Tag: Gard Club

The North American ECA will enter into force on 1 August 2012 and includes areas around the Hawaiian Islands but does not include the US Caribbean Sea ECA, which will enter into force on 1 January 2014. The geographical limits of the North American ECA can be found in Appendix VII of MARPOL Annex VI and in IMO Circular MEPC.1/Circ.723.1

It may be recalled that on 6 May 2012 the Indonesian Ministry Regulation No. 7 of 2012 (the Regulation) came into force. The Regulation required mines which produced ores such as nickel, iron, copper or tin to put in place plans to develop their own processing and purification plants by 2014.

The Gard P&I Club- Loss Prevention No2-12 Shipowners are increasingly lax when it comes to upholding 2003 amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention that are designed to prevent engineroom fires, according to a loss prevention circular from Gard.The circular says that the risk of fire is highest when maintenance work is taking place or immediately afterwards, but shipowners can underestimate the risks that certain repairs present because they are perceived to be simple. Because of this, owners sometimes fail to implement safety precautions."Typical examples are missing hot-work permits and the absence of a fire watch," the Norwegian P&I club claims. "Following a period of maintenance, the time available to prepare the vessel and get back in operation can be limited and the refitting of removed insulation mats or spray shields is often left for the crew to complete during the voyage."The rules require ships to be equipped with jacketed pipes in high-pressure fuel oil delivery lines, for high-temperature surfaces at risk of flammable oil impingement after a failure of an oil line to be insulated, and for spray shields to be provided for flammable oil lines immediately above or near potential ignition sources. However, the impact of ...

The Gard P&I Club- Loss Prevention No2-12 Every year fires on board ships lead to loss of lives and severe damage to the ships themselves. The majority of fires on board ships originate in the engine room and failure in a flammable oil system followed by impingement of oil onto a high temperature surface is the leading cause of engine room fires. In addition, many engine room fires have an electrical source, such as electrical short-circuits and thermal overheating in the switchboards.Identification and protection of high temperature surfaces in the engine room is considered to be a very effective measure to prevent engine room fires and is also fairly easy to implement on board. The purpose of this circular is therefore to increase awareness of the potential dangers associated with exposed high temperature surfaces in engine rooms.The existing regulatory requirements have been highlighted to focus attention on companies' responsibility to ensure that the engine room systems are maintained in a safe condition and in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements at all times during operations. Rules and regulations The IMO Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention provides the key regulatory framework for fire safety on board ships and Ch.II-2/Reg.4 covers ...

Information provided by the Gard P&I Club The Gard P&I Club issues Updated instructions for commercial vessels entering Egyptian waters with weapons on board as follows:Previous Gard Alerts have provided guidance on the subject of weapons and armed security guards on board commercial vessels entering Egyptian waters (see links at the end of this update).A letter dated 9th January 2012, from the Egyptian Maritime Transport Sector (MTS) of the Ministry of Transport to the Alexandria Chamber of Shipping, sets out new requirements regarding weapons on board commercial vessels entering and leaving Egyptian ports and the Suez Canal. In summary, the letter states that: The presence of weapons on board commercial vessels is against the law and if undeclared weapons are found on board while a vessel is in Egyptian territorial waters, berthed at ports or during transit of the canal, the vessel could be detained and crew members arrested and charged. If a vessels calling at Egyptian ports has weapons on board, the Master must lock up the weapons and issue a certificate to be handed over to the pilot at the pilot station, stating that the Master intends to hand the weapons to port police, in a locked box, ...

Information provided by the Gard P&I Club The Gard P&I Club issues news alert regarding Mediterranean countries agree on voluntary interim ballast water management regulations as follows:The Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM Convention) was adopted in 2004 and will enter into force 12 months after the date on which not less than 30 States, the combined merchant fleets of which constitutes not less than 35% of the gross tonnage of the world merchant shipping, have ratified it. As of December 2011, 32 States have ratified the Convention, the last two States acceding to the Convention being Montenegro and Lebanon, but the current contracting parties still represent only 26.46% of the world tonnage.The Convention status can be followed on the IMO webpage covering Ballast Water Management1. In anticipation of the entry into force of the BWM Convention, the Mediterranean Coastal States have adopted interim arrangements to address the risk of invasion by alien species via ships' ballast water and sediment within their areas.The "Harmonized voluntary arrangements for ballast water management in the Mediterranean region" (IMO BWM.2/Circ 35) require ships sailing in the Mediterranean to exchange their ballast water in accordance with the requirements set out in the D-1 Standard of the ...

