Jan De Boer News

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is supporting a Regional Workshop for Latin-American countries in Argentina to implement and ratify treaties dealing with liability and compensation. The workshop, took place in Buenos Aires (14-18 May), has provided a comprehensive overview of the IMO liability regime, including treaties covering wreck removal, salvage, carriage of hazardous and noxious substances, passengers, CLC, Fund, Bunkers Convention and limitation of liability. The history of the treaties’ development, their principles and practical implications are all being covered, with a view to supporting officials to implement relevant obligations in national legislation.

Hazardous ship wrecks can cause many problems. Depending on its location, a wreck may be a hazard to navigation, potentially endangering other vessels and their crews. It may also cause substantial damage to the marine and coastal environments, depending on the nature of the cargo. On top of this, there is the issue of costs involved in marking and removing hazardous wrecks. International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention goes some way to resolving these issues. It covers the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks, drifting ships, objects from ships at sea, and floating offshore installations.

Sustainable use of the oceans, maritime trade, and the digital revolution were some of the issues addressed by International Maritime Organization (IMO)  Secretary-General Kitack Lim at the International Shipping Summit in Istanbul, Turkey (17 March). In his opening address to maritime industry and government representatives from around the world, Secretary-General Lim spoke about how IMO, in its leadership role as the global regulator of shipping, is and will be addressing a number of challenges facing the shipping industry. On the marine environment, he said that to be sustainable, human activities have to be balanced with the oceans'…

The issue of how to legally remove hazardous wrecks at sea has been in the spotlight at the Salvage & Wreck London 2017 Conference (7 December). International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Jan De Boer took part in a panel discussing the challenges surrounding wreck removal and provided an update on the Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention. The Convention provides the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may threaten the safety of lives, goods and property at sea, as well as the marine environment. It applies to shipwrecks, objects from ships at sea, drifting ships and floating offshore installations. Under the treaty, shipowners are strictly liable for costs of locating, marking and removing hazardous wrecks.

Transporting hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) by sea is a vital trade. Chemicals, LPG, LNG and other products are important to many manufacturing and energy processes and International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations ensure their safe transport. However, when incidents do happen, IMO’s HNS Convention helps to ensure that those who have suffered damage have access to a comprehensive and international liability and compensation regime. To explain this treaty and why it is needed, IMO’s Jan De Boer is participating at the LNG Ship/Shore Interface Conference in London (16-17 November). His keynote speech covered the impacts associated with HNS incidents…

An International Maritime Organization (IMO)/Pacific Community (SPC) workshop in Fiji is supporting Pacific Island countries (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) to implement treaties dealing with liability and compensation. The workshop, taking place in Suva (26-29 September), is providing a comprehensive overview of the IMO liability regime, including treaties covering wreck removal, salvage, carriage of hazardous and noxious substances, passengers, CLC, Fund, Bunkers Convention and limitation of liability.

What is the legal basis for removing a hazardous wreck at sea? Who bears the liability? These and many other wreck removal questions were addressed by IMO’s Jan de Boer at the ACI’s Maritime Salvage & Casualty Response conference in London (13-14 September). Speaking to a wide variety of stakeholders (Participants from salvage companies, tug & towage companies, authorities, ship owners, ship managers, P&I clubs, maritime lawyers and consultants) concerned with wreck removal, Mr. de Boer gave an overview of IMO’s Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, which provides the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may threaten the safety of lives, goods and property at sea, as well as the marine environment.

Seafarer abandonment was the subject of a seminar held at  International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters, London (22 June) – a joint IMO-Consular Corps of London event. Diplomats and consular officers involved in dealing with abandonment cases heard speakers provide a variety of perspectives on the subject, including on the legal framework, seafarer support, the representation of seafarers' interests, and the flag State perspective. Click for photos. In his opening remarks, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim emphasized that continued cooperation between IMO, organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), flag States, port States and shipowner groups was essential. "We have a human duty to protect seafarers, and we must not hide from it" Lim said.

