MAINBRACE
MARCH 2015 No. 2
www.blankromemarime.com
© 2015, BlANk RoME llp. Noce: The purpose of this newsleer is to idenfy select developments that may be
of interest to readers. The informaon contained herein is abridged and summarized from various sources, the
accuracy and completeness of which cannot be assured. The Advisory should not be construed as legal advice or
opinion, and is not a substute for the advice of counsel. Addional informaon on Blank Rome may be found on
our website www.BlankRome.com.
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE
A Note from the Editor
Blank Rome Wins Lloyd’s List 2015
Marime Legal Services Award
Congress and Administraon Take
Cauous Approach to Crude Exports
as Oil Prices Fall
Meet Blank Rome—Faireld Sentry:
Comity, Seller’s Remorse, and Chapter 15
Summary of Recent Bankruptcy Cases
Insurance Issues in Oshore Marine
Construcon
The 114th Congress Begins with a Whimper
Are All FFAs Marime Contract
as a Maer of Law
Navigang Scylla and Charybdis:
Greece’s New Leist Government
and the Shipping Industry
Maximizing the Benets of the Voyage
Data Recorder: Not Just Accident Analysis
Coast Guard Guidance on Marime
Cybersecurity Standards
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3
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9
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15
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BOCA RATON
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HOUSTON
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Houston, TX 77002-2727
LOS ANGELES
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NEW YORK
The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10174-0208
PHILADELPHIA
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Philadelphia, PA 19103-6998
PITTSBURGH
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Pittsburgh, PA 15219
PRINCETON
301 Carnegie Center
3rd Floor
Princeton, NJ 08540
SAN FRANCISCO
555 California Street
Suite 4925
San Francisco, CA 94104
SHANGHAI
Shanghai Representative Office, USA
45F, Two IFC • 8 Century Avenue, Pudong
Shanghai 200120
China
TAMPA
Fifth Third Center
201 East Kennedy Boulevard
Suite 1680
Tampa, FL 33602
WASHINGTON
Watergate
600 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20037
WILMINGTON
1201 Market Street
Suite 800
Wilmington, DE 19801
OFFICES
BLANK ROME LLP
BLANK ROME LLP
HOUSTON (+1.713.228.6601)
Michael K. Bell +1.713.402.7630 +1.713.385.7630 MBell@BlankRome.com
Keith B. Letourneau +1.713.402.7650 +1.713.398.8129 KLetourneau@BlankRome.com
Douglas J. Shoemaker +1.713.402.7645 +1.713.446.7463 DShoemaker@BlankRome.com
Jeremy A. Herscha +1.713.632.8653 +1.504.236.9726 JHerscha@BlankRome.com
James C. Arnold +1.713.632.8642 +1.979.530.6175 JArnold@BlankRome.com
David G. Meyer +1.713.402.7654 +1.713.289.4289 DMeyer@BlankRome.com
Jay T. Human +1.713.632.8655 +1.832.289.2412 JHuman@BlankRome.com
OFFICE PHONE
John D. Kimball +1.212.885.5259 +1.973.981.2106 JKimball@BlankRome.com
Richard V. Singleton II +1.212.885.5166 +1.732.829.1457 RSingleton@BlankRome.com
Thomas H. Belknap, Jr. +1.212.885.5270 +1.917.523.4360 TBelknap@BlankRome.com
Alan M. Weigel +1.212.885.5350 +1.860.334.7431 AWeigel@BlankRome.com
William R. Benne III +1.212.885.5152 +1.646.393.7847 WBenne@BlankRome.com
Lauren B. Wilgus +1.212.885.5348 +1.732.672.7784 LWilgus@BlankRome.com
OFFICE PHONE
Jerey S. Moller +1.215.569.5792 +1.215.630.0263 Moller@BlankRome.com
James J. Quinlan +1.215.569.5430 +1.267.243.9331 Quinlan@BlankRome.com
OFFICE PHONE
Jeanne M. Grasso +1.202.772.5927 +1.202.431.2240 Grasso@BlankRome.com
Gregory F. Linsin +1.202.772.5813 +1.202.340.7806 Linsin@BlankRome.com
Jonathan K. Waldron +1.202.772.5964 +1.703.407.6349 Waldron@BlankRome.com
Mahew J. Thomas +1.202.772.5971 +1.301.257.6369 MThomas@BlankRome.com
Patricia M. O’Neill +1.202.772.5825 +1.609.760.2566 PONeill@BlankRome.com
Stefanos N. Roulakis +1.202.772.5958 +1.626.437.0401 SRoulakis@BlankRome.com
Blank Rome Marime is ranked in the top ers in Shipping for Ligaon, Regulatory, and Financing
in Chambers USA and recognized as a leading marime law rm in Who’s Who Legal.
In 2013, Blank Rome was ranked “Law Firm of the Year” in Admiralty and Marime Law by U.S. News & World Report.
In 2015, Blank Rome won the Lloyd’s List 2015 North American Marime Award for “Marime Services – Legal.”
24 / 7 / 365
M
any member of our team.
.
Connecticut Maritime Association
Shipping Conference is titled, “We’ve always been an industry, now we
need to be a business.” The subtitle explains that the session will explore
how the maritime industry can “contend with a world of challenges and
still make money.” These are, perhaps, not new questions, but they are
ones that have assumed increasing importance as we start the ninth year
of what seems to many to be an eternal economic hangover.
Not all areas of the business have been stagnant, of course, and there
have unquestionably been opportunities to make money in these past few
years. But there have been many pitfalls as well, and we have seen the
effects on many fronts, from a proliferation of maritime arrest and attach-
ment actions, arbitrations and litigation, bankruptcies, and distressed
workout deals, to ever-expanding and stricter regulatory activity, to active
and aggressive criminal environmental enforcement actions. Add to that the increase in outside investment
in the industry, from public share offerings to private equity investments, and it seems clear that the world’s
attention on the shipping industry is only increasing. With that attention comes an increased pressure to pro-
vide a return on investment and to employ “best practices” in all aspects of the business.
The need to excel goes beyond the technical and operational responsibilities of running the business; com-
panies these days increasingly recognize that they must employ “best practices” from a legal perspective
as well. That means everything from ensuring the company is protected from cyber attacks, both tech-
nologically and legally; anticipating and preparing for changing regulations on operations, navigation, and
environmental impacts; analyzing corporate organization to minimize liability and tax exposure; auditing
operations to prevent non-compliance with regulation and reduce risk of casualties; and so on. As a law
firm, we are increasingly asked by our clients to help perform this critical self-analysis as part of their on-
going effort to improve their businesses and reduce their risk.
Blank Rome was very proud to receive Lloyd’s List 2015 North American Maritime Award for “Maritime
Services – Legal.” The maritime services award, as stated by Lloyd’s List, is awarded “for exceptional
achievement or contribution to any service sector of the North American maritime industry by a company,
individual or organisation.” We would like to think that this award recognizes the value we place on provid-
ing a truly “full service” approach to servicing the maritime industry’s legal needs. We take this opportunity
to thank Lloyd’s List for this great recognition, but more importantly, we thank our clients for continuing to
give us the opportunity to prove our worth. p
A NOTE
