The Freeport situation
 

Let me try to shed some light on the situation concerning the boats being held for freight charges at the Port of Miami.

As you all may know, Seariders is the Customs Broker and Freight Forwarder that did all the documentation for this project.

Seaboard Marine quoted $72 per square meter as a freight charge that would include all costs of shipping to and from Freeport, Grand Bahama. This did not include Customs and documentation services which is why Seariders was chosen to do the work with U.S.Customs and Sam Melvin with Bahamian Customs.

Ted Zoli estimated an amount that he expected would cover the shipping costs. Unfortunately his estimate was not completely accurate. The Bahamian Government (As I understand it in conversations with Mr. Zoli) contributed $120,000 toward the cost of shipping. The actual costs, as billed were $149,191.63.

These charges were calculated on the actual measurments taken on the docks when the boats and tow vehicles were delivered.

The boats arrived back in Miami on Friday Morning (Oct, 25) and were released by U.S.Customs at approximately 2:00 PM.

The dispute that exists is based upon the fact that APBA does not want to pay the "extra" $29,191.63 and wants to "make a deal" for some amount less than this. Since these charges are based upon actual measurements taken when the units arrived, the only way to settle this dispute in APBA's favor would be to prove that these measurements were in error.

I have re-checked all the calculations made by Seaboard and have found them to be essentially correct.

My suggestion to Mr. Zoli was to "pay the charges as billed and then we can file overcharge claims on those boats/vehicles where it can be proved that the measurements are erroneous.

This is evidently not what Mr. Zoli wants.

On Friday, an "arrangement" had been agreed between Mr. Zoli and Tom Paelinck, Vice President of Seaboard wherein Seaboard would hold Mr. Zoli's boat until this dispute was ironed out. A few boats were indeed released subject to this agreement.

On Monday Morning (Oct. 28) a threatening email from Mr. Allweiss was received by Mr Paelinck that threatened legal action if all the boats were not immediately released.

At this point, the Carrier is holding the remaining boats for payment of freight charges. Under the terms of the Bill of Lading, they have the right to do this. If this is not settled in an amicable manner, they even have the right to sell the cargo to satisfy freight charges.

While I don't expect that this would deteriorate to that level, I again suggested that the APBA pay the freight charges and then file overcharge claims where needed.

We're all waiting for a decision...............

There are always two sides to a story. A threatening email from MikeA.....can you imagine? :D :D :D

leave it to a lawyer to make a bad situation , worse !

FREE POPCORN for EVERYONE!!!!!!:D :D :D

The Plot Thickens.... I'll take mine with extra butter..

i'l take mine with extra butter. and a beer.:p :p :p

searider.............you need to respond within the Racers Roundup section. Great info, and glad you repsonded.

that sounds pretty cut and dry. come on please chime in, it must be the shippers fault? Anytime you take your property out of the country you are at risk of some kind of trouble. I take boats to Europe at least twice a year and you can not bull**** around with the information the shippers ask for on your bill of laden. I have never had a problem, I pay them what they ask for and get my boat when I am scheduled to and go boating the next dayof my vacation. These huge companies laugh at the tough guy aproach.

Searider
Thanks for the info.

There ya have it folks! Another cluster f***
People shouldn't threaten others with lawsuits & expect they will bend over. Sounds like the big company will win this one.

I will join the OSO offer.
I will be towing a boat to West Palm next week & will gladly put the dually to work if anyone needs their equipment moved from Miami. No charge! (except if you incorrectly fill out the paperwork on the second tuesday, in the month of February during a leap year & then threaten me with a suit after the rules change because of what your dog says)

Reply to Boat Girl:

I really don't know at this point if Seaboard will deal with each separate team. The motive behind taking the time to write this report is to "pour some oil on the water". Emotions are getting pretty hot and I don't feel that this will accomplish anything in the long run. I've made some suggestions. Perhaps someone else will come up with a better one. Mine are based upon 39 years experience.

Gee...where do I sign for next year?? :rolleyes:

well, sounds pretty straight forward. I guess the ball is back in APBA's court.

where is that picture of the monkey tryign to **** the football???

you see in POBRL (Puder's Offshore Bayliner Racing League) we won;t have problem liek this, the boats (1989 19' bowrider with 125 force outboard) will be loaded down with extra fuel and be raced to the bahamas. whoever lives WINS!!!! :D

HEY MIKEA, call Dr. Reducto. ITS A SHRINK RAY!!!!!!!!! SHRINK RAY!!!!!!!!!!

