All posts by : MarcoPoloLine

On behalf of the MPL Board, we would like to thank all our members and partners for their attendance this year. Our conference has been the best one since MPL has been founded, because of you! Your success is our success, and we are proud to connect such professional people that become friends.
Our pictures will be on-line soon, and well done to everyone!
Sophie

MPL wishes to our Friends and Members a Happy Chinese New Year for 2022!
Hope your dreams come true, and stay strong and safe!

January 26, 2022 – LCA Studio Legale, in the framework of its LinkedIn event On Air & on board, organised a meeting on air transport.
Davide Magnolia (Partner of LCA), Flavio Ghiringhelli (Country manager Italy of Emirates) and Alessandro Fidato (CFO of SEA Aeroporti) took part in the discussion dealing with the impact of the global supply chain crisis on the air transport sector, the reactions of the operators and the future of air transport.
Here are two interesting outlooks in the field of air transportation:
i) Airports management expect to recover to pre-covid levels by 2026. This is since both national and international restrictions make certain geographical areas of the world inaccessible, or at least not quantitatively reachable as before.
ii) Airlines, on the other hand, hope to return to pre-covid numbers as early as 2024.
Regarding the International Air Transport Association (aka IATA) “Fly Net Zero by 2050” programme, the speakers highlighted the commitment of the airlines, pointing out that today the environmental impact of an air flight, in terms of CO2 production, is about 50% less than in the 1990s. This represents an important starting point and underlines the engagement of the whole industry, including aircraft and engine manufacturers.
The 2050 sustainability target requires all operators to invest heavily in research and development. Nowadays SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) represents a key driver towards carbon neutrality. SAF is made by blending conventional kerosene (fossil-based) with renewable hydrocarbon, and more than 300,000 flights worldwide have already used SAF. Along with a reduction of environmental pollution thanks to its lifecycle sustainability, SAF offers more advantages: i) current aircraft engines are SAF-compatible; and ii) SAF can be produced in any part of the world reducing dependence on producing countries.
Meeting sustainability also requires developing innovative technologies such as new aircraft and electric or hydrogen engines. To achieve this goal, airport infrastructures must be ready to accommodate innovative technologies and facilities for the production, storage and delivery of new fuels, SAF first and then hydrogen later.
Future urban air mobility also involves innovative aircraft and new way of mobility, eVTOL is a fully electric means of transport suitable for short-distance trips, which will reduce travel time and consequently traffic and pollution. This aircraft is particularly pioneering thanks to its innovative vertical take-off and landing system, it is currently in the process of ATA’s certification and will be fully operational at Milan airports by 2025, with the aim of offering transport services during the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics.
Thanks to the conversion of passenger aircraft to cargo, many airlines have started to approach air freight as an asset in the current pandemic period. Increased demand from airlines and the drive of manufacturers to develop new models are therefore elements that make it worth following the development of this specific sector of the industry in the coming years.

Cargo owners, freight forwarders and CMR carriers – what to do in case of claiM
A recent judgment by a Dutch Court of Appeal (Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal, 16 March 2021) addressed the subject of the relationship between cargo owner and road carrier when a freight forwarder negotiated the shipping contract on behalf of the cargo owner.
When a cargo owner appoints a freight forwarder the latter operates as an agent entering contracts of carriage on behalf of its principal. Typically, freight forwarders are not liable to the cargo owner in case of loss, damage or delay in transit. In such cases the principal must collect any damages directly from the carrier.
Under the Convention on the Contract for International Carriage of Goods by Road (also known as CMR) a freight forwarder can enter a contract of carriage under its own name as a shipper, meaning that only him and the carrier are parties of such contract. Thus, the cargo owners have not any claim rights against the carrier.
In order to obtain a claim rights a cargo owner should ask a declaration for its benefit issued by the freight forwarder stating that there is a contract relationship between principal and agent and that the contract of carriage has been concluded on principal’s behalf and interest.
The Dutch decision considers these specific issues:
– how the cargo owner obtains the freight forwarder’s right against the carrier;
– whether the freight forwarder must protect the time bar its rights against a carrier on behalf of the cargo owner.
Regarding the first topic, generally, the cargo owner/principle obtains the claim right against the carrier notifying the freight forwarder that it wishes to bring legal action against the carrier exercising directly the right arising from the contract of carriage. The freight forwarder/shipper must issue a declaration stating the transfer to its principal of all right under the contract of carriage. Then such declaration must be presented by the cargo owner in court.
As held by the Dutch Court of Appeal, under Dutch Civil Code, the principal obtains the rights of action against the carrier with the first notification to the freight forwarder. After that the cargo owner becomes legitimate to seek compensation directly against the carrier engaged by the freight forwarder, since the written statement by the latter is not a constitutive requirement.
Last crucial subject concerns the time bar. Under CMR Convention there is a one year limitation period to file a claim or suspend/protect it. Thus, the freight forwarder must protect this limitation period, failing to do so its principal will not be able to exercise its right. In this regard, concurrently, the cargo owners should clearly instruct its agent in respect of the suspension/interruption of the time bar.

