New Book on Legal Aspects of Bunkering

Petrospot Limited has recently published Legal Issues in Bunkering: An Introduction to the Law Relating to the Sale and Use of Marine Fuels: a new book by barrister and legal consultant Trevor Harrison. The book offers an accessible overview of the legal aspects of bunkering, distilling salient points and summarizing the more arcane elements of the subject. The book is not intended as a substitute for professional help or casebooks on shipping law, but it will certainly educate the reader about the key legal topics and, importantly, guide him in the right direction should a contract go wrong.

Among its highlights, the book covers the following issues:
• the law of contract
• sellers’ terms and conditions
• charterparty relationships
• time charters and bunker clauses
• quantity and quality disputes
• claims in tort
• defaults
• ship arrest
• dispute resolution
• important case reviews
• international conventions
• national legislation on environmental issues relevant to bunkering
• oil pollution and limitations of liability
• plus extensive appendices offering further detail on contracts, arrest, anti-corruption and other key issues

The book's author, Trevor Harrison, practices as a maritime arbitrator, mediator and consultant, with particular expertise in bunkering. He is a member of the Baltic Exchange, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb), and the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration Panel of Arbitrators. He is an Aspiring Full Member of the London Maritime Arbitrator’s Association (LMAA) and a Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) accredited member. He also belongs to both the Baltic Exchange-LMAA Mediator Panel and the Baltic Exchange’s Panel of Experts.  He is a director of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) and a member of its delegation to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG) committee and Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). He has also been closely involved in the revision of the MARPOL Annex VI regulations.