Trade Law News

IMO announced that the Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) will be removed on 01 Jan 2023. It was a rare but really reassuring example that international cooperation can be successful.Meanwhile at the time of this writing, the war in Ukraine carries on. Ukranian resistance has been bolstered by very significant western democracy support in the form of weapons supply that have done a great job of stopping Russia in its tracks. However, the Ukranian Crisis shows it is extremely difficult…

Top U.S. trade negotiator Katherine Tai on Monday pledged to exclude some Chinese imports from tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump while pressing Beijing in "frank" talks over its failure to keep promises made in Trump's trade deal and end harmful industrial policies.Tai said the United States would keep all options open as it continues to push China to stop pouring billions of dollars of state subsidies into its semiconductor, steel and other industries that Washington says harm U.S.

The United States domestic maritime sector recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of the passage by Congress of the Jones Act. It is considered the most significant of various US cabotage laws. Few mariners though appreciate the long history of cabotage laws in this country.Cabotage laws here are older than our nation. The British Navigation Acts and its predecessors were designed to develop, promote, and regulate British ships, shipping, trade, and commerce between other countries and with its colonies, including the restriction of foreign participation in its colonial trade.

A new integrated risk management solution launched for the global shipping community is said to be the first of its type, according to OSERV.OSERV, OSM Maritime Group’s specialized concept for supply chain management and value-added services, developed the solution together with cyber security specialist Pragma.Combining five crucial elements of cyber protection – technical, operational, IT backup, legal and media crisis management, the new SEAWALL Maritime Cyber Security solution aims to address the peril of cyber-attacks in today’s climate of the escalating incidents in the maritime industry.A 2017 ransomware attack involving Maersk…

The European Commission released its report on the viability of a financial incentive for sustainable ship recycling under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation this week. Whilst it acknowledges the benefits for clean and safe ship recycling such an incentive would bring, the European Commission has decided to wait with its introduction. NGOs urge the EU to take action now as it is well documented that ship owners will with ease be able to circumvent the EU Ship Recycling Regulation by simply swapping the flag of their vessel to that of a non-EU State. The report of the European Commission is based on the study which was conducted by Ecorys, DNV-GL and the University of Rotterdam/Erasmus, and published at the end of 2016.

The list of all ships dismantled around the world in 2016, which the NGO Shipbreaking Platform has compiled and analysed, shows no improvements of the shipping industry’s management of its end-of-life vessels. Far from it: the Platform today releases data that indicate an increase in the number of ships sold for polluting and unsafe shipbreaking on the beaches of South Asia. In 2016, a total of 668 vessels were broken on tidal beaches, that is as much as 87% of all tonnage dismantled globally. “The shipping industry is nowhere close to ensuring sustainable ship recycling practices. Last year, we saw not only an increase in the market share for dangerous and dirty shipbreaking, but also a record-breaking number of EU-owned vessels on the South Asian beaches.

Turkey is strategically located, straddling both Europe and Asia with substantial number of Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea ports, thus making maritime trade and shipping of great importance to the country’s economy. Its extensive coastline running for 8,483 km, (1,067 km of which is island shores) has greatly contributed to the growth of Turkey’s maritime sector. Turkish shipyards have a tradition spanning eight centuries. At the time of the Ottoman Empire, shipyards were able to build large, powerful naval vessels, and yards continued their modernization following the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Today, the industry boasts modern quality certified shipyards that build ships, yachts, megayachts, and sailing boats, as well as undertake extensive repairs and conversion works.

Ignoring industry leaders and human rights and environmental organizations, ship owners continue to profit from dangerous and dirty shipbreaking practices on South Asian beaches in 2015, according to new data released today by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform. Of the 768 large oceangoing vessels sold to the scrap yards last year, 469 were broken on the beaches of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh where shipbreaking yards often do not provide fundamental labor rights, ignore international waste trade law and fail to respect international environmental protection standards. One of many accidents that killed or maimed shipbreaking workers last year was a major gas explosion at Shitol Enterprise, a shipbreaking yard in Bangladesh.

There is no word yet on what is to become of the bulk carrier Los Llanitos, the 38,000-tonne ship that went aground near Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, during Hurricane Patricia on October 23, says the Mexico News Daily. On Saturday, October 24, the bulk carrier Los Llanitos ran aground on rocks near Punta Graham, Barra de Navidad, some 25 nautical miles north of Manzanillo, Mexico, Pacific coast. The ship was pushed aground by hurricane Patricia. She was berthed in the port, but asked to meet the hurricane in open seas, when the strong winds and current pushed her aground at the rocks. The removal of fuel and chemicals was completed on November 26, says a report issued by a salvage company.

Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry has been appointed president to head the World Maritime University (WMU), as announced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and university. Dr. Doumbia-Henry will be the seventh WMU president and will be the first female in the role. Dr. Doumbia-Henry, who has dual Dominican and Swiss nationality, is currently director of the International Labor Standards Department, of the International Labor Office of the International Labor Organization (ILO). She is expected to assume office as WMU President, in Malmö, Sweden, in July.

Fay Catsiba has joined the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) as Business Development Manager based in Dubai, U.A.E. Greece-born Fay, who holds a Master of Law from University College London, began her career in shipping 22 years ago as a lecturer in Maritime Law, Transport Law and International Trade Law at the Southampton Institute of Maritime Studies, England. Thereafter, she has held a number of senior positions as claims and insurance manager as well as legal and general counsel for several leading shipping companies in Greece, Switzerland and the Philippines.

China failed to overturn a U.S. law targeting unfair trade subsidies on Monday, when the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body said it did not have enough information to uphold China's appeal against an earlier WTO ruling. China had claimed that the U.S. "Public Law 112-99", also known as the GTX legislation, which was signed by President Barack Obama in March 2012, broke world trade rules, but a WTO dispute panel ruled against it in March. The Appellate Body disagreed with…

Germany's Economy Ministry is investigating whether to block the sale of RWE's oil and gas unit DEA to a group of investors led by Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman, a spokeswoman said. The German government has never previously made use of a clause in its foreign trade law, under which it could stop the deal announced earlier this year if there were concrete signs it threatened "public safety and order". "An investigation has been started. It is an open-ended investigation (to find out) whether there are conditions for prohibiting the deal under the foreign trade accord," a spokeswoman for the Economy Ministry told Reuters. Spiegel magazine on Sunday reported the ministry had started to look into the deal following fresh information but did not give further details.

Private maritime security service company Protection Vessels International (PVI), part of Protection Group International, announced that it has achieved accreditation to deploy armed guards on German flagged vessels. Applicable from December 1, 2013, the updated German regulations are more stringent than any other existing standard and go beyond ISO 28000/28007 certification, which is currently being piloted. The German regulations ensure private maritime security companies' (PMSCs') operating procedures are comprehensive, well documented and executed safely.

KPI Bridge Oil, a leading global bunker broker and trader has appointed Mr Evandro Cavalli as Bunker Trader in its London office. Evandro, 31, is Brazilian/Italian and has previously worked for several years with one of the international Oil Majors in trading operations and at Blenheim Shipping UK as Chartering and Finance Administrator. Evandro has also obtained a BSc in Economics from Brazil and a Masters in International Trade Law from Italy as well as various Diplomas in Shipping, Tanker Chartering and Oil products from the UK and The Netherlands.

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, known as the Rotterdam Rules, has received its 20th signature just one month after it first opened for signature. Niger became the 20th signatory to the Rotterdam Rules. The signing ceremony for the Convention was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 23 September 2009. Sixteen States signed the Convention on the opening day, making it the most successful of the conventions developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) so far in terms of signatures obtained on opening day. The States signing the Convention upon its opening for signature in Rotterdam were: Congo…

Delivered in co-operation with the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law University of Wales Swansea, UK. This is the seventh of a series of innovative BIMCO Courses focusing on key aspects of maritime commerce. The workshops are designed for participants who already have some shipping experience and who wish to broaden their knowledge of the industry. Each workshop in the series consists of two or three full days of presentations by industry experts, combined with group discussions and case studies. Participants are expected and will be encouraged to contribute actively to the group discussions. At the end of each workshop, participants may take a short "open book" exam to assess their level of understanding of the subject matter.

Rayfield Mills a U.K.-based firm of solicitors specializing in maritime and international trade law, opened a new office in London today. Located at 150 Minories, the new office is in the heart of the capital’s shipping and insurance sector. The move to London gives Rayfield Mills the opportunity to consolidate and expand its insurance practice as well as reinforce its relationships with leading P&I clubs. Lloyd’s underwriters other London-based clients. The new office is headed by founding partners Barry Young and Robert Joiner. Rayfield Mills’ London fee rates are expected to be very competitive as the firm plans to pass on to clients the savings made from resourcing administrative and support services in Newcastle.