LP News Issue 11 - May 1999

Compliance Nautical matters Cargo matters Claims forum

Human factor Environment New regulations Good practice

Managing risk in shipping

Managing Risk in Shipping is the third book in a series sponsored by the UK P&I Club and published by The Nautical Institute. These books are designed to improve commercial awareness and promote loss prevention in shipping. The other books in the series are Ship Safety and Cargo Management in Port which develops the skill and understanding of junior officers and Commercial Management for Shipmasters which emphasises the co-operation required between the master and the shipowner or manager for successful commercial performance.

Managing Risk in Shipping breaks new ground. It promotes a proactive pursuit of the safety culture that has been enhanced by the ISM Code and draws attention to the limitations of simply observing prescriptive regulations.

Risk management claims a place in the boardroom as much as in the engine room. The shipowner must not only manage those matters he himself controls, he must also plan for the likely consequences of the performance and failures of others. This requires a clear methodology that can be understood by all in the company and enable those in strategic, commercial, operational and technical areas to inform, learn from and blend with each other at all stages of the business.

The book itself exemplifies this collaborative approach, bringing together contributions by writers from many different disciplines within shipping.

Web link: http://www.nautinst.org

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Marine safety messages - NewsLink

The Club now sponsors a daily safety message and also distributes its LP Bulletins via NewsLink, an electronic newsletter for ships.

This English language newsletter brings home, international and sports news to seafarers from leading crew supply nations (Filipino, Russian, Indian, Ukrainian, Latvian and British). Now it carries a daily safety message and excerpts from UK P&I Club Loss Prevention Bulletins as well. The safety messages provide short, punchy reminders on such subjects as the use of hard hats, entry into confined spaces and engine room cleanliness. The longer and more detailed Loss Prevention Bulletins feature once a week and are mainly directed at operational loss prevention.

The Club appreciates just how much up-to-date news, particularly from home, is valued on board ship and this newsletter service should prove to be very popular. It therefore wants to ensure that crews will also pick up a clear safety message whenever they turn to this source of information.

Web link: http://www.newslink.com.cy

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Why do you get detained?

All mariners are now familiar with Port State Control inspectors, the gentlemen from the government who visit the ship, poke around, ask questions and then issue a detention notice to the master!

The pressure to deal with all the things that have to be done in port can tempt a master to regard a detention item as trivial, "So what if a fire damper is seized? It's not as if an anchor is missing!" Whilst such an attitude may be understandable it misses the point. A failed fire damper affects the survivability of the ship in a fire emergency just as a leaking hatch cover affects the survivability of the ship in a storm.

Examination of PSC detention data in the Asia-Pacific region over 4 years shows a fairly constant picture. Non-conformities related to life saving issues regularly account for about 25% of deficiencies, fire-fighting deficiencies have decreased from 19% to 16% but navigation deficiencies have increased from 8% to 10%. The top five items in the deficiencies list involve fire-fighting, life saving, load line, navigation and general safety. This means the most common deficiencies are in areas almost entirely under the control of the master and crew.

There are still rust-buckets around with severe structural defects, unsanitary and oppressive conditions on board and incompetent crews, but these are in decline and are easily dealt with. However, the figures show no significant reduction in detentions for items that are directly related to the competence and shipboard management of the crew.

There is no commercial advantage to be obtained from allowing an A $100,000 lifeboat to rot in its davits, nor is there an edge to be gained from being unable to seal the engine room in the case of a fire or close watertight doors in bad weather. A chart that is out of date and neither corrected nor replaced does not represent a saving, it represents an accident waiting to happen.

Leaking hatches, broken radar, engine rooms awash with oil, fire pumps that won't start or can't pressurize the fire main, rusted boat falls, missing survival gear, broken aerials, flat batteries and broken radio transmitters are common findings in Port State Control inspections. These things indicate a fundamental lack of understanding of the ship and its operating environment, a lack of basic seamanship skills and in the worst cases, criminal negligence and utter disregard for the safety and wellbeing of the crew. Port State Control inspectors continue to target such deficiencies and maintain pressure upon shipowners, masters and crews to exercise due diligence and professional competence in their operations. The goal of all who put to sea should be safe, reliable and environmentally responsible transportation.

