This judgment sets out a useful analysis of contracts where a court will examine the conduct of the parties and surrounding circumstances to reach a conclusion. Carriers should be alerted to the importance of knowing who they are dealing with, ensuring that the shipper on a bill of lading is correctly identified. The facts MVV contracted with RockSolid BV to carry consignments of waste (unprocessed incinerator bottom ash) from its electricity production plant in Plymouth, England to RockSolid’s plant in the Netherlands for treatment and disposal. Risk and title transferred ...

All manner of other substances, such as bitumen, mercury and arsenic have been used as hull antifouling coatings over subsequent centuries. Today the underwater hull of a vessel is protected by coatings comprised of individual compounds to prevent corrosion and fouling integrated into a multi-coat system. What are antifouling coatings? Antifouling coatings are technical paint systems that are applied to a ship’s underwater / wetted area of the hull to deter the settlement of fouling species. If the coating system is not properly selected or specified, regularly inspected and cleaned, ...

Non-declared or mis-declared cargo entered into the international supply chain, vastly increases the risk to cargo, property, the environment and most importantly the lives of all individuals moving the goods. While problematic for all categories of cargo, classified dangerous goods (DG) in particular pose the greatest challenges. The correct declaration of cargo is dependent on several factors, including expertise, knowledge and training. Ignorance of the underpinning regulations, and for international shipments, how those regulations interact with one another has the potential to result in unintentional mis-declaration. Compliance however also requires ...

The current PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes (previously revised in 2015) prohibits the import, dumping and disposal of both solid wastes, unless subject to a specific import license, and hazardous wastes. Those solid and hazardous waste products that are currently prohibited from import and those that are subject to an import license are listed in respective catalogues published by competent departments of the PRC – see below. The applicable licensing regime has been in effect in the PRC since 1 August 2011. ...

Accidents at sea continue to occur where the primary cause is the failure to properly check/verify the operation of electronic navigational aid(s). In order to prevent such incidents, it is important that the bridge team fully understands the operating principle of each equipment in use and the factors that may affect the accuracy of the information displayed. In this instance, our focus is on good bridge practices when operating radars. As we have recently experienced, failure of the radar to pick up a target at close range can result in ...

From time to time Members and clients contact Gard to ask for advice when a ship has been fined for burning non-compliant fuel in a port or waters where special sulphur emission regulations apply. In some cases, ships may have unknowingly burned fuel with a sulphur content exceeding the permissible limit, e.g. because the bunker delivery note (BDN) was not accurate. However, most instances of non-compliance happen because ship operators and crews were not fully conversant with the local air pollution regulations in force. A number of regions, states and ...

Leading insurtech, Concirrus has announced the launch of a new submissions module designed to help marine underwriters accelerate the digital assessment of new business. It is the latest in a series of releases aimed at providing a complete solution for digital insurance and algorithmic powered syndicates. Concirrus’ Product Director, Will Panchaud comments: “We’re heading into an age of automation and AI as the insurance market becomes increasingly digital. It has never been more important to make the underwriting process as efficient as possible. Our new submissions module helps underwriters spend ...

Executive summary The current PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes (previously revised in 2015) prohibits the import, dumping and disposal of both solid wastes, unless subject to a specific import license, and hazardous wastes. Those solid and hazardous waste products that are currently prohibited from import and those that are subject to an import license are listed in respective catalogues published by competent departments of the PRC – see below. The applicable licensing regime has been in effect in the PRC since August ...

Despite the well-known risks and the numerous publications and articles available on the topic, enclosed space entry fatalities continue to account for a significant proportion of deaths at sea to date. More drastic measures are required if the industry wishes to turn this tide. The most recent in a long list of such incidents is the death of a chief officer who entered a fumigated hold to inspect the cargo condition. In this case, detailed instructions for the fumigation of the cargo were given to the vessel clearly stating that ...

Members are advised that from 1 October 2020, IMO adopted amendments to MARPOL Annexes I, II, V, VI and the NOx Technical Code will enter into force, enabling the use of Electronic Record Books (ERBs) in lieu of paper record books. An ERB could be a device, system or software application designed to facilitate accurate entries for discharges, transfers, and other operations into an efficient electronic format, while complying with International Conventions and Flag State requirements.With these amendments in force, it is expected that the burden associated with paperwork will ...

The current PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes (previously revised in 2015) prohibits the import, dumping and disposal of both solid wastes, unless subject to a specific import license, and hazardous wastes. Those solid and hazardous waste products that are currently prohibited from import and those that are subject to an import license are listed in respective catalogues published by competent departments of the PRC – see below. The applicable licensing regime has been in effect in the PRC since 1st August 2011. ...

As a result of the recent increase of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, governmental authorities of Bénin have taken pre-emptive measures to prevent such attacks in their territorial waters through a new decree, Concerning Means of Protection of Ships in the Territorial Waters of Bénin. Any ship bound for a port in Bénin with an armed protection team on board, is required to send through its ship agent, a request for permission to enter Benin’s territorial waters with its own armed onboard protection team. The application for entry ...

From 1st January 2020, the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases, with a global warming potential of 2,500 or more, to service or maintain refrigeration equipment with a charge size of 40 tonnes of CO2 equivalent [CO2e] or more, shall be prohibited. What is an F-Gas? Fluorinated gases (F-Gases) are a range of synthetic refrigerants that trap heat within the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. The most common of these gasses are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are typically found on board ships in air-conditioning, refrigeration and inert gas drying systems. They ...

These farms are set up so that their nets are in ‘culture lines’ which go against the current. They are designed to cultivate mussels, oysters or fish. The farms are widespread, with each farm divided into a number of smaller areas and each area covering more than 1000m in length and 500m in width. A typical image is presented to the left: the items that float on top of the water are either buoys or empty bottles to mark where the nets are. Local fish farm information China based P&I ...

Both the extent and pace of growth in container volumes have put strains on a wide range of operational procedures and the physical hardware employed to handle the steel boxes, particularly onboard ships. Attention to numerous factors is needed to avoid repeated casualties A webinar organised by the Thomas Miller managed insurance mutuals, container freight specialist TT Club and protection & indemnity insurer, UK P&I Club, revealed the diverse range of factors important to safe container ship operations and the security of the container stacks they carry. ‘Container Casualties – ...