Information provided by the Gard P&I Club The Gard P&I Club issues alert for Egypt/Suez Canal - new instructions regarding weapons and armed security guards onboard commercial vessels as follows:During August 2011, the Egyptian Authorities announced that commercial vessels in Egyptian territorial waters were not allowed to carry any weapons or armed security guards onboard as this was stated to be contrary to international maritime law.Consequences in case weapons were found onboard vessels when staying in Egyptian territorial waters whether that be along quays in ports, while anchoring in the inner or outer waiting areas or while transiting theSuez Canal, were reported to be serious. The master of the vessel and her crew members would be liable to legal penalties in accordance with Egyptian Law such as arrest of the vessel and her master, and any person onboard carrying weapons without permission.Gard's understanding is that the above described prohibition notice by the Egyptian Authorities on carrying weapons through the Suez Canal was originally introduced as a precautionary measure to prevent weapons being smuggled to/from Egypt during a period with somewhat unstable conditions in the country.It appears, however, that implementation of the said requirements have not been carried out in practice, ...

Gard P&I Club Alert The Gard P&I Club issues the following alert regarding Monsoon Flooding in Thailand affetcs Shipping:Gard's correspondent in Bangkok, Thai P&I Services International Ltd., has advised that due to the ongoing threat of flooding in Thailand, shipments to and from the kingdom have been affected.The export of rice is also expected to be severely affected. In addition to the authorities limiting vessel traffic in the Chao Praya River to ease wash damage to properties adjacent to the river, the majority of barges used to load rice cargoes have been unable to load cargoes as Ayutthaya Province, the origin of the cargo, has been severely flooded. Members expecting to load rice cargoes from Thailand should check cargo availability, to avoid delays.As of 25. October 2011, reports from shipping agents in Bangkok state that Bangkok Port has already stopped receiving discharged containers due to yard congestion. Container liners are therefore considering shifting incoming vessels to other private ports in Bangkok or Laem Chabang. In addition,due to flooding of numerous Container Terminals and ICD's, their ability to accept additional laden containers is also in doubt. Many ICD's have already resorted to stowing laden containers above empties, to avoid cargo damage ...

Incidents occurred in Venezuela The Gard P&I Club issues alert regarding robbery of vessels in ports of Venezuela as follows:The risk of armed robbery is still of concern for vessels anchoring in the areas surrounding Puerto La Cruz and Barcelona City off the north coast of Venezuela. Gard would like to take the opportunity to warn our Members and Clients about this problem and to repeat some of the advice provided by our local correspondent and authorities as to precautionary measures to be taken by vessels calling at ports in the relevant areas.The situationReported incidents involve intruders, usually approaching the vessel in small fishing boats, climbing aboard the vessels during the night while the vessel is at anchor. The intruders' intentions are to rob the vessel and its crewmembers of all valuables. During the robbery, crew members have been threatened, beaten and even attacked with knives and guns.According to Gard's correspondent in Venezuela, extra precautions should be taken when anchoring in the proximity of the Jose (Bahia de Barcelona) and Pertigalete terminals or close to the port of Guanta and the Guaraguaoterminal in the Bahia de Pozuelos.Our correspondent in Venezuela also states that a meeting was arranged not long ago ...

The Gard P&I Club issues Alert The Gard P&I Club issues Alert regarding IMSBC Code- Charterparty clause for solid bulk cargoes as follows:Introduction and backgroundReference is made to various circulars and articles published by the Association on the liquefaction of solid bulk cargoe.The Association has seen various charterparty clauses that attempt to weaken, avoid, and/or restrain owners from taking the necessary precautions with regard to cargoes that may liquefy, as set out in theIMSBC Code (which is mandatory under the provisions of SOLAS). With a view to preserving a Member's rights, protecting their interests and to assist in achieving contract certainty on this important safety matter, the International Group of P&I Clubs ("IG") has produced a standard charterparty clause.For more details, click here.Source: The Gard P&I Club