Week 1: Dive into the wide world of Shipping

Understand the international legal framework that sits behind containerised shipping.

Module 1

Understand the role of the International Maritime Organisation and how it affects you

There’s no shortage of regulations we need to abide by in the world of maritime (but don’t run and hide just yet, we’re going to give you the full rundown). This specialised United Nations agency is responsible for regulating shipping, so it’s vital for us to understand these rules and how to follow them. In this module, you’ll get a high level introduction to two of the major rules, SOLAS and MARPOL to understand why and how these work behind the scenes of shipping. 

Recognise your duty to the safety of life at sea (and how to protect it)

Remember what happened with The Titanic? This ship went down in history for all the wrong reasons. When we think about maritime failures, images of Jack and Rose often come to mind, but the sobering reality is that life-threatening incidents at sea are not limited to the big screen. They can happen to anyone (if you’re unprepared). As maritime industry professionals, we have a paramount duty to the safety of life at sea. Let’s learn to protect it, together.

Module 2 

Get a handle on liner trades and the top ten carriers

In this module, you’ll gain an understanding of how a liner trade works, and its legal and financial implications in your day-to-day role. We’ll also give you the low down on the top ten ocean carriers worldwide and their power in the market 

Module 3 

Feel experienced in shipping operations (minus doing time on the poop deck)

 Ever wanted to peak behind the curtain of shipping operations? Really understand what goes behind the scenes in pilot moves and tugs? Are you sure? Alright then… 

In this module you’ll learn how things work behind the scenes, understand the multiple touch points of a container inside the port, and the different types of containers used in the industry.

Don’t know your LCLs from your FCLs? WTF-CL? We’ll teach you the lingo, so you can feel confident in every conversation.

Week 2: Demystify Bills of Lading

Module 1

Understand the law behind Bills of Lading

Bill who? 

In week 2, we’ll explore the legal importance and function of an ocean Bill of Lading. You might be surprised by the legal impacts that can ensue when a Bill of Lading is lost.

This can raise questions like:

• Can I move the cargo? 
• What documents do I need to sign? 
• Does detention, demurrage and storage accrue in the meantime? 
• How much money do I need to provide as a bank guarantee…. And how long will it be held for?

 In this module we’ll demystify all these questions, so you can be prepared for anything.

Module 2

Learn how to decode the front of a Bill of Lading

Business in the front, party in the back? Not quite, Bills of Lading mean business (from every angle) so it’s crucial to understand the different sections of a bill and their implications. In this module, we’ll be exploring: parties to the contract, the cargo description, container number, voyage and carrier sections. 

Module 3 

Learn how to decode the back of a Bill of Lading

Next we’ll learn to understand the cargo conventions and how these “invisible” terms interplay with your contract of carriage. In this module, we’ll be exploring: Hague, Hague-Visby, US COGSA, Hamburg and Rotterdam.

Week 3: Use Freight Forwarders and Incoterms to your advantage

Module 1

Understand the role of a freight forwarder

If you’d describe your relationship with Freight Forwarders as “it’s complicated”, it really doesn’t need to be. In Week 3, we’ll learn how Freight Forwarders interact with their client and the ocean carrier. 

We’ll answer questions like:

• How can Freight Forwarders be an agent versus being involved in the contractual side? 
• What exposure are they deliberately (or accidentally) engaging in?
• When do Freight Forwarders have a contractual voice? (Hint: it depends how the contract is structured).
• How can we tell if the Freight Forwarder is considered the Shipper in the ocean carriers eyes?  

Module 2

Learn how to use a House Bill of Lading

Thought we were done with Bills of Lading? There’s just one more you really need to know about. In Module 2, we’ll explain the difference between an Ocean Bill of Lading and a House Bill of Lading, and more importantly, how they impact on your dealings.

Module 3

Understand and mitigate risk with an understanding of Incoterms

Finally for Week 3, it’s time to explore Incoterms; what they are, whether they are compulsory, and is one better than the other? We’ll also explain how Incoterms can transfer risk and liability.

But wait! There’s more where that came from, we’ll also dive into the Dual Contract Principal. How many contracts govern one container on board a ship? Why does it matter? How many parties are involved in any one piece of cargo? Get all these questions answered once and for all. 

Week 4: Prevent (and recover from) supply chain breaks

Module 1  

Learn how to limit your supply chain risk (it could save you $100,000 and counting) 

Did you know one container left idle on a wharf can cost upwards of USD$100,000 and counting?

Lost or damaged cargo, containers overboard, detention and demurrage… They’re things we might not like to think about, but the only thing worse than thinking about them, is dealing with them in real life. So let’s explore what we can do to protect our supply chains and proactively avoid breaks.

In this module, we’ll help you understand the concepts of detention and demurrage and who is contractually responsible for these (in the face of commercial reality). 

Module 2

Demystify insurance 

Protection & Indemnity, Freight Forwarders Liability, Institute Clauses… There’s a few key insurance types to wrap your head around when entering the Shipping space.

Are some of these thoughts playing on your mind from time to time (or maybe all the time?)

• What’s the difference between each type of insurance?
• If I have insurance, can I still be exposed? 
• Does Incoterms impact who needs to take out insurance?
• Can I, or my company, still go bankrupt even with insurance? 

These are some big questions (with potentially terrifying answers) but armed with the right knowledge you can take the steps to protect yourself and feel confident that you’ve got it covered.

Module 3

Know exactly what to do when the supply chain breaks

Ship happens. 

We should all take as many proactive steps as we can to mitigate risk and maximise safety, but now and again things may still go wrong. The best way to be prepared is to know exactly how to act if and when this happens. 

After completing this module, you can leave the panic at the disco from now on. 

We’ll talk you through what documentation you need, who you need to notify , how you can mitigate your loss (and why that’s not optional!) as well as how to handle finalisation to close out, reflect on lessons learnt and move on.