In light of the conditions that exist in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, there are no further changes to the operation of Libyan ports. Yet, Gard advises vessels to be in touch with their local agent to obtain the most up-to-date and reliable information.
The 2020 sulphur cap, a MARPOL Annex VI requirement, enters into force on 1 January 2020, less than nine months away. In this regard, Sammy Smallbone, Lawyer at Gard AS provided recommendations for managing the transition where the strategy is to use conventional compliant fuel.
As Gard P&I Club informs, carriers should make sure that they implement solid and comprehensive record-keeping routines of what is declared and known about the specific cargo to be carried, as well as of each step taken to care for the cargo. This may include evidence of market practice for the storage along with carriage of moisture absorbing cargoes.
The Gard P&I Club issued a summary of available information from each of the countries known to regulate and inspect arriving vessels for Asian Gypsy Moth (AGS), highlighting each country’s definition of risk areas and specified risk periods, as well as their entry requirements and mandatory inspection periods.
Gard, in light of February 16 being ‘World Whale Day’, published a revision on US and Canadian regulations and recommendations concerning whales, aiming at reducing collisions between North Atlantic right whales and ships. ‘World Whale Day’ held annually on the third Saturday in February, was founded in Maui, Hawaii, in 1980, to honour humpback whales, which swim off its coast.
As the Gard Club informs, high water and strong currents in the Mississippi River can lead to delays and additional costs being incurred. The high-water season is often said to run from December to May, with the highest water being usually seen from February to May. However, this is not the only high water season, as high water can take place at many times and has sometimes lasted from January until August.
Gard comments on several cases, that took place recently, that involve banks claiming for misdelivery of coal cargoes at Indian ports. The misdelivery has to do with the challenges that follow when a cargo is delivered without the production of the original bills of lading.
In the latest revision of the Nordic Marine Insurance Plan, it was agreed to restrict the war risk cover to politically motivated interventions, with state interventions falling outside the war risk cover included in the marine insurance cover. The 2019 revision of the NMIP was approved by all parties and the document was published for use by insurance practitioners. The amendments in the 2019 version vary from small clarifications in clauses to more substantial re-writing of individual clauses.
Several hackers are pretending to be high-level executives in the shipping industry to launch ‘whaling attacks’. These attacks aim to steal credentials or even compromise the system. These hackers are targeting various types of employees with social-engineering. Whaling attacks are not new, but they grow, with the FBI noting that these attacks resulted in losses of more than $12.5 billion during 2018.
Gard Club in collaboration with DNV GL explain what are the possible cyber threats and how we can mitigate them or prevent them. Cyber threats are dynamic and can quickly change, for this reason seafarers must be very careful, in order not to put their personal or the ship’s information at risk. Namely, the easiest way for cyber criminals to attack is through negligent or poorly trained individuals.
