Insight

A year from now, all vessels subject to the Ballast Water Management Convention must have an approved ballast water treatment system installed onboard. Is your ship ready for tighter regulations?

The energy landscape is changing – and so is the offshore industry. What will the global energy mix look like over the next few decades? How big will offshore wind become, and last but not least, will carbon capture and storage be the climate change solution it promises to be?

Taking proper samples of liquid cargoes is vital to protect shipowners’ interests when allegations of cargo contamination arise. Here is an overview of how and when to do it.

The private Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal implements mooring rope requirements beyond class standards. Our author describes the requirements and discusses whether owners or charterers bear the costs.

Navigating a ship has always involved risks, but it is near the shore and in ports where the danger is greatest. A new analysis based on Gard claims data reveals where vessels are most likely to be involved in groundings or collisions.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative that allowed grain products to be shipped from Ukrainian Black Sea ports has now ended. Our article focuses on what that means for owners’ and charterers’ contractual obligations. 

Cadetship is a great way to start your career at sea and for Gard’s latest sponsored cadet, Harriet Harding, it was even more so as she joined the Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough for the first sea phase of her cadetship.

History tells us that as with many progressive steps in the area of human rights, change at an institutional or inter-governmental level is driven by committed individuals and non-governmental organisations.

Gard is aware of a number of cases involving cargoes which may liquefy that are not listed in the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code as Group A cargoes and therefore not declared as such by shippers.

Professor Jan Emblemsvåg of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology recently spoke at the Gard Summer Seminar “Making Waves – geopolitics, energy and the future of shipping.” He is a knowledgeable and outspoken proponent of nuclear power for vessel propulsion and made a strong case for including nuclear reactors in the mix of alternative fuels to power the green transition.

From boarding to berthing – our Bergen based author describes the interaction within the bridge-team and concludes that effective communication is key to safe navigation.

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.