We had reservations about doing business at the port to start with. This is why we chose to drive our boat to the race. I knew APBA would take care of us but everytime I've done business way down south , I loose. 10-12's in the Gulfstream are sounding good right about now! BH

I ask that people do not speculate about what is happening and only post facts from personal situations and not second hand information. APBA has not been a part of the board for quite some time and it's great to see Ted Zoli giving an update of the situation. He didn't hide and neglect to comment. You have to give him credit and trust APBA is doing what they can and has the racers' interest in mind.

Ray Van

If you look at the numbers...30,000 at 72 per square meter is 416 square meters OFF! About 1248 sq ft. If your average boat/trailer is 10 feet you have roughly 124 feet of mis measurements...or a couple of tractor trailer rigs. There were only 40 or so units....seems like a large margin of error...just my two cents and rough math....

? - Why would anyone submit wrong numbers on their paperwork??? We weren't being charged.....

Dredgeking
 

Racers best interest in mind.

WTF...you have to be kidding, right?

get their fn property back.

Maximus

if you've been in business, you'd know that contracts go badly sometimes. WTF are you going do? work through the issues. sounds like APBA is working through the issues. results are never immediate when negotiations break down. i would be a bit unhappy myself if it were my boats, but if i chose to go to the Bahamas and race with APBA , then I would accept that APBA is an organization I want to deal with and anything can happen in the caribean.

on a side note: i have a caribean owner who owes me $6.5 million that he is unable to pay me for work completed. you bet i'm upset. that's my F'ing money, but contracts are contracts and issues need to be resolved through the contract. I bet APBA is working to resolve the issue within the parameters of the contract.

wow, are you ever a trusting soul. It won't be that big of a deal, just pay the money and sort it out later and everyone will be happy. I don't let people get into me for $50,000 in construction before I want some more good faith money or you are asking for a problem. 6.5 million,Geeeeez, there would be someone MIA in that deal.

Reply to "Pokerface"

The original calculations were made based upon the actual measurements taken when the units arrived at the port of Miami.
The "advance infomration is always helpful but, we found that there were last minute changes and that this informationis not really reliable. Actual measurement is.

The original "Estimates" were NOT provided by the Carrier. These were rough estimates produced by Mr. Zoli.

No one had any idea of what would show up at the docks. That is why the quote and the ensuing contract were based upon "by the square Meter" only. Who culd predict exactly how many square meters would show up at the docks ?

No one was OFF! If there is a general feeling that the measurements are in error, then an overcharge claim can be filed with proof of the over-measure. This is a possibility, if it can be proven.........

trust me whe i tell you i trust no one. my point is it's the caribbean and unforseen things happen even if it's only the bahamas. and what are you going to do about a bad contract, take out the government of the dominican republic who owes me the money or the head of the transportation company that APBA has issues with? no. you look to the contract to see what the dispute resolution clause states and you work from there. This isn't the 1st time APBA has written or read a contract and I'm sure they are working through the parameters of the contract to resolve the dispute. that's what i have to do, but unfortunately it takes time. i don't believe APBA went into the contract with the intent the racers would be in a bind. Their intent was to put on a great race at a new venue. things happen. let them deal with it. rather than criticize help to resolve the issue.

remember, if you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

wow
 

6.5m thats a lot of candy.

Dredge, Im not trying to slam just commenting on how it sucks for the guys that fuel the sport (and my entertainment).

Hey APBA disputing over money owed.......hmmmmm sound familar. FT Myers/Sarasota/St Pete.

Searider may or may not be at fault but there is no denying the APBA's history of non paymet of bills. (unless my info is wrong).

Do you think this could happen in NASCAR??

Just stirrin the kettle.

Maximus

maximus, i agree the situation isn't benefiting anyone. even the shipping company has costs associated with not releasing the boats. neither party is jumping up and down for joy when there is a dispute. i would rather use the forum to offer assitance to the racers and APBA than to stir the pot. some OSO members have offered some help. GREAT! it can be a frustrating sport, butwe all love it.

Reply to "Maximus"

"Whoa there cowboy !"

Seariders is your freight forwarder and Custom Broker. We prepared the export and import documents and cleared the boats when they got back on Friday. Seariders is NOT at fault for anything !

Our job was completed when Customs signed off and released the cargo.

This dispute, if there is one, is between APBA and "Seaboard Marine". Seaboard is the Carrier who owns and operates the ship.

Please don't even try to put any blame on Seariders. Right now we're trying to get both parties to talk and come up with something positive.

I guess the old saying. "No good deed goes unpunished" still holds true.

BUT, please remember this is NOT a SEARIDERS caused situation. We did our job well and our responsibilities ended when the cargo was released by Customs.

From that point on, I'm only trying to help..........

