Updates on liability limits and Iran sanctions issues

The limits of liability for shipping will be raised after the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted amendments to the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims ( LLMC 96).

Also, the International Group has updated its FAQs in respect of the most recent sanctions against Iran.

LLMC 1996

The new limits that apply under the LLMC 96 are expected to enter into force 36 months from the date of adoption, on 19 April 2015, under the tacit acceptance procedure.

The IMO announced adoption of these increased limits last week. A full copy of that announcement, with the formal resolution of the Legal Committee attached, are available in the Knowledge & Developments section of the Club website.

The LLMC Convention sets specified limits of liability for claims against shipowners in respect of claims for loss of life or personal injury, and property claims.

The original LLMC convention was adopted in 1976. The compensation limits of that 1976 Convention were raised by the 1996 Protocol, and are now revised in 2012 in the face of continuing claims inflation.

The 1996 Protocol limits have, in recent years, been judged inadequate to cover the costs of claims, especially those arising from incidents involving bunker fuel spills.

Iran sanctions FAQs

The Group has been in further discussion with the UK Treasury regarding the EU's Regulation 267/2012 implementing new measures to prohibit the trade and transportation of crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemical products.

The Group has received feedback on a number of common areas of enquiry from members and has updated the FAQs that were previously issued on 29 March.

These FAQs are collated together with other information and resources in the International Sanctions section of our website relating to Iran.