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
, 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
Members will recall that substantial increases in the liability limits set by the 1976 London Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) as amended by the 1996 LLMC Protocol, were agreed by the IMO Legal Committee in 2012.
The USCG recently published a final rule establishing increased limits under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The increases are based on increases in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI). The new limits embody the act’s ‘polluter pays’ principle while preserving the financial deterrent.
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 established rigorous regulatory and liability controls to protect and clean up the marine environment from oil spills, including extensive provision to prevent the circumstances under which oil spills occur.
In 2005, Hong Kong finally adopted the 1996 Protocol’s limitation levels, which came into play locally on 3 May 2015. Since then, the negotiations have continued between participating member states on amendments to the limitation levels.
