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Introduction

There cannot be many people left in the shipping sector unaware that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has set a target of reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions in shipping by at least 40% by 2030 and pursuing a 70% reduction by 2050.

As a key means of achieving this, the IMO, through the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI. These changes will implement major new technical rules called the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). The regulations are due to come into force on 1 January 2023, just over a year from now.

Put simply, EEXI is a framework for determining the efficiency of the design of in-service vessels over 400 GT falling under MARPOL Annex VI. The CII is an operational measure of how efficiently a ship transports goods or passengers measured, in essence, in grams of CO2 emitted by cargo-carrying capacity and nautical mile.

Both EEXI and CII are complex and evolving, with much of the detail still unclear. However, they need to be carefully considered and understood now so that those affected can start planning for January 2023.

In this article, we set out in an easy-to-use table the main points, and explain some of the key issues owners and charterers need to consider.
Continue Reading EEXI and CII – shipping’s next environmental challenge

Welcome to our new series of ‘back to basics’ blogs in which we will provide blogs focused on common legal issues. This blog post will address force majeure and frustration, two concepts which charterers have regularly relied on since the presence of COVID-19, often with varying degrees of success.

General Rule

English law generally holds parties who have contracted to do something accountable even where subsequent events make performance challenging or expensive. Nevertheless, two exceptions can often be invoked, frustration and force majeure. It is important to note that under English law force majeure only applies if there is a specific clause within a contract that provides for it, while frustration is a common law doctrine. There has been renewed interest on force majeure, in particular, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue Reading Force majeure and frustration