In response to the Chinese authorities having identified a cluster of novel Coronavirus in Wuhan City, China, the WHO, in a statement issued on 23 January 2020, said that the outbreak does not yet constitute a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) at this stage, but would review the situation in a matter of days. At the same time, the WHO assessed the public health risk of this event to be very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level. Please refer to ...

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted the ‘Fuel Sulfur and Other Operational Requirements for Ocean-Going Vessels within California Waters and 24 Nautical Miles of the California Baseline’ (OGV Fuel Regulation) in 2008. This regulation requires the use of cleaner-burning low sulphur marine distillate fuels by vessel main engines, auxiliary engines, and auxiliary boilers within 24nm of the California coastline. More importantly, the regulation does not allow compliance via scrubbers. Only the low sulphur distillate grades of fuel (marine gas oil or marine diesel oil) can be used to comply ...

It may be frustrating where proceedings are commenced but not followed-through in a reasonable time-frame. English law articulates three requirements before a claim may be struck out and this judgment clarifies that all three must be satisfied. The Facts A shipping line carried a shipment of bananas in 28 containers from Ecuador and Honduras to Albania. On arrival the bananas were found to be damaged and the consignee issued proceedings in England against the line based on delay and an alleged failure to maintain correct temperatures. Four years and seven ...

Members are advised that, further to the club’s news item of 17 January 2019 and a recent circular by the club’s correspondent, Omur Marine, the levels of pollution fines being applied by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in Turkey against polluting vessels have again increased significantly, this year by more than 20%. As of 1 January 2020, pollution fines are calculated as follows: Pollution caused by petroleum products by tankers (such as crude oil, fuel products, bilge, sludge, slop, refined product, greasy waste materials etc) Ships up to and including ...

‘Seed cake’ is the term used for pulp, meals, cake, pellets, expellers and other similar cargo, where edible vegetable oils have been removed from oil-bearing seeds, cereals or commodities with similar properties. A joint publication of CINS and the International Group of P&I clubs sets out practices that are intended to improve safety during the carriage of seed cake and to ensure that it is properly declared, packaged and carried. Seed cake shall be transported in compliance with the requirements set out in the IMDG code. The practices set out ...

In China the number of people infected with the coronavirus is increasing. The virus was first discovered in Wuhan China but later spread to other cities in China and abroad. According to The World Health Organization (WHO), coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. WHO will consider declaring ...

As part of the renewal of the International Group’s General Excess of Loss Reinsurance Contract for the policy year 2020/2021, the excess War Risks P&I cover will also be renewed for a period of 12 months, with the costs included in the total rates charged to shipowners. The terms on which the excess War Risks P&I Cover will be provided for the 2020 policy year are in most respects the same as for the 2019 policy year, including the limit of cover of US$500 million. However, for the 2020 policy ...

In most mooring operations, the first lines are required to get and hold the vessel in position until the remaining mooring lines are sent ashore and vessel is safely moored. This could lead to the first lines, usually the fore and aft spring lines, experiencing significant loads. Without any load or tension indicators the crew operating the winch may not come to know if the line has been tensioned beyond its breaking load. This makes the first lines highly susceptible to part and snap back causing a tragic incident. While ...

1st January this year saw mandatory enforcement of the latest version of the IMDG Code, Amendment 39-18. As the incorrect declaration, packing, handling and stowage of dangerous goods of all types is seen as a primary cause of many container ship fires, insurance mutuals UK P&I and TT Club have once more collaborated in publishing guidelines under the title ‘Book it Right and Pack it Tight’. The guide published this week and available free of charge*, provides key insights for all actors in the freight supply chain responsible for preparing ...

North P&I Club has chosen Concirrus as a digital partner. Concirrus’ world-leading digital platform, Quest Marine P&I with its data suite and predictive modelling capabilities, will contribute to North’s loss prevention and risk assessment capabilities. Colin Gillespie, Director – Loss Prevention at North comments: “The activities of the Club’s Loss Prevention department contribute significantly to the understanding of our Members’ operations, and these will be augmented by leveraging the latest machine learning techniques and behaviour-based data analytics which we can access through Quest Marine P&I. This in turn has the ...

The club has been notified by one of its members that the Port of Karachi in Pakistan has joined the list of ports effecting a ban on discharge of wash-water from open-loop scrubbers. As per circular no. 001/2020 issued by the Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Maritime Affairs (Ports & Shipping Wings) the discharge of wash-water from open-loop scrubbers is prohibited in Port. While in the Port, vessels fitted with hybrid type of scrubbers should switch to the closed-loop mode of operations. As for vessels fitted with open-loop scrubbers, they ...

On 13 January 2020, the US Coast Guard Office (USCG) of Commercial Vessel Compliance (CG-CVC) released the Mission Management Statement (MMS) Work Instruction (WI) which is an updated guidance on the Implementation of Compliance/Enforcement Policy for MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14, including IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap. The guidance outlines how the USCG will enforce MARPOL Annex VI requirements in respect of the sulphur content within the fuel oil that is used or carried for use for all ships within either of the two US Emission Control Areas (ECA). The WI ...

The International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Center (IMB PRC) recorded 162 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in 2019, compared to 201 for 2018. The figures are broken down as four vessels hijacked, 17 attempted attacks, 130 vessels boarded, and 11 vessels fired upon. However, even if the 2019 numbers represent a year-on-year drop of almost 20% in global piracy, there is no time for complacency. Piracy in hot spots in West Africa and South-East Asia persist and 2019 saw a significant rise in ...

The Port of Authority information notice 0346, found in the attachment on the right, provides that vessels making anchor at Douala anchorage, Base Buoy (B9), will be provided with armed security for their protection. The security team will remain on board during the vessel’s stay at anchorage and will depart after berthing. The provision of this security team is free. Owners are advised to liaise with their agents to arrange the provision of security prior to arrival ar Douala, Cameroon. We thank McLeans for the information. Source: The Standard Club

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the United States Department of Transportation ​has issued two new advisories to commercial shipping. These new advisories cancel the earlier advisories issued in 2019. MSCI Advisory 2020-001 alerts the commercial shipping of the threat from Iran and its Proxies in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. MSCI Advisory 2020-002 alerts the shipping on the increase in Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom incidents in the Gulf of Guinea. Source: The Standard Club