Loss Prevention Reports

Topical loss prevention articles produced by the Club

Loss Prevention News has developed from an annual loss prevention news report to a portal of regular articles published throughout the year. Below is a list of articles written by or on behalf of the Club on various issues that cause or affect claims.

Feature articles

: Load Line rules in South Africa

Although the International Load Line Rules, as the title implies, are in force ‘internationally’, there have been a number of misinterpretations of these rules experienced when ships call at South African ports.

: Understanding mooring incidents

Major accidents involving mooring equipment in the last 20 years have injured many seafarers and have cost the UK Club over US$34 million. Whilst mooring injuries are the seventh most frequent cause of personal injuries in the Club, they are the third most expensive per claim, indicating how horrific some of these injuries can become.

: Guidelines for lay-up of ships

In conjunction with BMT Marine & Offshore Surveys (Incorporating The Salvage Association) the Club has proposed the following criteria and recommendations for lay-up arrangements in order to minimise P&I claims, including personal injury, wreck removal and pollution, particularly oil leakage, antifouling and other contamination of the local environment. Also damage to third party property, including other vessels, underwater cables, beaches and reefs, pleasure craft and aquaculture.

: Bridge Technology - limitations and evidence preservation

As well as covering the limitations of bridge equipment, this article also looks at AIS, GPS, ECDIS, VDR and other bridge equipment, detailing how, in an emergency, they can capture and preserve vital information and evidence of events leading up to an incident.

: Aims to curb marine pollution

The UK Club has produced, in partnership with Lloyd's Register, a pocket checklist designed to reduce the likelihood of ships being detained by Port State Control. The checklist is a practical guide that advises masters and owners about their general approach to Port State Control and highlights MARPOL deficiencies that often lead to detention.

: Dangerous goods

The Club, with the support of several Members, has launched Book it right and pack it tight – a set of four guidebooks on the workings of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code. They are designed to provide busy operational people, who are not experts in the IMDG Code, with a quick reference and practical everyday guidance to the IMDG Code rules.

: Accidents - are they avoidable?

An accident or incident is an unplanned chain of events which has, or could have, caused injury or illness and/or damage to people, assets, the environment or reputation. Based on modern research, this report describes the components of an accident, and how they can be identified before an accident occurs.

: Stowaway issues

This article covers regulatory stowaway issues in Singapore, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa and the USA. The report reveals how stowaways are hiding in ship's rudder housing, as well as covering the legal complications of landing stowaways even when they possess valid travel documents or passports.

: ISPS ship security

Good security is teamwork – a responsibility for all onboard, not just a select few, to protect and secure their environment. This supplement illustrates just a few examples of the positive ways in which Members’ crews have responded to the need for onboard security and the preventive measures used to tackle this ongoing, ever-evolving, problem.

: The human element - errors and violations

Over the past two decades there has been a growing appreciation of the many and varied ways that people contribute to accidents in hazardous industries or simply in every day life. Not long ago most of these would have been lumped together under the catch-all label 'human error'. Nowadays it is apparent that this term covers a wide variety of unsafe behaviours.

: Ship inspection programme

While the general condition and operational and maintenance standards of ships entered with the UK P&I Club are getting better, the improvements will have to continue. Club managers believe that rising insurance costs and ever more demanding legislation and regulation mean that the 'quality momentum' is not only desirable but unavoidable.

: Cruise and ferry matters

The carriage of disabled passengers on ferries and cruise ships is an issue which is creating difficulties for the industry world-wide. Without international regulations, and few, if any, national requirements tailored to ship operators, the shipowner is faced with a dilemma.

: Container Matters

The container revolution of the 1960s was deemed to be the solution to limiting cargo damage, but has experience proved otherwise? A considerable proportion of the Club’s time is taken up handling container cargo claims where 25% of the damage is physical, 14% temperature related, 11% containers lost overboard, 9% theft and 8% shortage.

: Taking care

Recently an English railway company was fined a record £1.5 million (US$2,400,000) for a criminal offence arising out of a rail crash that killed 7 people and injured 150. The fine was the largest imposed on an individual company. The previous record was £1.2 million, although four companies were fined a total of £1.7 million following the collapse of an elevated walkway.

: Crime watch

Signum Services Ltd is the investigative arm of Thomas Miller & Co. Ltd. and conducts investigations on behalf of the Members of the UK P&I Club, the TT Club and ITIC. Signum comprises a team of two investigators who travel the world enquiring into every type of criminal activity which affects Club Members.

: Taking care

It was suggested that as the P&I clubs handle stowaway cases on behalf of the majority of the world's merchant fleets, they must hold a lot of statistical information which, if consolidated, would provide a reliable base for the industry to identify and begin to address the problem areas.

