Whilst the additional premium rates required for tankers carrying persistent oil in United States waters fell by 30% this year, the exposure to environmental claims remains highly significant. Furthermore, it can be difficult to follow the complexities and differences arising from different federal and state laws.
The Club has two environmental specialists to support its Members in dealing with this challenging area of liability.
Dr Chao Wu and Kevin King are based in London and New Jersey respectively and support the Club and its Members' interests in environmental liability exposure worldwide.
Their work and that of supporting colleagues has enabled the Club to publish a variety of references on pollution liability and regulatory compliance for key areas of the world.
Each document provides an overview of certain laws and regulations relating to oil pollution risks in these regions. While every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy, it is only a guide and not a substitute for formal legal advice.
The Committee will shortly publish the protocols for the submission of claims, thus launching a new compensation regime for oil pollution incidents caused by ships within Chinese waters.
Helen Huang – Senior Claims Executive from Thomas Miller’s Hong Kong office provides an introduction to China’s marine oil pollution laws with a discussion on the relevant International Conventions, China’s domestic laws and Ship Pollution Response Organisations (SPROs).
The question of whether environmental claims in Brazil are subject to time bars, and if so, what the prescription periods would be, has finally been put to rest. Loggers had filed an appeal to the Supreme Court (STF), Brazil’s constitutional court, to challenge the judgments of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Brazil’s highest court for non-constitutional issues. The latter had repeatedly ruled that environmental damage could not be barred by the passage of time.
