Nick Barber, Standard Club’s partner, provides an insight into the matter of finding a place or port of refuge that is willing and is able to accept a damaged vessel and cargo, and the challenges behind it, as it seems to be an issue affecting owners and salvors of mega box ships.
According to Mr Barber, the challenges on identifying a place or port of refuge are:
- The risk of the ship sinking in a fairway and causing substantial economic loss;
- The size of the ship and height of the container stacks;
- The fact that extinguishing container ship fires can be a drawn-out process.
In light of the above, frequently those facing the difficulties are faced with the relevant authorities in suitable ports and places of refuge adopting a cautious ‘not in my back yard’ stance in relation to providing refuge to a damaged ship.
The Salvage Convention 1989 is unhelpful in this regard:
- Article 11 (Co-operation) imposes obligations on state parties to co-operate with salvors and owners to ensure the efficient and successful performance of a salvage operation and prevent damage to the environment.
- Article 9 (Rights of Coastal States) provides for the right of state parties to protect their coastlines or related interests from pollution or the threat of pollution.
Therefore, the 2002 Prestige incident and the oil spill highlighted this matter, as the vessel wasn’t provided with a place of refuge. Therefore, IMO Assembly adopted the IMO Resolution A.949(23) setting out guidelines on places of refuge, which are intended for use when a ship is in need of assistance, but the safety of life is not involved.
- Practical issues when bringing a mega box ship casualty into a port or place of refuge include:
- Identifying a place or port of refuge with sufficient draft to accommodate the damaged ship, facilities to handle the cargo, space to separate and survey containers from the damaged ship, and facilities to handle and dispose of any damaged containers, cargo or other debris arising from the casualty. This may include potentially hazardous materials such as contaminated firefighting water.
- Identifying the various local conditions that must be met for the damaged ship to be allowed into the port or place of refuge. Reassurances and sometimes security must be provided to the relevant local authorities for liabilities such as wreck removal, business interruption, pollution prevention and clean-up expenses, damage to the port or place of refuge, and third-party claims.
- Cargo issues include local legal requirements, regarding importing cargo. In the meantime, the problem comes when cargo that was supposed to be sound, arrives damaged because consignees generally have to pay import taxes on the full value of the goods before they are released by customs. Where the goods are in fact damaged or worthless, consignees can face considerable difficulty in being reimbursed by the authorities.
In addition, another challenge is under the condition that after a fire or flooding the containers have to be surveyed; This takes a number of parties in attendance, meaning that is important to have good communication and coordination.
There may also be conflicting views regarding the need to investigate causation and preserve evidence on the one hand, and the need to remove and survey the damaged cargo on the other. To inspect the contents of containers, it is necessary to break the seals on the doors. Local customs authorities may object to this and impose fines if it is done without their permission.
… Mr Barber added, concerning the challenges faced.
Concluding, addressing the issues requires close cooperation between the owners, salvors, P&I and H&M insurers (and their advisers), local correspondents and the relevant authorities.
