AIYON visits the Port of Baiona and meets with the French association of transporters O.T.R.E.

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We would like to thank the Chamber of Commerce of Baiona for the excellent welcome we received during our visit to their port facilities on Wednesday 15th, a port that is currently undergoing a process of intense growth following the approval of important investments, which will greatly improve the area and will undoubtedly attract more traffic.

Zuberoa Elorriaga, from AIYON Bilbao, together with Sonia García acting as President of the Transport Business Association of Bizkaia (ASETRABI), met yesterday, Wednesday, with the commercial manager of the port of Baiona, Mr. Joxan Madinabeitia, who, as representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Baiona – Basque Country (CCI Bayonne Pays Basque), is working to establish a better understanding in cross-border logistics and wants to promote the possibilities of collaboration between companies and associations on both sides of the Basque-French border.

After visiting the port and getting to know the local traffic, the three of them had the opportunity to enjoy an interesting lunch with Mrs. Caroline Auge, head of the French hauliers’ association O.T.R.E. for the 64th (Pyrénées-Atlantiques area) and 40th (Landes area) departments. O.T.R.E. is the French representative organisation for small and medium-sized transport companies in France, grouping together more than 3,000 companies and 75,000 employees, and since 2021 it has been a member of the European Road Hauliers Association (UETR).

This lunch allowed them to share and discuss the realities experienced in each country in relation to road transport, as well as the new regulations being promoted by the European Union. Both associations considered this visit a good opportunity to establish the basis for future collaboration, with AIYON’s support and legal assistance when required by the heads of the associations or their members.

It should be recalled that AIYON is the firm of reference for ASETRABI and its associates in the areas related to land transport, insurance and other matters involved in its activity.

AIYON Abogados participates in the Special Supplement on Transport and Logistics of El Correo

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On the occasion of the celebration of the “Empack and Logistics & Automotion” trade fair, which will take place at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Bilbao on 1 and 2 March 2023, the newspaper El Correo has prepared a special on Transport and Logistics with the collaboration of our firm.

AIYON has prepared the article “Why is adequate legal advice necessary for transport companies“, which aims to explain the need for the legal advisor to take an active part not only in the dispute resolution phases or claims that clients may require, but also in the previous phases of consultation, advice or processing. In any case, accompanying the operators in the logistics chain in an active and participative manner, trying to avoid possible setbacks in the development of their work, or to tackle problems, optimising their work as much as possible.

This collaboration is also accompanied by the participation as moderator of our partner from Bilbao, Zuberoa Elorriaga in the round table organised by the Basque Institute of Logistics and Sustainable Mobility (IVL/LEE) for the 2nd of March under the title “Present and Future of Land Freight Transport in the Basque Country”, in which Zuberoa will share space with professionals such as Sonia García – President of ASETRABI, Almudena Palomera – Manager Director at TUBACEX, Iñaki Cepeda – Manager of the GUITRANS Foundation, Inmaculada Ugarteche – Director of UNIPORT and Antonio Jaraices – Director of Organisation, Communication and Corporate Strategy at EUSKOTREN.

Aiyon, taking care of what is important

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Another year full of experiences.
Together we have faced and overcome every challenge.
You know that taking care of you is what gets us going every day.
The trust you place in us continues to thrill us.
Without it we could not have shared this path.
In these times when we are with our people.

We wish you a safe return home.

Aiyon
taking care of what is important
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Irantzu Sedano Speaker at the National Maritime Law Congress

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Once again, this year on 17 and 18 November 2022, the National Maritime Law Congress organised by the Spanish Maritime Law Association was held in Madrid.

AIYON Abogados, in addition to sponsoring the event, has collaborated closely in it, as our colleague Irantzu Sedano had the opportunity to be a speaker at the event with her presentation on the guarantees to be provided in requests for places of refuge for ships that are carried out in Spain.

Irantzu and her other three fellow speakers, Neus León, Carmen Zulueta and María Fernández Llamazares, all members of the Young Lawyers Group of the Spanish Maritime Law Association, through their interesting presentations on the personal guarantees to be provided in maritime navigation, provided us with practical and useful information, and helped us to broaden our knowledge on the subject.

In particular, our colleague’s presentation highlighted the analysis of the real and practical application of the provisions of the regulations applicable in Spain, through the case study of the ship “Modern Express” managed in conjunction with the port of Bilbao.

If you want more information on the guarantees to be provided in refugee applications made in Spain, we recommend that you read our article “On Ports of Refuge”.

AIYON Abogados collaborates with ISDE

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The ISDE Law Business School has been collaborating this year with AIYON Abogados in teaching the classes on Land Transport and Maritime Transport included in its postgraduate course offered under the title “Master in Business Law, Arbitration and ADR”.