Port State Control has a significant and continuing part to play in the realization of this goal.

The Ship and Personnel Safety Services Business Unit of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Canberra, kindly supplied this article.

Web link: http://www.amsa.gov.au

See LP Bulletin 84: Paris MOU Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Bulk Carriers

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Jumbo bags

A ship capsized and sank with the loss of 39 lives whilst on a voyage outbound from the US Gulf. She encountered prolonged heavy weather and developed an extreme list that was not accounted for either by unequal ballast or bunkers or by wind effect. She had put to sea with positive static stability and met the necessary criteria for initial stability (metacentric height) and heeled stability (areas under the statical stability curve). Her cargo was rice in jumbo bags; each bag approximately 1.7 cubic metres volume and weighing about 1 tonne.

Investigations showed the stow was not as tight as it could have been on completion of loading and loose bags were located on top of the stow. Given such slack, cargo of this type will shift during heavy weather as it seeks to fill the voids. Calculations show that relatively small transverse movement of a large mass of cargo can create a severe list that, combined with heavy weather, will seriously compromise the survivability of a ship. The degree of list created is basically a function of the initial free space available and the mass of cargo that has shifted. The heeling moment created may be quite large but because the bodily shift of cargo can amount to thousands of tonnes, the horizontal movement required may be little more than 0.25 to 0.5 metre.

Attempts to counteract the list by ballasting the opposite side of the vessel can cause even more problems in heavy seas. If the cargo shifts back across to the ballasted side it will create an even heavier list. The only satisfactory way to avoid such problems is to ensure that cargo is stowed tightly. Where loose cargo is unavoidable, it should be securely lashed.

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Deep trouble

Whilst underway at sea a ship lost her starboard anchor and cable in an area containing numerous oil and gas exploration and production installations. The anchor ruptured a submerged pipeline causing considerable damage to the pipeline and loss of production at linked facilities. The likely cause of the loss was failure to fix in place the anchor cable securing devices following maintenance. This resulted in the cable paying out against the windlass brake under the weight of the anchor and running away.

Affected energy companies presented claims totalling more than US$ 9 million. The shipowner began an action seeking to limit his liability. The limitation fund sought was slightly less than US$ 1.5 million. A settlement was finally negotiated with claimants based on the limitation sum, interest and costs, as well as a small premium reflecting the risk that the right to limit might not have been allowed by the court.

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modified atmosphere

Bananas

An agreed alteration of discharging arrangements led to severe damage to a consignment of bananas shipped from Ecuador to Mediterranean Europe. Originally, the cargo was intended for Sicily. After sailing, the charterer gave instructions for two-port discharge, in Croatia and Sicily. In consequence, the duration of the voyage was extended from three to nearly six weeks.

One factor that has a major effect upon the safe carriage of bananas is the atmosphere in which they are carried.* This is regulated to control the fruit's ripening process, allowing the fruit to arrive unripened at its destination so that it can be ripened as required.

The presence of oxygen allows the production of ethylene, which in turn triggers the ripening process. There are two ways to deal with this. Active ventilation removes ethylene from the environment. Controlled atmosphere regulates the environment by replacing oxygen with carbon dioxide so that the production of ethylene is restricted. The atmosphere can be controlled by sealing the hold and fixing it mechanically. It can also be modified around the fruit by semi-permeable packaging. This lets the fruit breathe; but as the carbon dioxide level in the bag increases respiration is slowed, the production of ethylene falls and the ripening process is slowed. The problem with controlling or modifying the atmosphere in this way is that prolonged exposure to high levels of carbon dioxide also causes problems; the bananas can become 'green-ripe' with soft ripe pulp and green skin.

The process of ripening is only retarded by atmosphere modification. Ethylene and carbon dioxide is still produced. With the passage of time, the fruit will be spoiled either by normal ripening or by abnormal 'green-ripening' caused by the high level of carbon dioxide.

