Arrested Suez Ship Fit for Onward Passage, Manager Says
The cargo vessel that blocked global shipping in the Suez Canal and is caught in a legal dispute in Egypt is fit to sail once approval is given, its technical manager said on Wednesday.The Ever Given was declared suitable for onward passage from the Great Bitter Lake to Port Said, where she would be assessed again before departing for Rotterdam, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) said in a statement.The ship has been in the lake, which sits between two sections of the canal, since being dislodged on March 29.
What the Heck is ‘Privity’?
Is the Limitation of Liability Act Still Relevant? In the aftermath of the El Faro disaster, that vessel’s owners exercised their right to file a petition to limit their liability in accordance with the U.S. Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act, 46 USC §30501, et seq. This evoked negative press and social media reaction with a now-familiar refrain: Why should a shipowner escape full liability for a disaster by hiding behind a 19th-century (i.e., outdated, antique, ancient) statute?
Limitation of Liability in the Workboat Industry
The owners of tugs and other workboats are entitled to limit their liability under the Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act, 46 U.S.C. §30501 et seq. (“Limitation Act”), to the same extent as the owners of ocean-going ships. Thus, if a workboat is involved in a maritime casualty, the workboat’s owner or bareboat charterer may be entitled to limit its liability to the value of the workboat after the incident, plus any towing charges, hire, or freight still owed for the job. This limitation right obviously can be a great benefit to a workboat’s owner and insurers when the damages from a marine casualty are substantial. A vessel owner’s limitation rights…
Salvage Law: Limitation of Shipowner’s Liability
In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon casualty there have been a number of proposals put before Congress for new legislation or amendments to existing legislation affecting vessel owners and operators. Many of these relate to liability for damages sustained as a result of the casualty or the oil spill that followed. Perhaps the oldest legislation to which amendment and / or appeal is being sought is a statute passed in 1851 to provide vessel owners with limited liability in respect claims brought against them in certain circumstances involving, amongst other things, marine casualties.
Exoneration from Liability versus Saving to Suitors
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a vessel owner filing a federal action for exoneration from or limitation of liability cannot prevent a state court action from going forward if the state claimant stipulates that: (1) federal jurisdiction controls limitation of liability; (2) he waives any claim of res judicata regarding a state court decision relating to limitation of liability; and (3) he would not seek any judgment or recovery in excess of the limitation fund. The vessel owner contended that, since the Limitation of Liability Act also addresses exoneration from liability, its action prevailed over any state court action regarding liability.
Norway Urged to Ratify HNS Convention 1996
A recent report from the Permanent Norwegian Law Commission for Maritime Matters has recommended that Norway ratifies the HNS Convention 1996. insurers. insolvent. Gjelsten, newly-appointed partner at Oslo-based law firm Wikborg Rein. those under the 1976 Limitation Convention as amended by the 1996 Protocol. property damage. limitation amount of approximately $95,700,000," explains Gjelsten. shipowners and their liability insurers. limitation amounts for shipowners and their insurers. financed by the receivers of HNS cargo through a tax payable to the fund.
