FAQs on “Circular on General Trade Licence dated 17 March 2022 – Reporting of vessel calls to Russia and transiting Russian territorial waters” On 18 May 2022, we issued a Circular explaining that members must now report to the club all vessel calls to Russia and transits through Russian territorial waters, and the regulatory basis for this new requirement. This article sets out some of the Frequently Asked Questions we have received on the Circular. The information below sets out the club’s best understanding of the legal requirement imposed upon ...

The European Union’s (EU) announcement of its sixth package of sanctions, including a partial ban on Russian oil imports, was hugely significant. Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called it “a big blow to (Vladimir) Putin’s war chest.” One element of the package, a ban on providing insurance on tankers carrying Russian crude oil, looks likely to have a particularly large impact. After the embargo of Russian oil and tankers, the EU and the United Kingdom agreed to impose a ban on providing insurance to any ships carrying Russian oil imports ...

Sometimes fault is not always one-sided as a recent dispute involving a naval architect and a class society demonstrated. The claim was handled by ITIC (International Transport Intermediaries Club) and originated from a shipyard. The yard was commissioned to build a series of fast pilot vessels that had been designed by a naval architect. The designs were first submitted to Class who advised that the forward stringers be strengthened (stringers are longitudinal beams inside the hull to provide longitudinal strength). It is usual for advice from Class to be noted ...

Japan will consider measures for the EU’s imposition of its ban on insuring and financing seaborne transport of Russian oil to third countries because it will make it difficult to maintain its imports of Russian crude oil, a Japanese government source told S&P Global Commodity Insights on June 7. “We are scrutinizing the impact for the energy security, and if there is any impact, we will consider measures,” the source said, adding that the country’s pledged phase-out of Russian oil imports will be gradual while ensure its energy security. The ...

Russia expects to get around the EU ban on insuring and financing seaborne deliveries of Russian oil to third countries by using state guarantees, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian security council said June 6, in a post on his official Telegram channel. “This problem can be solved — insuring supplies can be secured by using state guarantees within the framework of interstate agreements with third countries,” Medvedev said. The EU said in a statement June 3 that its sixth sanctions package prohibits EU operators from insuring and financing ...

On a nation state level, governments can impose taxes on the sources of pollution at the point of production or sale, e.g. on petrol, with the aim that the taxes generated will cover the cost of dealing with the resulting pollution and incentivise reduced consumption. The difficulty in international shipping is that if just a few governments took this approach for bunker fuel, the buyers would likely adjust their arrangements so that they avoided bunkering at the taxed ports. For a sales tax on bunker fuel to be effective, governments ...

In the first four months of 2022, several ships faced serious operational issues caused by contaminated HSFO bunkers stemmed in Singapore. The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we better positioned to respond to such issues today than in the past? The news of contaminated bunkers in Singapore started spreading in mid-March and shortly thereafter many owners and charterers took preventive actions to ensure these bunkers did not get onboard their vessels or if already onboard, they were not consumed. The swift action taken by the Maritime and ...

As a marine insurer, the situation we might face would likely be the other way around which is a “cyber exclusion on a war coverage”. There are things to think about when we look into the marine cyber exclusion clauses that are used today. Many of these clauses are structured by the following logic: any loss directly or indirectly caused by or contrivuted to or arising from a cyber attack will be excluded, however in the case if the clause is endorsed on a war cover, this exclusion will not ...

The growing use and reliance on information technology, of data networks, transmissions and connectivity in the daily work within the marine and energy sectors increases exposure to cyber related risks. Ransomware attacks may result in economic loss or costs of rebuilding lost data. The consequential damages to hull, cargo and third-party liabilities from a cyber-attack on board a vessel or mobile offshore unit poses a different and more costly risk. The limited data on the frequency, severity of loss or probability of physical damage, is a challenge to underwriters. In ...

Lifeboats are designed to save lives, but over the years many serious casualties have occurred during drills, routine maintenance operations, and inspections of davit suspended boats. These accidents have also resulted in seafarers losing confidence in the lifeboat launching systems. In a recent safety alert, the US Coast Guard describes yet another lifeboat incident – one that could have had a catastrophic outcome if it had not been for the quick action of a crew member who activated a davit winch brake lever from the ship’s deck. In this particular ...

A view of the impact of the conflict in Ukraine is slowly beginning to form. A bit more than three months into the event, and the implications for transport are increasingly clear, exacerbating an already difficult situation caused by the pandemic. According to recent freight publications, freight rates have reached levels, up by a factor of five compared to before the pandemic. PCS research suggests that multi-billion-dollar industry-wide marine insured losses could result from several factors, including blocking and trapping and ports and terminals, with cargo also a contributing factor. ...

Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurance market, said on Wednesday that it was working closely with British and international governments and regulators to implement global sanctions against Russia. “Lloyd’s supports and remains focused on the delivery of a global sanctions regime against the Russian state,” Lloyd’s said. The Financial Times reported late on Tuesday that Britain and the European Union had agreed a coordinated ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil to shut Moscow out of the Lloyd’s insurance market. Source: Reuters

Members are referred to Circular dated 23 September 2021. The Club had previously notified Members of the change in ownership of E-TITLE electronic trading system and its underlying legal framework to R3. Members were also notified of the following: the change in trading name of the E-TITLE electronic trading system to Corda eBL; and how the Corda eBL software was to operate. The agreement between R3 and E-TITLE has dissolved, and ownership of the legal framework has reverted back to E-Title Authority Pte Ltd. In accordance with this change, the ...

Under one of the MLC provisions, delegates from member states, shipowners’ representatives and seafarers’ organizations meet periodically to review and update the convention. The latest Special Tripartite Committee (STC) meeting ended in Geneva on 13 May 2022, and drawing lessons from the challenges of the pandemic, the delegates agreed on a number of changes to improve seafarers’ conditions. The agreed amendments will ensure that: • seafarers have appropriately sized personal protective equipment, in particular to suit the increasing number of women seafarers; • good quality drinking water is available free ...

Insurance premiums are doubling or more for some aviation and marine business particularly exposed to the war in Ukraine, increasing costs for airline and shipping firms, industry sources say. Global commercial insurance premiums rose 11% on average in the first quarter, according to insurance broker Marsh, which said the war was putting upward pressure on rates. But the overall figure masks sharper moves in some sectors, and only covers the first five weeks following the invasion. War is typically excluded from mainstream insurance policies. Customers buy extra war cover on ...