The New Dual Use Regulation In Force From 9 September 2021
The EU Regulation 2021/821 for the recast of the Dual Use goods circulation regime was published in the Official Gazette of the EU on 11 June 2021 and will come into force on 9 September 2021, which will definitively replace the (EC) Regulation. n. 428/2009.
The update, made necessary by technological developments and increasing security risks, aims to further strengthen the Union’s action on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, contributing to international peace, security and stability.
In view of this objective, the new Regulation updates definitions (such as those of exporter and export) and regulatory
parameters and introduces numerous and relevant innovations.
Without prejudice to the need to obtain authorization for export, brokering, transit, technical assistance and, in limited circumstances, intra-Union transfers of products included in Annex I, the new regulation expands the cases of application, to dual goods not included in the aforementioned annex, of the catch all clause.
This clause allows the authority to subject to prior authorization also the export or transfer of goods (or technologies)
not included in the list referred to in Annex I to the regulation, in the event that they are connected to prohibited uses.
The extension of the cases of application of the catch-all clause mainly concerns the new cyber surveillance technologies, which may be subject to authorization, even if not included in Annex I, if use of the same emerges in violation of human rights or international humanitarian law.
Furthermore, Member States may independently prohibit or authorize the export of goods not included in Annex I for
reasons of public security (including the prevention of terrorist acts), or for considerations relating to human rights.
With reference to the types of authorizations that can be granted, the update leaves the individual and global authorizations substantially unchanged, expanding the number of cases that can be authorized in a facilitated way, through the provision of two new EU general authorizations (so called AGEU) that can be used by operators. In fact, when certain requirements are met, it is possible to use the AGEU for intragroup transfers of technology and software (AGEU 007) and for the export of certain control codes relating to category 5, in terms of encryption (AGEU 008).
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An important novelty on the subject is represented by the possibility of obtaining the so-called “Major project authorizations”: these are individual or global authorizations, granted to an exporter for a type or category of dual-use items, valid for exports to one or more end-users and to specific third countries, in order to carry out large-scale projects. These authorizations may have a duration of no more than four years, unlike individual and global authorizations, which will have a maximum validity of two years. The new regulation gives operators a central role in the self) determination of the risks that trade in dual-use products or technologies entails for international security. A corollary of this principle is the new importance attributed to the Internal Compliance Programs (so-called PIC), expressly defined as effective, appropriate and proportionate policies and procedures to the size and organizational structure of the company, capable of facilitating compliance with the provisions and the objectives of the regulation as well as the terms and conditions of the authorizations granted pursuant to it.
The preparation and implementation of Internal Compliance Programs may be considered mandatory if operators want to take advantage of the most interesting authorization facilities (such as global authorizations or new EU general authorizations).
All operators who want to make use of the simplifications granted by the new legislation, therefore, will be required to implement the PIC, taking the opportunity to carry out an accurate gap analysis aimed at assessing the impact of the new legislation on their business and to define internal procedures appropriate to the company and effective in guaranteeing compliance with the Dual Use discipline, avoiding the related risks, both criminal and administration.

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After peak season hit the ports of Los Angeles and Chicago in September, they are now seeing falling container availability. According to the Container Availability Index (CAx), especially the 40HC stands to continue their substantial drop.

Read more clicking here https://bit.ly/2TxiIRS

We would like to congratulate our partner UCM from USA and Gia Linh Logistics from Vietnam for their assistance and professionalism. They are ready to help the world by shipping (airfreight/sea freight) Nitrile gloves and masks to any destinations! Contact Tres directly if you are interested into this project! CARLTON W. BLAIR III
Well done from MPL!! Wonderful job!

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