The US Coast Guard issued Marine Safety Information Bulletin MSIB 02-20 (Change 1) entitled ‘Novel Coronavirus – Update’. Among other things, it states that the Coast Guard considers it a hazardous condition under 33 CFR 160.216 if a crewmember who was in Iran or China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) within the past 14-days is brought aboard the vessel during transit. This requires immediate notification to the nearest Coast Guard COTP. (3/9/20)
Correspondents O.F. Gollcher & Sons Ltd has provided the following update regarding Passenger Vessels, Vessels Carrying Passengers, Service Boats and Crew Changes issued by the authorities in Malta.
In response to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, this Guidance has been produced by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) to support all types of ships which operate in international waters. The purpose is to help shipping companies follow advice provided by United Nations agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The coronavirus outbreak is causing concerns for the cruise industry, but this is of course not the first time the industry has been faced with a breakout of a viral infection onboard. Members may find our Victoria Brown’s 2015 article, “People Claims - Norovirus on board” in which she discussed the Judge’s decision in Nolan -v- TUI UK Ltd (2015), of particular interest.
We have put in place temporary flexible working arrangements for our staff to avoid the worst of the rush hour in compliance with the Japanese Government’s recommendation for preventing spread of infection of Coronavirus.
The Club would like to draw Members’ attention to recent increases in fines for ship-source pollution under Greek Environmental Law. These increases, which are substantial, have been introduced via Presidential Decrees 113/2019 and 108/2019 to bring Greek environmental legislation in line with EU Directives 2005/35 and 2009/123.
From 1st March 2020, carriage ban on non-compliant fuel oil will enter into force. This means that ships can no longer carry non-compliant fuel on-board unless the same is carried as cargo. Any non-compliant fuel remaining on-board must be removed from the vessel’s fuel tanks failing which there will be a de-facto non-compliance even if such fuel was not intended to be used for consumption. The Carriage Ban does not apply to vessels fitted with operational scrubbers.
As there is a wide variety of liquid cargoes carried and many different types of ships involved, the subject of sampling is very wide. This article deals with the general principles of how to ascertain the apparent order and condition of liquid goods when they are shipped and, just as importantly, how to preserve the evidence.
