Insight
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MARPOL compliance and distances ‘from the nearest land’
INSIGHT28 SEP 2022
MARPOL permits unprocessed food waste to be discharged into the sea from vessels proceeding at a distance not less than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land. Sounds straightforward? Unfortunately, it is not - all coastal states do not define their ‘nearest land boundary’ in the same way.
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The Norwegian Transparency Act in the maritime context
INSIGHT15 SEP 2022
Maintaining fundamental human rights and decent working conditions for all involved in a ship during its lifespan can pose challenges. Among the factors that make it challenging are the shipping industry's long supply chains, the number of business partners, and the lack of coherent international labour and safety standards, all coupled with incentives to cut expenses where possible. A new act recently came into force in Norway applicable to larger enterprises. The Act demands transparent due diligence to be carried out with regard to fundamental human rights and decent working conditions. This article will expand on the Transparency Act and its implication for shipowners throughout the lifespan of a ship.
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USS Fitzgerald and ACX Crystal collision: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals delineates the reach of personal jurisdiction
INSIGHT08 SEP 2022
The Court, sitting en banc, held that the Fifth Amendment due process test for personal jurisdiction governed this admiralty dispute and mirrors the Fourteenth Amendment test. Applying the test, the Court concluded that Nippon Yusen Kabushiki (NYK) had insufficient contacts with the United States to justify exercising personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation for claims arising from a collision in foreign waters. This means that United States Navy Sailors’ claims for wrongful death and personal injury must be pursued in a foreign court.
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Are your hatch covers weathertight?
INSIGHT31 AUG 2022
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Cargo damage due to wetting represents a significant percentage of the claims presented to Gard every year. One of the leading causes is defective hatch covers which in our experience remains a recurring problem. Many hatch cover related defects are also found during condition surveys carried out within the scope of our inspection program.
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Mediation: Is there an art to the deal?
INSIGHT25 AUG 2022
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Mediation as a maritime dispute resolution tool can be an effective and cost-effective way to avoid litigation. The practice is widespread in the United States and becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom. We talked to those familiar with mediation either as mediators or participants to find the keys that can unlock a successful resolution.
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Controlling hypertension at sea
INSIGHT18 AUG 2022
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Hypertension, or high blood pressure, can lead to stroke, heart and kidney disease and other serious medical conditions. A healthy diet, exercise and appropriate medication can reduce high blood pressure. Detection of elevated blood pressure is an essential first step in treatment of a condition that is a recurring cause of crew illness.
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Tips and traps when contracting with facilities for repair, conversion and upgrades
INSIGHT04 AUG 2022
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Complex questions can arise about who has control, responsibility and authority over a vessel when in the custody of a drydock facility. Lack of clarity over contractual and insurance risk allocation issues can be complicating factors when damage occurs while a vessel is at a repair yard or in dry dock. Who is responsible or liable for the damage occurring to the vessel or repair facility, and the resulting repair costs? Is it the vessel’s owners or the yard?
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Boost for biofuels as IMO removes regulatory hurdle
INSIGHT18 JUL 2022
MARPOL Annex VI regulations were written for petroleum derived fuels but also apply to biofuels. It has been a challenge to meet the regulatory requirement to demonstrate that biofuels do not “cause an engine to exceed the applicable NOx emission limit”. Our guest author, Unni Einemo, explains the challenge and the recent actions in the MEPC to address it.
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US Supreme Court confirms that US discovery processes are not available for private foreign arbitration proceedings
INSIGHT14 JUL 2022
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Guest authors, lawyers from the Holland and Knight law office in New York, report on a recent United States Supreme Court case that forecloses access to broad US discovery procedures in foreign arbitrations. The ruling may have relevance to charterparty disputes involving a US entity.
