The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) partnering Victor Moses & Co (Solicitors, Advocates & Trademark Attorneys) organized the next edition of the Annual Shipping Workshop on "Evaluating Challenges before the Maritime Industry under Pandemic restrictions" on 13th June 2020 at 5 p.m. (IST) on ZOOM App Platform.

The workshop introduced the Force Majeure Clause (FM Clause) in the realm of Ports and Shipping and discussed the challenges being faced by various stakeholders in the maritime trade and operations.

The objective of this workshop was to provide a detailed understanding on the concept of 'Act of God' legally denoted as 'FORCE MAJEURE', in the context of Shipping contracts; to evaluate its different implications, consequences, etc in law and tendency to avoid contracts during pandemic restrictions.

The session started with a very positive note and Capt S B Mazumder, Chairperson, Shipping Committee, The Bengal Chamber delivered the Welcome Address of the workshop.

The speakers of the workshop were Justice Soumen Sen, Hon'ble Judge, High Court, Calcutta, Mr. Tilak Kr Bose, Barrister and Senior Maritime Counsel, High Court, Calcutta, Mr. David Morriss, Partner of Holman Fenwick Willian, LLP, London and last but not the least Shri Vinit Kumar, IRSEE, Chairman, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT).

The workshop encouraged a very good industry participation comprising of experts, government representatives, shipping companies, port users, law firms, academia, etc and the total number of delegates present in the workshop was 250 (two hundred and fifty) approx.

This workshop was an eye-opener for industry, particularly for the maritime industry and it gave a clear understanding on the concepts of Force Majeure, Frustration, Avoidance of Contracts, etc. The workshop also helped the delegates to understand how to devise contracts related to the Shipping industry, particularly during these pandemic restrictions.