* The factor of vital importance, though, is delay between cutting and transfer to an environment where the ripening process can be controlled.

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containers

Reefer cargo

Factors affecting the optimum shelf life of frozen commodities carried in containers fall within the influence both of shippers and carriers (as well as the subcontractors who assist them with the transportation of the goods to market). Here are some of the relevant factors:

Pre-shipment requirements

Proper temperature control during transit will only be achieved if the commodity is properly pre-cooled and packaged. Reefer containers are designed to maintain temperatures. They are not designed to achieve the necessary temperature reductions of proper pre-cooling.

Container stowage

• Service condition: a thorough pre-trip examination of the service condition of the container should ensure it is serviceable.
• Container pre-cooling: pre-cooling of the container prior to loading will prevent warming and defrosting of cargo during cargo operations.
• Void spaces: to avoid short cycling of cold air, the development of hot spots and the consequent thawing and spoilage of cargo, void spaces within the stow or between the stow and the container's side panels should be excluded.
• Cartons: floor loading with solid block stowage. The dimensions of the container and the characteristics of the carton (corrugations and box strength), as well as the nature of the commodity it contains, will determine the precise stowage pattern.
• Pallets: void spaces between the pallets should be filled. Air bags are typically used between the pallets to secure the load.
• Uninterrupted cold-air flow: Free movement of cold air through the flow channels in the floor, at the doors and above the cargo must be maintained. Blockage or interruption of the airflow leads to inadequate temperature maintenance, thawing and spoilage.
• Cargo stowage above the `load line' (typically 10-15 cm below the roof panel) should be avoided.
• Slip-sheets: If slip-sheets are used in loading, take care to ensure they do not restrict the airflow from the floor channels at the container doors.

Refrigerated containers vary in their design with regard to air delivery from top flow to bottom flow systems. Both are suitable for the transport of frozen commodities although bottom air delivery is often reckoned to provide the best temperature management and is therefore particularly suitable for chilled produce.

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containers

Condensation problems

The Club constantly receives inquiries about condensation problems. These problems are not new but they do not always seem to be adequately managed. The problems in the container trade are, if anything, more acute than in the older bulk and break-bulk trades because of the frequent inability to ventilate the consignment adequately.

Although ventilated containers are available, they are relatively uncommon. The vast majority of containers in use have no provision for ventilation. If these boxes are worked in warm and humid conditions they will carry substantial amounts of water vapour ready to condense if the box is transported to cooler regions, the result being wet-damaged cargo and unhappy customers.

Two different ways of addressing this problem are frequently considered:

• Advances in acrylic polymer paint technology provide one approach that may be considered where containers are being newly manufactured or re-furbished. The paint concerned is highly porous and absorbs moisture, trapping it until it can return to its gaseous state as the temperature rises or the relative humidity falls.
• Desiccants such as silica gel or calcium chloride salts absorb moisture from the atmosphere during transit. The desiccants can be supplied in various forms: buckets containing pure silica gel, bags containing a mixture of calcium chloride salts and kiln dried clay and poles using calcium chloride salts as the absorbent material. Such poles can be readily hung from the upper wall rings of most containers and some contain an 'artificial kidney' that prevents absorbed moisture being released back into the atmosphere.

containers

Hazardous cargo in drums

Pollution risks and environmental disaster are popularly associated with casualties involving super-tankers such as EXXON VALDEZ or SEA EMPRESS. Little concern is expressed about the enormous volume of hazardous goods shipments carried in containers each day. However, a recent incident involving drums containing a corrosive liquid and being carried under a combined transport bill of lading illustrates the need to maintain proper procedures conforming to tried and tested guidelines.

76 drums (55 gallon closed-head) were in a 20' container loaded in two tiers with 38 drums per tier, separated by fibre-board decking and braced only by a wooden frame of 2" x 4" boards at the rear of the stow by the doorframe. As the drums were removed it became obvious that they had moved significantly during the pre-shipment transit. The movement caused metal-to-metal contact and heavy abrasion, resulting in many drums being holed around their rolling hoops.

