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BBNJ President Rena Lee proposed yesterday that the Intergovernmental Conference reconvene on June 19, 2023 to adopt the BBNJ treaty. When and how can the treaty then create binding obligations for private companies operating in the high seas?
Continue Reading How the new “BBNJ” or “high seas” treaty may soon result in new obligations for the private sector

The BBNJ agreement, or ‘High Seas Treaty,’ was reached by delegates of the Intergovernmental Conference and is the culmination of talks that have spanned two decades. This historic milestone was met with tears and a standing ovation from delegates.
Continue Reading New United Nations treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)

Singapore will soon be implementing the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims of 1976 (as amended in 2012 and effective from 2015), following the passing of the Merchant Shipping (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.

With the passing of the Bill, Singapore’s limitation of liability regime for maritime claims will be aligned…

In Yemgas FZCO & Ors v Superior Pescadores SA [2016] EWCA Civ 101, the Court of Appeal considered whether the standard ‘Paramount Clause’ wording in the Congenbill incorporates the Hague Rules 1924 (the “HR”) or the Hague/Visby Rules (the “HVR”).

The ‘Paramount Clause’ set out on the reverse side of the bills of ladings in the present case provided that “The Hague Rules contained in the International Convention for Unification of certain rules relating to Bills of Lading, dated Brussels the 25th August 1924 as enacted in the country of shipment shall apply to this contract…”

The wording, with one immaterial change, was therefore identical to the wording included in the Congenbill.

Machinery and equipment, intended for use in the construction of a liquid natural gas facility in Yemen, was loaded on board the vessel “SUPERIOR PESCADORES” in Belgium. Owners issued six bills of lading in the Conline form for carriage from Antwerp, Belgium to Balhaf, Yemen.…

Continue Reading Congenbill ‘Paramount Clause’ – Hague or Hague / Visby Rules?

In Cosmotrade SA v Kairos Shipping Ltd (“The Atlantik Confidence”) [2014] EWCA Civ 217, the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s first instance decision that English law does not allow constitution of a Limitation Fund by P&I Club Letter of Undertaking.

First Instance Decision

The first instance decision was reported in a previous…

In Cosmotrade SA v Kairos Shipping Ltd and others [2013] EWHC 1904 (Comm), the Commercial Court considered the question of whether English law allows a Limitation Fund to be constituted by way of a P&I Club Letter of Undertaking.

The Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (LLMC 1976) allows owners to…

Following a review by the Correspondence Group established by the Marine Environment Protection Committee in 2006, various amendments to MARPOL Annex V Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships took effect on 1 January 2013.

The revised Annex now prohibits the discharge of all garbage into the sea, with limited exceptions. Importantly,…

Following several incidents resulting from structural failure in oil tankers, the Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO has made mandatory certain performance standards aimed at inhibiting corrosion in cargo oil tanks. The MSC has adopted Resolution MSC.291(87), which incorporates into SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-11, “Corrosion Protection of Cargo Oil Tanks of Crude Oil Tankers” (the “Regulation”).…