Tag: Britannia Club

Britannia P&I Club informed that it has recently been advised that some operators have been charged USD3,600 for security guards in respect of crew members not holding current US visas, even though they were not disembarking. In order to avoid such charges, all crew should have valid visas before arriving at US ports.

As the Britannia P&I Club informed, it received information from Yantai MSA, saying that foreign vessels often navigate along incorrect routes through the navigation-restricted areas around Miaodao Archipelago. Namely, about ten cases have been reported annually in the last three years.

Peter Hazell, Assistant Vice President, Head of FDD Skuld, focused on the various incidents concerning former coal fired power stations that have started to burn biomass as feedstock in order to enhance sustainability of fuel sources. This results to shipments of wood pellets intended to be burned. Most of these shipments are executed without incident but there are significant hazards associated with the carriage of wood pellets.

Britannia P&I Club referred to the English supreme court that presented its first authoritative judgement in English law, addressing the question of whether it is the carrier or cargo interests who bear the burden of proof under the Hague and Hague-visby rules.

Britannia P&I's Loss Prevention team published an informational paper on the best way to transfer personnel from one ship to another. There's a variety of ways to do so, but the most important thing is safety. Generally, the operations are all different as they hide different dangers, concerning the 'product' being transferred.

Britannia announced that it has become the first P&I Club to be accepted as a member of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN). By joining MACN, Britannia aspires to provide the Network with input from an insurance sector perspective. MACN Director, Cecilia Müller Torbrand, commented on the importance of Britannia joining the Network, saying that the effect of maritime corruption is felt across the industry.

As the Britannia P&I Club informs, Intertanko has recently received a number of reports from its members regarding uncharted terminals in Chinese ports after a request for feedback. The association has called the Chinese authorities to mitigate the issue. Hydrographic inaccuracies and the non-marking of existing terminals on charts raise serious navigational risks.

Brittania P&I considers the benefits of CCTV cameras on board ships, as a number of visually recorded and publicised maritime incidents highlight the value of such recordings when investigating incidents and determine facts. Mainly, the recordings are of a big help when dealing with accidents that have occurred or have allegedly occurred. CCTV footage can make investigations easier, and also improve the possibility of more findings.

North China is experiencing record low temperatures this season, and specially low temperatures in the past 2 weeks, posing a threat to safe navigation due to icy sea condition in the area. The key ports affected are those in the Liaodong Bay area, from Dalian to Huludao, Panjin, Bayuquan, Jinzhou and Dandong.

Based on data provided by correspondents Pandi Liquidadores SRL in Argentina, Britannia P&I Club cited a number of scenarios that should be taken into account when one of the ship’s anchors is missing, whilst in Argentina waters.