On 8 May 2018 the American President announced that the US would cease its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that the US, EU and other world powers agreed in 2015 (implemented 2016) that eased Sanctions against Iran in return for Iran stopping its Nuclear Weapons programme. Since the implementation date in January 2016 the Club has…

Circular – June 2017 Subject: Trade to Qatar Circular to Assureds (no 002 2017) Background Over the last few days there has been a major escalation in a long running diplomatic dispute that is impacting some of the GCC countries. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on 5 June. The immediate impact has been…

Circular – March 2017 Subject: New LMAA Terms and Procedures Circular to Assureds (no 001 2017) By Julian Clark and Christina Whitehead, Hill Dickinson Background On 7 February 2017 the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (“LMAA”) published revised Terms and Procedures applying to arbitration proceedings commenced on or after 1 May 2017. Revisions have been made to the LMAA Terms, LMAA…

Subject: Trade that may expose Assureds, Underwriters or Managers to Sanctions against Iran-Circular to Assureds (no 003 2016) Background: Following the easing of sanctions by the UN, US and EU earlier this year we are routinely receiving enquiries regarding cover for trade or transactions that may involve Iranian ports, cargoes or Interests. The easing of the sanctions regime has opened…

Entry into force of SOLAS New Container Weight Verification Requirements-Circular to Assureds (no 002 2016) Background The requirement to declare a container’s weight before shipment is not new, however, the fundamental information necessary for making the critical stowage and stability calculations upon which the safety of the carrying vessel and personnel depends, has  traditionally been taken on trust. The number of stack collapses,vessel damage and instability issues over many years  demonstrates most clearly that such trust had been misplaced with some Shippers. Increased misdeclarations of container weights has prompted the introduction by SOLAS  (Safety of Life at Sea Convention) of new requirements to determine the true weight of a container. The new SOLAS requirements Our March 2016 Newsletter contained a very informative article by Captain Peter King  reflecting on the imminent entry into force of certain amendments to Chapter VI  Regulation 2 of SOLAS (attached to this Circular) pursuant to which all laden containers  will have to be accompanied by a documented Verified Gross Mass (VGM), or their weight will have to be ascertained before they are accepted for loading on board a ship.  From 1 July 2016 Shippers of a packed container(1) are required by law to verify and  provide the container’s VGM to the ocean carrier and port terminal representative prior  to it being loaded onto a ship registered by any of  the contracting states of SOLAS.  Receipt of such VGM must be submitted to the Carrier and the Port sufficiently in  advance of shipment for inclusion in the requisite vessel planning.    While no doubt most Assureds in the container trade will by now have familiarised themselves with the new requirements, this Circular serves to highlight and summarise  the main features of the new amendments reproducing to a great extent most of the  commentary already made by Captain Peter King. Methods for verifying the container weight     Pursuant to the new SOLAS requirements, a Shipper has two (2) permissible methods to  obtain the VGM of the packed container as follows: 1. Weighing the laden container by weighbridge or other approved weighing method,  certified and calibrated in accordance with national requirements; or,  2. Assessment of the gross packed container weight by means of a summation of  certified cargo unit weights + packing, dunnage and other securing materials + the  container’s tare weight. If Method 2 for establishing the VGM is opted for, then the Shipper must have an auditable process in place, preferably a certified Quality Management System, which  will incorporate documented procedures to satisfy the weighing requirement, approved  by the proper authorities. It should be noted that submitting a mere estimate of the  weight of the container’s contents is not an option. A party packing the container cannot  use the weight that is provided by somebody else, except in the event where the cargo  has been previously weighed and that weight is clearly and permanently marked on the  surface of the goods. Who has the onus of compliance with the new SOLAS requirements?    In either of the methods referred to above, the onus for timely production of the verified  weight as well as ensuring this is communicated to the carrier and terminal operator  rests squarely with the Shipper. The Carrier does not need to verify the accuracy of the  VGM that has been submitted. But who is the Shipper? In the liner trades, the majority  of Head Bill of Lading named Shippers are freight forwarders, who although they may  make exaggerated claims in terms of being the carrier, even in some cases giving themselves shipping line names, they have very little direct contact with, or indeed in  many cases, knowledge of, the cargo they are moving, and will have to rely upon their  customer, the exporter, to provide the VGM under House Bill of Lading terms. Once the verified gross weight is obtained, the Shipper is required to communicate it as  part of the shipping instructions to the Carrier or shipping company or via a separate  communication (e.g. a declaration including a weight certificate). In either case, it should …

We reported in July 2015 that after many months of negotiation, an agreement was reached on 14 July 2015 between the E3/EU+3 and Iran for the implementation of the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (or JCPOA). Over the last six months all sides involved have been working towards Implementation Day which arrived on 16 January 2016. Download Circular 2016…

Subject: NEW NYPE 2015 – A Charterer’s Perspective-Circular to Assureds (no 004 2015) Introduction On 15 October, the "NYPE 2015" time charterparty form1 was issued jointly by BIMCO, the Association of Ship Brokers and Agents (ASBA) and the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF). This was the first revision to the NYPE form since 1993, with that version not being universally adopted…

Subject: JWC Amendment to Listed Areas-Circular to Assureds (no 003 2015) The Joint War Committee (JWC) of the IUA and the LMA have reviewed the summary of Listed Areas and an amendment has been made effective 10 December 2015. The full text of the current JWC Listed Areas Summary as at 10 December 2015 incorporating these changes is attached; the…

Introduction For centuries, bills of lading have been used in mercantile trade and have performed their functions well. More recently, certain systems have been introduced to replace paper bills of lading with electronic bills of lading (EBLs), often referred to as paperless trading. Under the Club's current Terms and Conditions there is an exclusion from cover, the Paperless Trading Exclusion…

Iran In July 2010 we issued a circular in relation to Sanctions. This update serves two purposes, the first is to notify Clients that the contents of the July 2010 circular (as they relate to the EU sanctions against Iran) no longer fully reflect the position following publication of EU Regulation 961/2010, and should not be relied upon by Clients…

Circular 001/2011 Subject: EU Advance Cargo Declaration Circular to Assureds (no 001 2011) Background The EU Advance Declaration Regime (the “New Regime”) entered into force on 1st January 2011. The main purpose of the New Regime is to increase the security of EU Member States through monitoring the movement of goods arriving, leaving or transiting the EU. From the above…

Background As charterers will be aware, in circumstances where a vessel trades in warm or tropical waters there can be a build-up of marine growth and other fouling organisms on the vessel’s hull and underwater areas which may adversely effect the vessel’s performance. The  position under almost all standard form time charters is that the obligation to maintain the  vessel…