Insight

The 'Plimsoll line' is the simplest, yet most extraordinary contributor to maritime safety in the last two centuries. 

Gard was founded in 1907 by shipowners who were unwilling to expose themselves, through a mutual insurance arrangement, to the perceived new risks of steam propulsion. Now the wheel is turning full circle and increasingly shipowners are looking to retrofit or buy newbuilds incorporating wind propulsion technology. But what risks might that new equipment pose, and how will marine insurers react to them?

English law and jurisdiction clause in a marine insurance policy barred claim by insured against the insurer in the United States. Our guest author, Jessie Elizabeth Shifalo, takes us through the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Noble House LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London.

We didn’t quite know what to expect as we followed Charles up the loading ramp of the car carrier MV Morning Christina, midway through loading a consignment of Range Rovers at Southampton Port and greeted the crew member at the security point.  We were there as guests of Stella Maris to get a better understanding of the work that ship-visiting charities do and a glimpse of life onboard one of the thousands of ships that visit the UK, carrying goods to and from our shores.

Among International Group P&I Clubs, there have been 858 injuries and 31 fatalities involving mooring operations during the five-year period to 2021. In order to raise the awareness of mooring safety, the International Group launched a mooring operation safety video accompanied by guidance materials highlighting the factors and influencing circumstances on human performance in the lead up to and during mooring operations.

To reduce the risk of large nurdle spills experienced in recent years, the regulatory work is now focussing on packaging requirements for plastic pellets within the freight container, notification to the carrier so that containers containing plastic pellets can be identified quickly to aid recovery, and stowage requirements for containers containing plastic pellets.

In recent decades it has become recognized that the high seas contain some of the planet’s most precious ecosystems.  These ecosystems have been adversely impacted by different human activities, including shipping, through the cumulative effects of events such as ship strikes, ship noise, emissions, chemical pollution and the spread of invasive species. Whilst the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea established a general obligation on member states to protect the marine environment and cooperate to that end, there has long been consensus that there were various gaps in its provisions. The High Seas Treaty seeks to fill those gaps and put in place a framework for the protection of our oceans and the equitable sharing of their resources.

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.

In recent years, Gard has handled a number of claims involving the carriage of scrap metal in bulk and, from time to time, we get enquiries from Members for guidance on the handling and carriage of this cargo. Ship operators and masters should be aware of the risks related to scrap metal carriage and take risk mitigation actions accordingly.  

It is generally accepted that human rights apply at sea, although there is no convention recognizing or proclaiming the existence and extent of such rights. However, the rights of those at sea continue to be abused. In recent years, much of the focus has rightly been on seafarers and the situation is improving, although there is still far to go. But there are countless others at sea, some of whom might be considered ‘less deserving’, whose rights should be recognised and protected.

A challenge for shipowners and their insurers engaged in international trade is to ensure that a common set of guidelines or standards for ship related liabilities apply across the different trading nations. Several IMO liability and compensation conventions require the shipowner and their insurers to accept strict liability, irrespective of fault, and with mandatory insurance cover in exchange for the right to limit liability to an amount set by the convention. The IMO’s clarification underlines there is a ’virtually unbreakable’ right to limit.  This is reflected in the adoption of the IMO’s unified interpretation by the relevant participating states.

Good nutrition plays a significant role in our lives. The food we eat impacts our health and wellbeing. Making healthy food choices that reflect good nutrition is a challenge in every aspect of life, and perhaps even more so for seafarers given the unique characteristics of life aboard ship. Responsibility for good nutrition at sea is a shared one – seafarers control their consumption, but it is the ship operator and crew managers who must procure and stock healthy food choices and ensure that the ship cook is well trained in planning and preparing nutritious meals. 

We recently published an article focusing on the toxicity of phosphine gas and the potential danger this poses to the crew when agricultural bulk cargoes and forestry products are undergoing in-transit fumigation with aluminium phosphide.  In that article, we very briefly mentioned another potential hazard that can arise at the initial stage of the process – phosphine gas explosions. In this article, our guest author, Dr Nicholas Crouch, focuses on the risk of explosion in port and the steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.

2023 ushers in a new era for the shipping industry with the introduction of the carbon intensity regulations. These are just some of the many regulations that enter into force this year.

The Inter-Club Agreement (ICA) was formulated by International Group of P&I Clubs in 1970. It is intended to provide a relatively simple mechanism whereby liability for cargo claims arising under New York Produce Exchange Form (NYPE) or Asbatime charterparties and contracts of carriage authorised under such charterparties, can be swiftly and fairly apportioned between owners and Charterers. The purpose behind the development of the ICA was to avoid costly and protracted litigation. Does Gard’s experience in handling cargo claims subject to the ICA match these intentions?

When you are enjoying the holiday season with your family spare a thought for those at sea.  We are all well aware that the sea is unpredictable and that seafaring can be a dangerous and stressful occupation. There are some things such as bad weather or sea conditions that are difficult to avoid but the lives of crew members and shipowning/management teams are also made far more stressful by situations caused by the failure of states to agree common policies or to implement them or treat seafarers with consideration and humanity. We will look at two of them with concrete examples of cases faced by our Members.

From 22 December 2022, ships trading to Chinese ports must record their energy consumption data in accordance with the requirements of their Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP). Ships must also report the consumption data from their last voyage to the Chinese authorities prior to leaving a Chinese port.