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Since early 1997, maritime incidents and their consequences, changes in shipping legislation and regulation, accounts of actions by official bodies and a plethora of dubious practices have been laid before members of the UK P&I Club in weekly e-mails.
On December 15th, the Club's Loss Prevention Bulletin service celebrated issue No. 500 which warned of concerns arising from the South African National Ports Act which came into effect on November 26th. A circular from attorneys Shepstone & Wylie indicated that the new national port authority did not appear to have been registered. There were concerns about the collection of a cargo dues and the transfer of negligence liability being shifted from pilots to owners and masters.
In the past decade, bulletin readers have heard about pollution fines in Turkey, yellow fever certificates in Brazil, a pilot's strike in St. Petersburg, the illegal export of logs from Indonesia, cargo shortage claims from Algeria, fraudulent claims for services in the Suez canal and the explosion of a fireworks cargo in China.
In recent weeks, they have learned about IMO designation of southern South African waters as a special area under MARPOL for preventing pollution; asbestos in dunnage in China; new customs regulations in Brazil; restrictions on bulk shipments of grain from the Ukraine; customs fines in Senegal; new Egyptian customs regulations for timber; and emergency wreck marking buoys launched by Trinity House.
These items illustrate the extraordinary range of subjects covered by the bulletins. They encompass product difficulties, particularly with agricultural foodstuffs and metals; thefts and pilferage, not least from containers; ballasting, pollution and contamination problems; and serious "people" crimes, such as murder, stowaways and piracy. Inevitably, there is very little pattern to the information received and recycled.
Many bulletins help owners and markets to keep abreast of the relentless tide of legislation and regulation emanating from international and national authorities and from individual ports. This includes the conduct of ships in port, inspection of various ship types, cleaning and waste disposal, security and crew regulation. Formal measures are often complemented by cautionary tales about arrests, detentions and fines meted out to masters and their ships when they fall foul of the authorities.
Port State Control in general and the US Coast Guard in particular give rise a considerable proportion of the bulletins. Over 60 countries have been featured. Among those which figure prominently are Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, India, China, Singapore and Egypt.
Material is supplied by correspondents, owners, managers, claims handlers, underwriters and trade and official bodies. The bulletins inform and caution UK Club members and other website visitors about legal and regulatory developments, claims-related events, incidents and decisions which might affect their ships, voyage plans and businesses.
According to the UK Club's Karl Lumbers: "Immediacy is vital to our members. Sometimes, we simply remind them of regulation changes and the dates they come into force. However, the interpretation of such changes by the authorities and the zeal with which they pursue enforcement can come as a rude awakening.
"We do not wait for the full implications of new acts or measures by various authorities before passing on what we know. Essentially, we urge masters and owners to watch out if they want to avoid the mistakes and consequences experienced by other ships and seafarers. We know that these bulletins are acted on so we want fleet operators, correspondents and other professionals to keep sending us the information."
Note to Editors: The bulletins have always been issued in English and, since November 2000, in Chinese and simplified Chinese, reflecting the significance of Asia Pacific shipping. A full archive of all 500 bulletins is freely available in the Loss Prevention section of the UK Club website on www.ukpandi.com. They are e-mailed every Friday to UK Club members and other registered users of the website.
For further information:
Karl Lumbers/Nick Whitear
Thomas Miller P&I Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7283 4646
e-mail: nick.whitear@thomasmiller.com
karl.lumbers@thomasmiller.com
Issued by:
Martin Rowland
Dunelm Public Relations Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7480 0600
Fax: +44 (0) 20 6480 0606
e-mail: info@dunelmpr.co.uk
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