The issue of protecting captive seafarers' wages is on the agenda at an International Labour Organization (ILO) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland (3-5 April). IMO has taken part in the ILO Working Group of the Special Tripartite Committee, established under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) – the international treaty covering minimum working and living standards for seafarers. The Group is considering proposals on the protection of a seafarer's wages when the seafarer is held captive, on or off the ship, as a result of acts such as piracy or armed robbery against ships. These proposals include an amendment to the MLC Code. Speaking at the meeting…

A meeting of salvage and wreck professionals in London, United Kingdom has been introduced to International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention. The treaty provides the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may threaten the safety of lives, goods and property at sea, as well as the marine environment. IMO’s Jan De Boer outlined the Convention’s key provisions in a session on “Operating within guidelines, conventions and authorities’ requirements” at the 19th Salvage & Wreck Removal Conference (7-9 December). These provisions include uniform international rules for the prompt and effective removal of wrecks located beyond territorial seas, and optional application of the rules in countries’ territories, including territorial seas.

A national workshop on theInternational Maritime Organization (IMO) liability and compensation conventions is underway in Bangkok, Thailand (8 -11 November). The workshop is providing a comprehensive overview of the IMO liability conventions, including those covering the wreck removal, salvage, carriage of hazardous and noxious substances, CLC, Fund and Bunkers Convention. In looking at the history of the treaties’ development, their principles, implementation and practical implications – IMO is supporting the implementation and enforcement of the full liability regime in the country. Attending participants include government legal officers and legislative drafters as well as stakeholders from the private sector.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO)  treaty covering wreck removal is on the agenda at the 7th Maritime Salvage and Casualty Response Conference in London (7-8 September). IMO’s Jan de Boer gave an insight into the Organization’s Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention, which provides the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks that may threaten the safety of navigation, the marine environment as well as the coastline or related interests. The treaty also provides uniform international rules for the prompt and effective removal of wrecks located beyond territorial seas, and optional application of the rules in countries’ territories, including territorial seas.

South Africa has become the seventh state to ratify the 2012 Cape Town Agreement. The treaty, which implements the Torremolinos Protocol, covers various fishing vessel safety requirements including radio communications, life-saving appliances and arrangements, and emergency procedures, musters and drills. Peace Kennedy, Counselor at the South African High Commission in London, presented the instrument of ratification to International Maritime Organization (IMO) Senior Legal Officer Jan De Boer at IMO’s London headquarters on August 19.

The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, which entered into force internationally in April this year, provides another tool in the armory of global treaties adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which are intended to help prevent pollution from ships and minimize any damage caused. IMO’s Jan De Boer gave a presentation on the “Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention: A new marine pollution instrument” at a seminar on marine pollution in London (June 25) organized by Lloyd’s Maritime Academy.

Delegates and speakers from around the globe will converge on the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in the Washington, DC area Linthicum Heights, MD) US to participate in the second Wrecks of the World conference being held June 6-7, 2011. This is a unique opportunity to meet with global experts to explore potentially polluting wrecks and recent incidents around the world. These wrecks have caused government agencies and responsible parties to look…

the World: Evaluating and Addressing Potential Underwater Threats” (WOW) II” on Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in the Washington, DC area (Linthicum Heights, MD) USA. The conference will explore the problem of potentially polluting wrecks and recent incidents around the world that have caused government agencies and responsible parties to look proactively at preventing catastrophic oil and other chemical releases from these long-submerged shipwrecks which may contain as much as 20 million tons of oil and other hazardous materials. Sporadic or continuous leakages or potential sudden massive spillages from these wrecks pose a continual risk across the globe.

The FV Aart Maaskant (UK95) is was one of the first Dutch commercial fishing vessels to be fitted with Iridium OpenPort. Gannexion BV, an Iridium service partner, installed the Iridium high-bandwidth terminal to replace the existing satcom system on the 139 ft beam trawler, which operates in the North Sea. Jan de Boer, the vessel’s owner and captain, said, “Iridium OpenPort is always online. The crew is using the free e-mail service offered by Gannexion BV to send and receive messages at sea. The e-mail software also permits them to access Websites to download information on an adjustable schedule. “The captain sets the Iridium OpenPort terminal to automatically receive the weather forecast twice a day,” said Patrick Albers, service engineer, Gannexion BV.