hours local time, MV. Paul Russ V.011E ran aground in the Port of Saipan. It was also noted that the Pilot was onboard the vessel at the time of the
incident. A subsequent general assessment was made in the vessel’s vicinity.The divers have sighted that some undetonated World War II explosive ordinance under the vessel. Upon discover of this news, The United States Coast Guard (USCG) took overall command of the situation immediately. USCG Captain of the Port has issued an immediate order for the vessel crew to abandon ship for the sake of the safety of the crew. A 500 yard safety zone was also implemented. With this development, Ship Owners have declared General Average.
Please refer to their notice as follows:
As advised before, for safety reasons after the discovery of ammunition around the vessel the US Coast Guard and the port captain of Saipan
have ordered the master and the entire crew to leave the vessel. The master and crew followed the orders of the authorities already and have safely arrived ashore. Under the given
circumstances, there is nothing Owners can do than do wait for the outcome of the safety assessment by the US authorities. However, the preparation of the salvage operation is continuing and once the authorities allow the crew to return to the ship, the salvage operation will commence under the control of the salvage company T&T. Owners have decided to declare General Average and have appointed Stichling, Hahn, Hilbrich (SHH) as adjuster. SHH will get in contact with charterers soon to obtain the GA securities.
ppa. Tom J. Sommerwerck- Director - Döhle Assekuranzkontor Gmbh & Co. KG
Please inform your cargo insurer of the above GA declaration, and request the cargo insurer to provide the GA security which will be requested by Owners later. Should you fail to provide security in a timely manner and delays arise, we hereby place you on notice and hold you
liable for all the consequent losses and/or damage that we may suffer.
All our rights remain fully reserved.
We will provide an update again when it is available. For more information, please kindly contact your nearest MEL office.