Guideline arrangements that have proved effective in preventing damage in such cases call for 72 drums only, stowed in two tiers using a 4-3-4 pattern. The bracing and securing consists of a wooden bulkhead at the front wall of the container covering both tiers, ½ inch plywood decking between the tiers, a ½ inch plywood vertical separator between each tier at the centre of the stow and a wooden frame at the rear of the stow, placed at the doorframe.

The chemicals were also a marine pollutant. Fortunately the leaking container was discovered and isolated in the rail-yard prior to shipment on board. The guidelines noted in this article are those of the American Association of Railroads whose established guidelines for the stowage of cargo should be well known to carriers and shippers.

Web link: http://www.aar.org

See LP Bulletin 80: Clearance of Radioactive Cargoes - A Cautionary Note

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Prescription and proof of loss

A judgment by the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last year provided helpful clarification on two interesting points related to:

• When 'delivery' occurs (for prescription) and
• Who must prove loss (for package limitation).

The court held that delivery took place when and where the carrier fulfilled his contractual obligations in respect of the cargo. Delivery occurred when the carrier placed the cargo into the custody of the party legally entitled to receive it and the particular case had to take account of the local requirement for delivery to the customs warehouse. On the second point, the court held that a carrier must show that package limitation provisions apply to the contract of carriage if he wishes to benefit from them. However, having successfully shown this, the merchant must then show how much damage accrued to each package for his claim to survive. It is fundamental that the party seeking damages must prove them. The damage suffered by some packages might have been less than the package limit (US$500) which would, in turn, reduce the amount recoverable.

Case ref: Servicios-Expoarma v. Industrial Maritime Carriers, 135 F.3d 984 (5th Cir. 1998)

See LP Bulletin 83: Continuing Bagged Shortages - Hodeidah - Yemen

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Arrests in Rio

Police intervened after crew detained an intruder on their ship whilst alongside in Rio de Janeiro. The crew used force to detain the intruder. The local police regarded the force used to be both excessive and inappropriate. They required the master to attend at police headquarters to take a deposition but he refused.

Suspecting that the master or crew had tortured the intruder, the police sought a warrant for the arrest of the master and six crewmembers in respect of the alleged crime. The warrant was granted and the master and crewmembers were detained in custody for more than one month.

A replacement master and substitute crew had to be provided by the shipowner to enable the ship to proceed upon her voyage.

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security

Sea rage

Cruise ships and ferries are particularly vulnerable to problems associated with drunkenness, violence and theft. Failure to deal with these problems properly puts others at risk of injury. Dealing with the problems inappropriately puts the shipowner at risk of claims from the people causing the problems! Always inform the Club of any problems as soon as possible, but remember:

• A master will usually possess particular powers of restraint and detention, given to him by law on account of his rank and position.
• He may also possess powers of arrest that are common and are available to the general public.
• Company guidelines summarising the powers and remedies available to the master should be accompanied by copies of the statutes concerned to enable him to `refer back'.
• The test for the use of force, restraint and detention will usually be that of 'reasonable necessity'.
• The duration of any detention must be carefully considered. It will usually be quite limited.
• Those detained should be made aware, in writing, of the grounds on which they are held.
• The history of the restraint or detention must be carefully recorded and preserved.

taking care

The outdoor life

A bosun was injured at sea whilst supervising work on deck. The deck gang was detailed to move sheets of plywood. In the course of this a sheet was blown into the air. It hit the bosun, forcing him against the ship's rail. As a result he suffered broken ribs and other serious injuries.

In subsequent legal proceedings the bosun's complaint against the ship was that the master failed to notify him of changes in the weather forecast, particularly the increasing wind speeds. Against that it was contended that a deliberate decision was made by the bosun not to secure the plywood sheeting to carts before moving them in the windy conditions, simply to save time.

In court, the Member was held liable for the bosun's injuries. A compromised settlement was negotiated ahead of an appeal hearing.