Issue 18 - March 2006

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Pollution Worldwide - Oily water separator – maintenance/ operational recommendations Worldwide - Port State Control Concentrated Inspection Campaign Worldwide - HNS Convention and OPRC-HNS Protocol United Kingdom - Lessons to be learned from oil pollution prosecution Brazil - Ballast water management requirements Cargo Worldwide - Petcoke hold washings Worldwide - Carriage of fluorspar cargoes Worldwide - Bird flu and its effect on the shipping industry Western Australia - Alumina loading China - Illegal shipments of thiourea dioxide Risk Management Scotland - Health & Safety breaches: Time for a change in culture? South Africa - Befriending stowaways Admiralty Queensland, Australia - Anomaly in collision liability – 19th century law still applies Fines Novorossiysk, Russia - Carriers' improper declaration to customs authorities Legal England - House of Lords' decisions Crew Matters Worldwide - Immunization Mumbai, India - 100,000th examinee for UK Club's PEME Programme USA - Serious Marine Incident – alcohol and drug testing requirements USA - Crew must take US visa restrictions very seriously

Issue 17 - November 2004

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Cargo matters Worldwide - Carriage of coal cargoes Ukraine - Discharge of bagged rice Stowaways Singapore - Discharge of bagged rice Brazil - Stowaways from African ports Mombasa, Kenya - Problems with disembarking stowaways Durban, South Africa - Stowaways - ISPS Code West Coast USA - Reoccurrence of Chinese stowaways Regulations Worldwide - New limits on sulphur in marine fuels USA - USCG enforcing ballast water management regulations Australia - Crew immigration clearance requirements Taking Care Panama Canal, Panama - Accident and cargo claims USA - The dangers of entering confined spaces P&I entry Japan - Compulsory insurance requirements for non-tanker vessels Australia - Confirmation of P&I entry Case summaries Is inability of goods to withstand the ordinary perils of a sea voyage a new category of inherent vice? A charterer cannot limit his liability in respect of damage to ship Construction of a damage limitation clause in a contract for the carriage of goods by sea to see if the same is qualified by Art. 10 of the Hague Rules ('the Gold Clause Trap') Personal injury Republic of Ireland - Personal injury claims: a changing landscape ISPS summary ISPS and legal implications

Issue 16 - September 2003

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Taking care Oily water separator - pipe removal Fumigation (phosphine) explosions Proving a point Problems with solid carbon dioxide in ships stores USA - Dealing with US law enforcement officers Novorossiysk, Russia - Declaration of medicines in first aid kits Crime watch Fraudulent shipments of plastic waste Container security USA - Watch your butts Obtaining cargo by fraud Case studies STARSIN [2003] - Bills signed by charterers as 'carrier': owners' or charterers' bill? HAPPY RANGER - Does a bill of lading need to be issued under Section 1(4) COGSA 1971 before the Act can bite? RAFAELA S [2003] - Is a straight consigned bill of lading a "bill of lading" within section 1(4) COGSA 1971? Trafigura Beheer BV v Golden Stavraetos Maritime Inc [2003]- What constitutes delivery within the meaning of Art III Rule 6 of the Hague-Visby Rules? JORDAN II [2003]- Can owners transfer away responsibility for cargo operations? Ship inspection Inspectors' suggestions Cargo matters Clinical waste must be properly stowed Cargo shortage claims - who's responsible? West Indies - coffee contaminated by wood preservatives Fake cargoes Rotterdam - fireworks restrictions The merits of carrying carefully Ferro silicon CHIRP Stowaways South Africa - fines for ships arriving with stowaways New regulations US visas for foreign seamen - new interim rule Paris MOU - New inspection rules Mandatory introduction of the IMDG Code Netherlands - Air Pollution Miscellaneous Disappearing act

Issue 15 - October 2002

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Front page US proposals respond to maritime threat Claims forum Hong Kong - enforcement of foreign judgements Panama - Supreme Court affirms decision Discrimination claims - Americans with Disabilities Act Personal injury claims - Hydrogen sulphide alert Pollution California, USA - new non-tank vessel salvage requirements USA - oily water separation equipment Cargo matters To clause or not to clause Handle with care! Dar Es Salaam - weighbridge accuracy Hatch coaming drains Santos, Brazil - theft from containers Piracy Somalia - hijacking New regulations China - fumigation of wood shipments

Issue 14 - October 2001

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Front page Medical programme grows from strength to strength Corporate killing - the key issues Taking care Steel plates can cause serious injury Philippine crew personal injury claims India - preventing the spread of ebola Environment USA - USCG investigates oil record books Australia - new ballast water requirements Australia - environmental fines Assistance in the event of a spill Fines Bangladesh - customs fines Spain - safety fines Argentina - fines due to non-declaration of bunkers Claims forum Members' letters of undertaking Cargo matters Iraq - wheat discharge problems Chiwan, China - bulk cargo discharge disputes New regulations United Arab Emirates - ship ban Spain - new law of civil procedure arrest of ships IMO reminders Radioactive materials - new UN numbers Nigeria - mandatory container inspection and congestion Stowaways Stowaway difficulties in Gabon Stowaways at Italian ports Tackling the stowaway problem Evidence www.warning - who is reading your website?

