Articles

A new common name, Flighted Spongy Moth Complex, will now be used to refer to the group of moths formerly known as Asian Gypsy Moth, or AGM. However, individual country’s requirements for pre-departure inspection and certification prior to departing ports in the Asia Pacific between May and October remain largely the same.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery fires can be difficult to extinguish. Additional, although infrequent events, can result in Li-ion batteries experiencing thermal runaway, a chain reaction leading to a violent release of stored energy and flammable and toxic gas, potentially resulting in large scale thermal events with severe consequences.

Gard has recently published an updated comprehensive guide on stowaways outlining the problem, the applicable regulations, assessing the risk of stowaways, prevention at port and humane handling of stowaways found on board.  In preparation of the guide, we reviewed the trends over the last several years and share our observations.

Bunker sales are generally offered on terms prepared by the sellers and should there be a problem with the quality or quantity of the bunkers supplied, the rights of the buyers may well be restricted by the sale contract terms.  Our guest authors update their previous article to point out ways buyers can protect themselves.

The Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN) is leading a joint industry project to investigate what is needed to drastically reduce losses of containers from container vessels. The participants in the project include container shipping lines, class societies, international authorities, insurers, research institutes and other stakeholders. The International Group of P&I Clubs is a participant.

Despite reports of global piracy declining for the second year in a row, the number of robbery incidents in the Singapore Strait reached a seven-year high in 2022 and vessels anchored in South American ports continue to be attacked by violent perpetrators.