It is important to remember that the shipowner is expected to provide a safe working environment (having regard to all the circumstances). This will usually extend not only to the structure of the ship itself but also to the environment in which work is undertaken on the ship and the means employed to perform that work.

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taking care

Land-locked liability

A shipping company is appealing against a US$ 42 million damages award, the largest award in Illinois State history. The jury-award was made after a high-cube container owned by the carrier, was `low-bridged'. On striking the bridge it was torn off its flat-bed trailer, causing numerous traffic accidents and serious injury to a number of motorists. Although the immediate fault for the accident lay with the trucker, the shipping company that owned the high-cube container was held jointly responsible and liable for a proportion of the damages awarded. A trucker has a responsibility to know what obstructions may be found on the route he adopts. He can usually verify height restrictions by calling the local highway authority. Detailed knowledge of obstructions such as electric or telephone cables usually rests with the service provider. A trucker can approach the local authority or service provider for safe-routing clearance or to make arrangements for temporary removal of obstacles, if required. Expenses for issuing safe-routing clearances are normally minimal. Containers, even high-cubes, will not normally pose an `over-height' danger when transported on a proper container chassis, though problems may well be encountered (as here) when high-cubes are moved on flatbed trailers. Any suspicion of potential over-height problems should trigger a demand for a copy of the route clearance fax or permit supplied to the trucker by the local authority or service provider.

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stowaways

Incredible journey

Two men were picked up by security guards at Portland, Oregon, in August last year after an incredible journey. They identified the ship on which they had travelled. In spite of his denials, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service suspected that the master had assisted them with their passage.

When the Club correspondent interviewed the two stowaways in jail he was told they had come alongside the ship by canoe in Buenaventura. They climbed into the rudder housing and remained there throughout the voyage. They brought boards for seating and food and water sufficient for 10 days passage. The ship was unfixed and waited off Panama for orders, so the voyage to Portland actually took more than 20 days. Their story was regarded as incredible by the INS and only believed after a search revealed the boards they had sat on and the empty food and water containers.

A similar incident occurred three weeks later when two more stowaways arrived in Vancouver. This is something of which masters must be aware, so that everyone can be alert to the fact that people still stow away in this manner. These men originated in Colombia. This raises a natural concern about links with drug smuggling. In neither case was evidence of drug involvement found, but this clearly poses an additional risk.

See LP Bulletin 62: Stowaways: disembarkation and detention - Brazil

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Invasive species

The US government has now established an agency, the Invasive Species Council, specially tasked to deal with the environmental threat posed by the introduction of non-indigenous insects and marine life. Ways in which these may be introduced into the country's own eco-systems are in ballast water, cargo, dunnage and packing materials.

The agency will draft recommendations for international co-operation designed to tackle this problem and prepare a management plan. The plan must identify the routes by which the species are introduced and propose steps for managing the associated risk.

The long-horned beetle and zebra mussel are examples of invasive species that have recently been targeted by the USDA. It is estimated by some that the impact upon the US economy of invasive species is in excess of US$120 billion a year. Similar problems involving the Asian gypsy moth were reported in the first edition of Loss Prevention News in September 1993 and remain a subject of concern.

The US is not the only country concerned about this issue. Australia has very strict regulations and ballast water is a significant problem. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service requires ships to have a management plan to assist in risk reduction related to the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens. AQIS also require the routine submission of ballast water reports from ships arriving in Australia.

IMO introduced voluntary guidelines for preventing the unwanted introduction of organisms and pathogens via ships ballast water in 1991. These were largely modelled on the Australian guidelines. It is proposed that regulations based upon the guidelines should be incorporated as a new Annex in MARPOL 73/78 in due course.

Web links:
http://www.aqis.gov.au/shipping/index/
http://www.aphis.usda.gov
http://www.imo.org

Asian long-horned beetle

A species of beetle native to China and other parts of Asia has been finding its way into the United States in the solid wood packing of imported cargo. The long-horned beetle was traced around New York in 1996. It has no natural control to restrict its spread in the United States and if it should become established in this new environment it would put millions of acres of hardwood at risk. In Brooklyn, the first area to be seriously affected, more than 2,000 trees have already been removed, chipped and burnt to establish a quarantine zone.