Our partner in Madrid, Verónica Meana, was in charge of the asynchronous classes on Land and Maritime Transport and will soon be giving the in-person class on Maritime Transport, while our partners Enrique Ortiz (Cadiz) and José Domínguez (Algeciras) gave a lesson on Land Transport and Payment Methods, respectively.

This collaboration has given AIYON a new opportunity to take part in the learning process of new generations of professionals who will surely enrich the sector.

We would like to thank ISDE for this opportunity, which we hope will be the first of many.

The “Prestige” case twenty years on

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On 13 November 2002, it was twenty years since the Prestige sent out its first distress call while sailing off the Galician coast, loaded with approximately 77,000 tonnes of crude oil on board. This first call led, six days later, to the ecological disaster that resulted in the sinking of the Prestige and the consequent spillage of part of its cargo into the sea (63,200 tonnes). 

The IOPC Fund (International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund), an intergovernmental body set up under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to promote adequate compensation for those affected by oil spills and the economic damage they cause, takes part in these situations. Spain is a State Party and a member of the IOPC Fund.

Specifically, in the “PRESTIGE” case, the IOPC Fund had 147.9 million euros at its disposal to deal with the incident.

Since its inception, the team of lawyers of AIYON ABOGADOS S.L.P. has advised the IOPC Fund in the “PRESTIGE” case which was prosecuted in Spain, and our partners Mikel Garteiz-goxeaskoa and Verónica Meana are currently in charge of this advice.

Among other national and international publications, the national newspaper “La Razón” has echoed this news by publishing on 13 November a comprehensive article entitled “Prestige: caso abierto 20 años después” (Prestige: open case 20 years later). 

Read more…

AIYON Abogados Collaborates with ISEC

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In collaboration with the ISEC (Institute for Cargo Security), our partner in Bilbao, Zuberoa Elorriaga, took part in the III National Congress on Land Transport which took place on the 20th of October at the Centre for Traffic Management and Emergency Coordination of the Basque Country in Bilbao.

The Congress was opened by Ms. Sonia Díaz de Corcuera, Director of Traffic of the Basque Government and was aimed at members of the Local Police, Autonomous Police, Civil Guard and transport inspection technicians from the different Autonomous Communities, in order to provide them with continuous training and learning in the area of land transport, adapting to new regulations.

Together with the great professionals of the sector such as Andoni Gortazar, Francisco Fernández Sasiain and Juan Cantón Revuelto, Zuberoa took part in the presentation on Lashing Techniques, which covered a wide range of content on regulation, methodology, equipment, obligations and responsibilities, providing her vision on the role of the parties to the transport contract, and the best way for the inspection authorities to deal with the imputation of responsibilities or penalties to those involved in the stowage and lashing of cargoes.

AIYON Abogados would like to thank ISEC for giving us this opportunity, as well as for the excellent welcome received at the Traffic Management and Emergency Coordination Centre. We hope this is the first of many collaborations.

CIP and CIF – INCOTERMS® 2020 and Insurance

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In its Special issue on the XII Annual Congress of FETEIA-OLTRA (Spanish Federation of Freight Forwarders and Organisation for Logistics, Transport and Customs Representation), which will be held again between 29 September and 2 October in Algeciras, the “Canal Marítimo y Logístico” publishes an article by AIYON Abogados on INCOTERMS 2020 and Insurance, with particular attention to Incoterms CIP and CIF.

The INCOTERMS®, a term that refers to the acronym for “International Commercial Terms”, are a set of international rules, governed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) since 1936, issued for the interpretation of the most used terms in international trade, and are widely used in international business throughout the world. They are neither a supranational legal norm nor a mandatory law; the ICC created them based on and with the objective of reflecting the uses and customs related to the international sale and purchase of goods at the time.

The INCOTERMS® regulate very important aspects of a transport operation such as the conditions of delivery of the goods, the distribution of risks and costs between the seller and the buyer, the contracting and payment of insurance for the goods, the passing of risk, customs formalities and the cost of transport. It is easy to see that they do not regulate aspects relating to jurisdiction and applicable law, the method of payment or the transfer of ownership.

Regarding the CIP and CIF terms, the main characteristic of these two INCOTERMS® in their 2020 version is related to insurance, insofar as they add to the seller the obligation to take out transport insurance for the goods during the international transport phase in favour of or on behalf of the buyer. The term CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) imposes on the seller the obligation to take out, in favour of a third party, the buyer, transport insurance with the minimum cover of the Institute Cargo Clauses, i.e., ICC (C), while the term CIP (Cost and Insurance Paid to), obliges the seller to take out, in favour of the buyer, transport insurance, in this case with maximum cover, ICC (A).

