The legal position of the ship’s Master when tackling the day-to-day pressures of today’s shipping industry, was the subject of this year’s Cadwallader Debate and Dinner, organised by the London Shipping Law Centre, Maritime Business Forum.

The debate, on 26th October, was chaired by The Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony and was attended by over 230 delegates from across ship owning, ship management, insurance, law, class, the judiciary and regulatory sectors.

Entitled: The Master Under Attack? Authority and Responsibility in an age of instant access, the spirited debate and Q & A discussion dealt with the problems Masters face and suggested possible solutions.

The problems include:

Erosion of the Master’s Authority
Increase of the Master’s responsibility
The Master as a legal ‘hostage’
The powerful position of charterers
The global vulnerability of the Master
External interference
Bullying and harassment by authorities in the port
The demands of modern technology

Suggested solutions included the need to support the Master; the need to reinforce his authority – or reduce the liabilities; and the need to consider carefully, the consequences of maintaining the status quo by doing nothing.

The distinguished speakers were:

Michael G. Chalos, K&L Gates (New York)
Michael Kelleher, West of England P & I Club
Jeffrey G Lantz, US Coast Guard
Faz Peermohamed, Ince & Co
Capt. Kuba Szymanski, Secretary General of Inter-Manager, who moderated the discussions

This event was held at The Drapers’ Hall, Throgmorton Street, London, EC2

A transcript of the event is available as a .pdf download from here.