The USDA therefore now requires any solid wood packing material associated with cargoes from China to be officially certified by the Chinese government as having been heat treated, fumigated or treated with preservatives prior to arrival in the United States. Importation of cargo with untreated solid wood packing or material showing signs of infestation will be prohibited.

The value of imports to the US from China was US$63 billion in 1997 with many goods utilizing some form of wood packing material. The beetle has been detected at almost 30 sites in 14 states usually in and around warehouses.

Web link: http://www.aphis.usda.gov

See LP Bulletin 78: Bunkering Spills - Strict Court Requirements - Singapore LP Bulletin 52:Imprisonment for Oil Record Book Offences - Singapore LP Bulletin 87:Penalties for Deck Washing - Great Barrier Reef - Australia

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Oil spill contingency plans, dry cargo trade, California

From 1 September 1999 Members operating dry cargo ships in Californian waters will be required to have an oil spill contingency plan in place, identifying a QI, providing for pre-contracted oil spill response and evidencing financial responsibility up to US$ 300 million in respect of damages caused by a spill.

The Club has recently made general arrangements to assist Members with dry cargo vessels that trade to the U.S. and who don’t already have existing spill response or spill management contracts that can be extended to cover such ships, (see circular 7/99). Those arrangements are non-exclusive and Members are free to choose other service providers instead of the services facilitated by the Club if they so wish.

The new Californian regulations are particular. They are still at a draft stage. The Club is in discussion with the administrator of the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response concerning compliance requirements, both as regards contingency planning and financial responsibility. Members will be advised further in due course.

Web link: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/ospr

Venezuelan customs

Amendments to Venezuela's customs law, introduced in January 1999, have prompted new recommendations from local lawyers:

• To aid security, carriers should ensure cargo is consigned to terminals under the control of known private port operators.
• Carriers should identify on their bills of lading the particular 'place of delivery' (the individual terminal or warehouse operated by the carrier's port operator). This should prevent cargo being ordered from safe zones to areas beyond the control of the carrier or his cargo-handling operator.
• Great care must be paid to cargo documentation and operations to detect promptly any shortage or overage of cargo. Accurate records of the cargo, indicating its condition, should be prepared for presentation to the customs authority in order to avoid fines. The new law requires presentation of cargo documentation to the customs on the ship's arrival; otherwise a fine will be imposed. Where agents are unable to present documentation to the customs due to the carrier's fault, any fines imposed upon the agent will be recovered from the carrier.
• Carriers should instruct their port agents and terminal operators to release cargo only against a legitimate (genuine) customs document (FORMA C-80) and an original bill of lading.

Regulatory action plan Forthcoming action dates in relation to IMO regulations are set as follows:

1 July 1999 June 1997 amendments to SOLAS

Regulation 8-2 of Chapter V (Safety of Navigation) on Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) enters into force. These are traffic management systems, such as those adopted in busy straits. Vessel Traffic Services are intended to contribute to the safety of life at sea, to safe and efficient to protect the marine environment and its shoreline from the adverse risks of traffic. Governments may establish such services when they consider traffic density or risk justifies them.

1 July 1999 November 1995 amendments to SOLAS

Regulation 8.3 of Chapter II-I (Special requirements for passenger ships - other than ro-ro passenger ships - carrying 400 persons or more) enters into force. This regulation obliges such ships to comply with the requirements that apply to ro-ro passenger ships (Regulation 8.2) based on recommendations arising out of the ESTONIA ferry disaster. The requirements seek to ensure the ship will survive a casualty that may flood two main compartments and not capsize in consequence.

