MSC Adopts Amendments to SOLAS2020
International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Marine Safety Committee (MSC) adopted amendments to SOLAS2020 that raise the damage stability requirements for passenger vessels in the event of flooding caused by a collision. These changes used as a basis a series of EU and European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) funded cooperative research projects conducted by academics, shipyards, ship operators, owners, classification societies and ship design consultants over several decades. “To their great credit, the funding and support provided by the EU and EMSA have enabled a research effort into safety that would otherwise not have been possible,” says Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime.
Industry Unprepared for New Container Weighing Rules, says IUMI
Helle Hammer, Managing Director Cefor & Chair of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) Political Forum discuss about Container Weighing Rules. As of 1 July 2016, only containers with a verified gross mass will be allowed to be loaded on board a vessel (although IMO is allowing a grace period of three months). Although the new SOLAS requirement was adopted in 2014, many shippers and forwarders are still unprepared, and masters will have little choice but to refuse unverified containers. In the short term, non-compliance is likely to affect the cargo insurance sector. Issues include increases in risk exposure due to disturbances in the supply chain…
IBIA Welcomes MEPC Bunker Compromise
The compromise solution on the issue of ensuring bunker quality agreed at the 67th meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 67) has been welcomed by the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA). Submissions by IBIA addressing sulphur compliance issues and quality control had called for a series of practical measures including a licensing scheme and for the Bunker Delivery Note (BDN) to be a more useful document containing information on the specification of fuel ordered. Although these proposals were not implemented, MEPC 67 agreed to establish a correspondence group to develop draft guidance for assuring the quality of fuel oil delivered for use on board ships…
China's Nine Dash Line and the Law of the Sea: Kemp
Territorial disputes over tiny islands and reefs in the South China Sea are poisoning relations between China and its neighbours in Southeast Asia. "In recent months, China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea," U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told an audience in Singapore last month. "(China) has restricted access to Scarborough Reef, put pressure on the long-standing Philippine presence at the Second Thomas Shoal, begun land reclamation activities at multiple locations, and moved an oil rig into disputed waters near the Paracel Islands," Hagel complained at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Misdeclared Container Weights: Industry Urges IMO Action
Four major international shipping industry organisations have jointly urged the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to act to prevent misdecleration of container cargo weights. BIMCO, International Association Of Ports And Harbors (IAPH), International Chamber Of Shipping (ICS) and World Shipping Council (WSC) say this has been a long-standing problem for the transportation industry and for governments. They add: “The problem is significant and arises in almost every trade.
Shipping Industry Urges IMO Require Container Weight Verification
Misdeclared container cargo weights have been a long-standing problem for the transportation industry and for governments. The problem is significant and arises in almost every trade, and misdeclared container weights present safety hazards for ships, their crews, other cargo on board, workers in the port facilities handling containers, and on roads. Incorrectly declared weights lead to incorrect ship stowage and accidents. Misdeclared container weights facilitate unlawful evasion of Customs tariffs and duties…
BIMCO offers new Standard Bunker Contract
When BIMCO published the "Fuelcon" Standard Marine Fuels Purchasing Contract in 1995, it received only a modest welcome from the bunker industry. Although a standard contract of this type had been long-awaited by those involved in the marine fuels sector, "Fuelcon" was not widely adopted. The general feeling in the industry was that BIMCO, in an attempt to redress the balance of often onerous suppliers' terms and conditions then in general usage, had produced a standard form of contract that was too biased towards the buyers. Although failing to achieve dominance in the market, the "Fuelcon" initiative successfully raised awareness in the bunker sector of the need for a set of standard terms and conditions acceptable both to buyers and sellers.
