In this case, the first instance decision of Teare J was upheld on appeal following a collision that occurred in the narrow channel leading to the entrance of the port of Jebel Ali. It was the first appeal on liability in a collision case to reach the Court of Appeal since 2004. The findings of the Court of Appeal will be of assistance to members in avoiding confusion regarding the application of the Collison Regulations (COLREGs). Facts On 11 February 2015, the containership ‘Ever Smart’ collided with the VLCC ‘Alexandra ...

North P&I, one of the world’s leading providers of marine insurance, today confirmed that its subsidiary in Ireland, North of England P&I DAC, has received authorisation as a non-life insurance business from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). Following successful delivery of this key milestone in North’s Brexit Contingency Plan, formal authorisation from the CBI (effective from 31 December 2018) allows North to continue its European operations after the expected loss of existing EU financial services ‘passporting’ rights when the United Kingdom leaves the EU on 29 March 2019. From ...

The new MSA Notice (2018) 555 issued on 29 December 2018 bans discharging washing water from open loop scrubbers in part of China ECAs as of 1 January 2019. The prohibited areas are, at least for now, Inland River ECAs, port areas in Coastal ECAs and the Bohai Sea. The crucial provision of MSA’s Notice is set out in Article 7 which bans the discharge of wash water or wash water residue from open-loop Sulphur Oxide Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems. A free translation was kindly provided by Hai Tong & ...

It has come to the attention of the Club that new regulatory requirements concerning the reporting of energy consumption from ships have been introduced for vessels calling at ports in China, with effect from 1st January 2019. Although no official translation of these new regulatory requirements has been published by the Chinese MSA, the Chinese authorities have indicated that the translation contained in this copy of the Regulation on Data Collection for Energy Consumption of Ships, is aligned with the Chinese text. Key points from these new regulatory requirements are ...

Pollution fines in Turkey have been subject to a regular annual increase for a number of years, but in the latest round which entered into force in December 2018 very significant increases have been levied. In addition, fines against persons and legal entities have been separated with the rates for fines against legal entities now between three and fourteen times higher than previously. Since vessels are invariably owned by legal entities a Member is likely to attract the higher rates of fine. Details of the revised fines and other provisions ...

DVB is a chemical that is prone to polymerization, a form of self-reaction, and when shipped in bulk DVB polymerization can cause heat and flammable gas to be generated. The stowage of containers carrying DVB aboard vessels can therefore present a risk of explosion and fire if they are not properly presented for carriage. DVB has been shipped for many years but rarely resulted in polymerization incidents. However, it is understood that, since 2006, DVB with a higher percentage of active ingredients (increased from about 60% to 80%) has been ...

BIMCO, CLIA, ICS, Intercargo, InterManager, INTERTANKO, IUMI, OCIMF and World Shipping Council have produced the 2018 (Ver 3) Guidelines on Cyber Security onboard ships. In 2017, the IMO adopted resolution MSC.428(98) on Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management System (SMS). The Resolution states that an approved SMS should take into account cyber risk management in accordance with the objectives and functional requirements of the ISM Code. It encourages administrations to ensure that cyber risks are appropriately addressed in safety management systems no later than the first annual verification of ...

Entry into enclosed spaces is a critical operation which, if not carried out diligently, can seriously jeopardise the safety of the personnel entering the enclosed space. Enclosed space entry procedure is a topic which needs no introduction. This is a subject that has received wide industry coverage over the years due to recurring incidents that have resulted in fatalities. Consequently, this has led to the introduction of regulations, ship board procedures, training courses and an abundance of available literature on the subject matter. The Club has also contributed to these ...

NOTICE is hereby given that an Extraordinary General Meeting of Class 1 and Class 2 Members of the Association will be held at 14.30 hours on Tuesday, 5 February 2019 in the Hotel Le Royal, 12 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the following SPECIAL Resolution: SPECIAL RESOLUTION THAT alterations to certain Rules of Class 1 and Class 2 (as hereafter set out with commentary) be made to take effect from noon GMT on 20 February 2019: INTRODUCTION Unless stated otherwise, those ...

The IMO considers exhaust gas scrubbers to be an acceptable means of reducing vessels’ sulphur emissions and ensuring compliance with MARPOL Annex VI. A separate guideline, Resolution MEPC.259(68), specifies the requirements for the verification, testing, survey and certification of scrubber systems and sets out the criteria for discharging scrubber washwater into the sea. However, some coastal states and ports have implemented local regulations with more stringent requirements that restrict or completely prohibit the discharge of washwater from open loop scrubbers or prohibit the use of scrubbers. We are currently aware ...

The Swedish Club has launched its new edition of Claims at a Glance, a whistle-stop tour of cases and statistics taken from its experiences in Loss Prevention over the last three years. Claims at a Glance offers the Club’s own perspective on some of the real-life cases it has recently dealt with and provides updates on some of the Club’s key Loss Prevention publications from the last three years. It makes interesting reading: in the time period studied the report finds that a pilot is on board ship during 30% ...

IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), during its seventy-third session (22-26 October 2018) agreed that Administrations should encourage ships flying their flag to develop implementation plans, outlining how the ship may prepare in order to comply with the required sulphur content limit of 0.5% by 1 January 2020. Consequently, attached guidance (MEPC.1/Circ.878) on the development of a Ship Implementation Plan (SIP) for the consistent implementation of the global sulphur cap under Marpol Annex VI was issued. Administrations and Port State Control authorities, under Regulation 18.2.3 of MARPOL Annex VI, may ...

This Circular follows up on Circulars 01/18 of January 3, 2018 and 11/18 of March 9, 2018 regarding economic sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). It reminds Members of the significant risks entailed in evading US sanctions against the DPRK, and the comprehensive international sanctions regime against the DPRK which the United Nations Security Council introduced in 2017. Enforcement of sanctions generally, and against the maritime industry specifically, has intensified since 2017. This document draws attention to some of the measures which governments are taking to enforce ...

The bill of lading has three primary functions, evidencing the contract of carriage, acting as a receipt for the cargo and facilitating transfer of title to the carried cargo. There are occasions where documents are lost and, given the functions of the bill of lading, this has the potential to give rise to some significant exposures if not handled correctly. The contractual nexus surrounding any given bill of lading can be complex. Care must be taken, therefore, when handling situations involving lost bills of lading to understand this nexus. The ...

The enclosed are Joint Industry Guidelines for the carriage of Divinylbenzene (DVB) in containers and it has been published jointly by CINS (the Cargo Incident Notification System), the International Group of P&I Clubs and the TT Club. DVB is a chemical that is prone to polymerization (a form of self-reaction) and, when shipped in bulk, DVB polymerization can cause heat and flammable gas to be generated. The stowage of containers carrying DVB aboard vessels can therefore present a risk of explosion and fire if they are not properly presented for ...