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Ship recycling – Norwegian Appeals Court explores the limits of individual shipowner responsibility
INSIGHT07 JUL 2022
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Illegal scrap of vessels can result in criminal liability which may be applicable not only to the ship owning company, but also to shipyards, brokers, insurance companies, banks and other entities enabling the transaction. In 2020, Norway saw its first case ̶ TIDE CARRIER ̶ exemplifying the prohibition to scrap vessels in breach of the outlined regulations.
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Parsing the BIMCO Emission Trading Scheme Allowances Clause
INSIGHT30 JUN 2022
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The BIMCO Emission Trading Scheme Allowances Clause has been published with the aim of allowing owners and charterers to allocate responsibility for vessels complying with, inter alia, the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS). The application of the EU ETS to shipping is still under discussion but expected to take effect from either 1 January 2023 or 2024.
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The Poseidon Principles – what will it look like in practice?
INSIGHT23 JUN 2022
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With the Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance having entered into force, many are asking what this initiative will mean in practice. How will emissions data be collected and what will they be used for? We spoke with someone who has answers.
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Time to review your crew contracts - let us help
INSIGHT16 JUN 2022
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Competent and well-motivated crew are an essential element of a shipowner’s operations. In recent years, there has been a lot of coverage of the pressures faced by crew at sea, particularly during the covid pandemic as changeovers and shore leave have been more difficult to achieve. The conflict in the Ukraine has further complicated port call and crew transfer considerations, impacting both crew and owners.
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Look out for fuel leaks and unshielded hot spots in engine rooms
INSIGHT15 JUN 2022
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The majority of fires onboard ships start in the engine room and the frequency of such fires is on the rise. Although the main cause of these fires may not be identical, there are certain similarities in the underlying patterns of the fires.
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Biofouling management: the benefits of a clean hull
INSIGHT14 JUN 2022
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Australia joins New Zealand and California and requires international vessels to provide information on how biofouling has been proactively managed prior to arriving in its territorial seas. The aim of Australia’s new regulation is to protect marine biodiversity, but maintaining clean vessel hulls will also reduce fuel consumption and help operators to reach their emission reduction targets.
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Emission trading schemes and international shipping
INSIGHT31 MAY 2022
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There has been increasing interest in expanding existing emission trading schemes to also cover international shipping in the EU, China and Japan, and others. Its application to shipping is still under discussion but owners and charterers should start to think about how they are going to deal with ETS once it is in force.
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Bunker quality – do bunker suppliers have charterers over a barrel?
INSIGHT10 MAY 2022
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As the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore continues to investigate HSFO bunkers found to contain harmful chlorinated hydrocarbons supplied in the first quarter this year, our authors review the imbalance between the position of time charterer vis-à-vis vessel owners versus the charterer’s recourse opportunities under the bunker sale contract.
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Entry into enclosed spaces - are you prepared?
INSIGHT27 APR 2022
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Recurring enclosed space incidents serve as a stark reminder that entry into such spaces without proper training or following procedures can result in seafarers being killed or seriously injured. Far too often, we also see that seafarers who die in enclosed spaces do so in the course of attempting to rescue fellow crew members.
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Crisis in Ukraine – an interview with Torunn Biller White
INSIGHT21 APR 2022
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Torunn Biller White, Gard’s Chief Risk Officer, talks with Senior Lawyer Wan Jing Tan about the crisis in the Ukraine and how this has affected Gard and our Members and clients. In a discussion ranging from the extreme effect on seafarer well-being, the impact on global commodity markets and the economic fallout from sanctions, Torunn touches on the many challenges facing our industry yet reminds us that our thoughts are with those most affected by the crisis.
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PRC Court recognises an English judgment for the first time – a Gard perspective
INSIGHT12 APR 2022
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On March 17, 2022, the Shanghai Maritime Court (following approval from the Supreme People’s Court) issued a ruling confirming that English High Court judgments can be recognised and enforced in the People’s Republic of China. This is the first time that a PRC Court has, on the basis of acknowledging judicial reciprocity between PRC and English Courts, ruled that an English civil judgment is legally binding in the PRC.