Issue 13 - September 2000

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Front page Videos help tackle container claims Taking care Crew fitness project involves 12,000 seafarers Container claims increasing worldwide Foreseeability of ‘coco loco’ injury is question of fact Crime watch Container pilferage - France ITF impostor Cargo matters Contaminated cargo problems at Australian ports Problems discharging cement in Nigeria Pollution Record fine for oil spill Stowaways Stowaways X-ray body checks for lorries Good practice Warning - Scrap steel containing live ammunition Custom fines - Ivory Coast Store cranes - testing, inspection and maintenance New regulations Environmental protection law - China Regulatory developments California USA Port state control Venezuela - garbage management Nautical matters Why I want to be a captain

Issue 12 - October 1999

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Front page Analysis of major claims A clear message Nautical matters Navigation and employment Environment Under pressure Cargo matters Calcium hypochlorite Evidence A good record? Could you prove it? Claims forum High cost - what gain? Fines No rusty bullets Cruise & ferry Generating expenses Signum Heartbeat New regulations Return of stowaways - Tanzania Taiwanese Maritime Code Russian Merchant Shipping Code Ballast water - USA Charter right An unhappy daughter

Issue 11 - May 1999

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Front page Managing risk in shipping Marine safety messages - NewsLink Compliance Why do you get detained? Nautical matters Jumbo bags Deep trouble Cargo matters Bananas Reefer cargo Condensation problems Hazardous cargo in drums Claims forum Prescription and proof of loss Human factor Arrests in Rio Sea rage The outdoor life Land-locked liability Incredible journey Environment Invasive species Asian long-horned beetle New regulations Oil spill contingency plans, dry cargo trade, California Regulatory action plan Good practice Supplies and services for charterer's account

Issue 10 - December 1998

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Front page Setting the standard Loss prevention initiatives Taking care Engine room fire Pollution Record pollution fine A cloud of soot Cargo matters Containerised fruit Bagged rice Wrong orders to chill cargo Good practice Identifying vehicle damages on ferries Delivery of cargo without production of bills of lading Normal for the trade? LP internet Loss Prevention Bulletins Nautical matters VHF assisted collisions Damage to lock-wall, Immingham, UK Chinese aqua-farms Large claim payments Charter right Year 2000 clauses New regulations Regulatory action plan

Issue 9 - May 1998

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] Front page Focusing on tanker cargo Interactive CD on tanker incidents Tankers Commingling oil In the pink Chemical contamination Steel Steel from the former Soviet Union Rain letters Bulk cargoes Soya bean meal from Indian ports Reefer cargo Bananas and drugs Bananas imported to the former Soviet Union Deck cargo Lashing of deck cargo Shipboard operations Repaired? Oil record books Oil record book - what to do Oil record book entries Fuel oil New regulations Garbage management New UK Health and Safety regulations

Issue 8 - December 1997

[ Download in pdf format ] [ View online ] New Loss Prevention Initiatives Bulk Matters The Mariner's Role in Collecting Evidence Drugs Lebanon Colombia Navigation Charts Cargo Passivated Direct Reduced Iron Thiourea Dioxide/Formamidine Sulphinic Acid Tween deck separations Cargo care Clean holds Painting of holds Baked ptatoes Hatch covers and rainy weather Paperwork The hazards of incorrectly declared cargo Dispute between master and French customs Health & safety Malaria Country focus Singapore bunkering procedures Health Authority fines in Brazil Loading steel at Ukrainian ports Pilferage at Peruvian ports Bulk shipments Shortages in Saudi Arabia Stop press Bagged Vietnamese rice

Issue 7 - December 1996

[ View online ] Front page Cargo matters Containers All aboard? Lightening the Load Two down National issues In the Bag Iranian outturn Mexican mugging Good Practice Nice weather! Soundings Heavyweight - up to a point! Dependable? Don’t Delay Evidence The complete picture Sale ahoy! People Unfinished business Nautical After you? Any port in a storm? Cargo Surveys If in doubt, shout? Early appointment Product carriers Blank looks steamed up Cooled down LP ethos Basic questions The human factor The loyal toast Down and out Getting your bearings Unfamiliar territory

Issue 6 - November 1995

[ View online ] Front page Taking care The true cost On passage Deadly descent Cleaned out Frozen hands Evening call Arrival Missile Dangerous loops Shattering shackle Sting in the tail Chain gang Working cargo Fatal blow Crushing tragedy Back breaking Which way? Under repair Dark danger Backing out Unpleasant surprise Sunk by the sink Returning to ship One small step Polished off Passing by Fit to drop Passengers Doorway danger Dimly lit Three in a row Back page The hit list A wealth of experience Bunker testing - clarification