1 July 1999 November 1995 amendments to SOLAS

Regulation 28.3 of Chapter II-2 requires escape routes on ro-ro passenger ships constructed after 1 July 1999 to be evaluated by an evacuation analysis early in the design process. This is intended to identify and eliminate the congestion that can develop when a ship has to be evacuated. The analysis must demonstrate that evacuation arrangements can still work even if some escape routes have been compromised in the casualty.

1 July 1999 November 1995 amendments to SOLAS

Regulation 28 of Chapter III obliges passenger ships of 130 metres in length and over built after 1 July 1999 to be fitted with a helicopter landing area. Ro-ro passenger ships have already been obliged to provide a helicopter pick up area. (This amendment, however, is under review).

1 July 1999 November 1995 amendments to SOLAS

Regulation 29 of Chapter III requires a "decision support system" to be in place on all passenger ships built before 1 July 1997 that will facilitate emergency management on the navigation bridge. Any such system should, at least, comprise printed emergency plans covering foreseeable emergency situations, including fire, damage to ship, pollution and unlawful acts. The system must be in place not later than the first periodic survey after 1 July 1999.

1 July 1999 November 1997 (Conference) amendments to SOLAS

SOLAS Chapter XII (Additional Safety Measures for Bulk Carriers) enters into force. This chapter makes provision for new and existing bulk carriers exceeding 150 metres length to comply with particular criteria relating to their survivability upon the flooding of cargo holds. amendments to SOLAS Provisions for new vessels focus on the flooding of any hold, those relating to older vessels focus on the flooding of Hold 1 and the integrity of the watertight bulkhead with Hold 2. Provisions in respect of existing vessels principally focus on those carrying cargoes of higher density; steels, ore and cement. Those in respect of new vessels will also embrace vessels carrying lower density cargoes such as grains and timber. Dates of application for existing vessels depend on age. Those of 20 years and over on 1 July 1999 must comply by their first intermediate or periodic survey thereafter, whichever is sooner. Vessels of 15-20 years must comply by their first periodical survey after 1 July 1999 and in any case before 1 July 2002. Vessels less than 15 years old must comply by their first periodical survey after reaching 15 years and in any case before reaching 17 years of age.

ALTERATION

September 1997 amendment to MARPOL

In LPN-10 we noted particular NW European waters that were to be designated MARPOL "special areas" from 1st February 1999. IMO now indicates the MARPOL 73/78, Annex 1, Regulation 10, requirements concerning the NW European Waters Special Area shall in fact take effect on 1st August 1999.

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Supplies and services for charterer's account

If a ship's charterer should fail, the liabilities confronting the shipowner in consequence of that failure can be very costly. Such losses are usually uninsured and represent a direct and unbudgeted loss to the shipowner. For example, if a time-charterer collapses leaving unpaid bills for bunkers, stevedores and similar supplies or services that the charterparty obliges him to pay for, the suppliers will often turn to the shipowner seeking payment of the outstanding accounts. This is a most unwelcome burden on top of any unpaid hire!

This is a particular problem in the USA where the courts recognise a supplier's assumption that the supplier of goods and services to a ship will be secured by a lien against the ship even though they are ordered by the ship's charterer. Even if the charterparty forbids the charterer from incurring a lien against the ship, this will not assist the shipowner unless he can prove the supplier actually knew of the charterparty's prohibition when he supplied the goods or services to the ship. If the shipowner cannot show this he will be compelled by the courts to meet the cost of the supplies or services from his own pocket.

This has been a particular problem for well over 25 years (since the 1971 amendment to the Lien Act) but shipowners still get caught out. Masters may be aware of some sort of problem and may even stamp receipts with a notice that according to the charterparty, the charterer is responsible for cost of the goods and services supplied. That is not enough; it is too little, too late. The supplier must be informed of the situation properly before the supplies or services are made. This can be done conveniently by the ship manager or the shipowner's general agent, but the master and chief engineer must also be on top of this to ensure it has actually been done. (And how can the master provide for this if he has not been given a copy of the governing charterparty?)

The more a shipowner does to warn suppliers before the services or materials are provided to his ship, the better are his chances of successfully defeating lien claims in respect of such unpaid bills.