Searider.....I understand the Original Calculations at the Port of Miami are the ones to go by....but everyone was required to submit measurements with our applications to your company. When I arrived at Miami..my "Original Calculations" matched the ones I submited to Seariders with my application. Why wasn't anyone able to "Estimate" any better from the paperwork. You had advance knowledge of the measurements. I can understand one or two changes from the measurements we sent you...but as others have said the difference is nearly 25% wrong. Is it the measurements...or were some vehicles added at the port that weren't in your advanced paperwork? Adding a Tractor Trailer rig at the last minute will make up the difference in a hurry. What about the vehicles people said they were bringing and didn't?

as for my $.02:

what do you want from me I'm a wiseass punk kid :D
(beside a shrink ray would fix the problems)

SHRINK RAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you may also need a time machine since the shipment has already occurred. then you would be unstoppable. ;)

DITTO ON THE SHRINK RAY!

No time machine needed. You screw with us, we hit you with the shrink ray!:D

The bat is on loan to me tell I get my move done and also fix the issues with my truck :D :D

Am I the only one that gets the feeling that APBA is their own worst enemy? It seems that they had a resonable solution to the situation. One that did not hinder the racers but then Mike A. has to go and threaten people. Well I guess he if feeling the sting of he ego now. :(:(:(

Jon

Jon
Just noticed your tribute to Mark.
May he RIP
BTW he was a friend

Dan

DanB: I loved the way he attacked the waves. Like no other out there!!!! He is one of the few TRUE big wave surfers.

Jon

I just watched a good show on Discovery the other day about air freight. They chronicled several major air shipments fropm begining to end. It was pretty cool to see how fast and efficient they were able to ship a bunch of IRL or CART (or something) cars to Asia and back with virtually no problems. They also tracked the shipment of some French wine (don't know the name) that leaves thew winery and only has like 3-4 days to get to the store. And its not just a little, its like millions of bottles.

Sure sucks that these things can happen all the time, but APBA sends a few boats and hell breaks lose.:(

P.S. They also showed horses being shipped - for those of you you care. :p

CART isn't exactly a fair comparison FEDEX does sponsor the series.

But yes it could be more oganized. Every race i've been too has been a study in mass confusion. It amazes me that millions of dollars in boats show up and there is so much confusion. APBA and SBI need to take a serious look at SCCA club racing event if they want to see how they should run racing events with volunteers. FYI at the national races 100-150 cars show up and take over tracks like watkins glen, laguna seca, pocano, daytona, ect. There is some confusion but not much usually. Hell the race i was at, at pocanao a guy got kileld in wreck and there was only a 3 hours delay. Contingency plan pre-established. Driver meeting took place racers voted on weather to continue or not, racer were not penaliezed (championship points wise) for not competing if they felt they couldn't. after the vote they ran teh remaining races.

Oh yeah you know how they always try to run 2 or 3 races at an offshore ace and that is way to confused? SCCA event run like 6-10 races. And the pocano race was double national so there was a race on saturday and sunday.

Its an efficient model to look at ladies. If you want offshore to ever be as big as the "mainstream" racing races NEED to be more organized.


BACK, BACK I SAY, BACK!!!!!!!!!! ITS A SHRINK RAY!!!!!!!!!!! SHRINK RAY!!!!!!!!!!

Although not there, 40 Boats seems sort of small for a National race, yet spending the money if you were not in contention for the championship seems foolish as well with the way the economy is. Yet being able to compete is half the fun. you can point to other race series, but it is comparing apples and oranges.
Could thier be more organization sure , but when you consistantly change venues it is hard to know what obstacles you will need to hurdle. It is unfortunate that the success of the Bahama's race is tranished by this incident. Yet another learning lesson for future races at this sight. Hope all get thier equipment back soon.:(

Jon, searider did not state who the threatening email was sent to. it could be second hand information from searider.

Having been involved with putting on races in the past for about 10 years let me add one thing. Each and every car race venue except for the Gran Prix series is just that-a race venue. When you are looking at setting up the race you have set guidelines, areas of use, parking, concessions, etc. When you are doing a boat race you are using places that are normally used for other things-marinas, parks, etc. We had to change locations 3 or 4 times and each time you went somewhere new there were new hurdles to overcome. Add to that the fact that everyone is a volunteer and it is amazing the races come off at all. The key to having anorganized race is to maintain the same venue and tweek it each time you race. Since the venues have been changing of late, confusion will be the order of the day. In many instances the only reason a race goes off at all is the comaraderie of the racers and their ability to remain flexible. Most of the major problems we encounter are with outsiders, newbies, and fans. Most of the race teams simply sit back, grab a beverage, and say"let me know where you want our stuff, as soon as you can".