In those operations in which the INCOTERMS® CIF or CIP have been agreed, the cost and risk of the main phase of the transport is divided, with the obligation to contract the transport remaining with the seller, while the risk and, therefore, the insurable interest of the goods during the main phase of the transport falls on the buyer. In other words, the seller will have the insurable interest in the goods until they are loaded on board the ship at the port of origin (CIF) or until the goods are delivered to the first carrier or at the agreed place (CIP), while the buyer will acquire the insurable interest in the goods from that moment, i.e., from the beginning of the main transport phase.

Read the full article HERE

AIYON Algeciras Strengthens its Team

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We would like to announce the incorporation of our colleague and lawyer Rocío López  to the AIYON Algeciras team, who will be in charge of the local AIYON office together with the head of the office, José Antonio Domínguez. After spending more than a year collaborating with our entire team from our offices in Cádiz and Algeciras and gaining extensive experience, Rocío has joined our team of lawyers in AIYON Algeciras on a permanent basis.

Algeciras is of great importance as it has the largest Spanish port with a large volume of passenger traffic, as well as all types of goods in bulk and containers, in addition to road traffic. Whether acting as a port of destination or origin, or as a strategic transhipment port, the port is an essential area for the passage of cargo and passengers to and from the mainland and the islands, as well as from all types of locations worldwide.

Therefore, in order to provide the most complete service and confirm its essential position, Algeciras has a large port community of which AIYON Abogados has been a part for years, with a very active presence in associations such as Cádiz-Port or Comport- Algeciras Port Community.

Our new colleague, Rocío López, holds a Degree in Labour Relations and Human Resources from the University of Seville (2016) and a Degree in Law from the University of Cádiz (2020). She also holds a Master’s Degree in Maritime-Port Company Management and Maritime Law from the University of Deusto (2020) and a Master’s Degree in Access to the Legal Profession from the UNIR (2022). Her training includes previous work coordinating services and quality in a company in the maritime-port sector in Algeciras, as well as a subsequent internship in a maritime law firm in Bilbao.

We also take this opportunity to announce the departure of AIYON Cadiz lawyer Encarnación Quevedo who has embarked on a new adventure in the world of administrative law with great enthusiasm, and always with all our support and good wishes. Good luck in this new stage, Encarni!

Saitec Entrusts Aiyon Abogados with the Expert Advice on its Offshore Wind Project DemoSATH

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The Basque company Saitec Offshore Engineering has developed a novel technology for floating wind turbines called SATH.

This system will be tested in the DemoSATH project in open waters, specifically in Biscayan waters, in the BIMEP test area, off the coast of Armintza, to test its operation in real sea conditions, and it will also be connected to the electricity grid. In this way, all the necessary parameters will be tested before its mass commercial launch.

For the construction of the first prototype, Saitec has contacted local suppliers in every possible way. Thus, the company points out that around 75% of the construction contracts have been made with suppliers in the immediate vicinity.

Among these necessary suppliers is Aiyon Abogados, a law firm specialising in maritime law, which has collaborated in the DemoSATH project together with Saitec. Its work has focused on legal advice on the special contracts for the marine operations necessary for the launching of the floating offshore wind turbine, the installation of its anchoring system in BIMEP, as well as for its transfer to this test area and its subsequent connection to the submarine cable.

The collaboration has been very fluid, with constant communication and a very satisfactory result, as it has offered the necessary solutions to the challenges posed by the project. “They have shown total interest in collaborating beyond the scope originally proposed and are very resolute and will undoubtedly be one of our fundamental supports in the future, both in the legal and insurance areas”, says Esteban Núñez, from Saitec, during the guided visit he made to Mikel Garteiz-goxeaskoa, Zuberoa Elorriaga and Irantzu Sedano at the Port of Bilbao.

The technology of the prototype was developed entirely by Saitec Offshore Technologies, a spin-off of Saitec engineering, based in Leioa (Bizkaia), which dates back to 1989. As a differentiating element, the platform on which the tower and the wind turbine stand was built with concrete as the raw material. This first unit will be connected to the electricity grid, providing energy equivalent to the consumption of around 2,000 homes. The prototype will be installed two nautical miles off the coast and will be anchored to the seabed, in an area 85 metres deep.

The complex loading operation of the DemoSATH floating concrete wind turbine will be carried out by SPMTs, a system of trolleys that will bring the unit from the construction position to the edge of the quay where a self-submersible pontoon will be waiting for it. The 140m long barge “Boa Barge 33” will be submerged to float the assembly with the wind turbine installed at a height of more than 90m.

This operation will mark another milestone in the programming of critical events of the project, already developed or yet to come, in which nothing can go wrong and in which expert advice, such as that provided by Aiyon Abogados in its field, becomes indispensable.

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