On 6 October 2020, EPA issued a news release (click here) stating that it is proposing standards to reduce the environmental impact of discharges, such as ballast water, that are incidental to the normal operation of commercial vessels.

Bodily Injury News is the bi-annual newsletter of the Thomas Miller Americas’ Bodily Injury (BI) Team.

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This year's Bodily Injury Seminar covered a variety of important areas relevant to both US and foreign flag shipowners. Twenty-five Members representing all vessel types, attended the seminar in our Jersey City office to listen to experts talk on: Limitation of Liability, How to Evaluate Pain and Suffering Damages, Crew Mental Health, Medical Case Management, and Medical Repatriation. Find out more in the latest edition of Bodily Injury News.

This note is designed for shipowners and their brokers to outline the P&I coverage of their ships during towage to a repair yard.

The paper begins with a summary of federal efforts in three topic areas: (1) spill demarcation and mitigation, including containment and countermeasures; (2) oil spill response technologies for cleanup and recovery of oil, including affiliated data management tools; and (3) the fate of oil and its effects on the environment.

An updated version of the Donjon-Smit Funding Agreement which has the following new footer: Donjon-Smit (Tanker and Non-Tank) Version B February 11, 2014 together with Annexes 1-5 has been uploaded to the Club website.

Members are advised to take care to sign the updated WSMC enrolment agreement which is compliant with International Group guidelines ( Circular 22/13 ) and not earlier unapproved versions as described in Circular 17/13.

Severe weather conditions in the New York and New Jersey region have forced the temporary closure of our New Jersey office today.

Washington State Maritime Co-operative (WSMC) has revised its enrolment agreement. It now complies with International Group (IG) guidelines; National Response Corporation (NRC) also provides Washington State approved and IG compliant contingency plans; Specimen documents for both organisations are attached to this circular; This circular refers to Circular 17/13 Washington State - Contingency Plan requirements

The Alternative Planning Criteria (APC) for non-tank vessels visiting Western Alaska are now published at

These twenty or more 'frequently asked questions' include guidance on the Final Rule and its application, the contractual arrangements that need to be in place as part of VRP compliance and various points on remaining within cover. Updated 10th December 2013.

If you are the owner/operator of vessels trading to the United States, you should be aware of the imminent new environmental requirements set out below. These requirements have already been explained in Club circulars, but you may find it helpful to have this overview where they are collected in one place. If you have not yet considered how to comply, now is the time to act.

Second issuance of Vessel General Permit (VGP) is effective from 19th December 2013 and will supersede the first iteration of VGP. Vessels must file an Notice of Intent (NOI), by the 12th December 2013 or 7 days prior to discharge to continue uninterrupted coverage. Notice of Intent must be submitted using EPA's Electronic NOI system. NOI submission deadlines and discharge authorization can be found in Annex II of this circular. Club advice on VGP requirements was posted on our website on 19th November

The attached contract is conforming with International Group Vessel Response Guidelines and is referred to in Circular 19/13: "United States Vessel Response Plans - OSRO Contracts".