Tag: INTERTANKO

There are 64 Contracting States to the Bunkers Convention INTERTANKO Members will recall that the Bunkers Convention came into force in November 2008 . It applies to all ships over 1000 gt.INTERTANKO advised at the time that there is nothing in the Convention which excludes tankers covered by the CLC regime. Each Convention is free-standing. The Bunkers Convention does only apply to spills which would not otherwise be compensated under the CLC. However, the CLC only applies to tankers when they carry persistent oil in bulk as cargo, or on the voyage immediately thereafter. In practice, therefore, the Bunkers Convention could apply on rare occasions when the CLC tanker is unladen. State Parties will likely therefore insist on a Bunker Convention certificate for CLC tankers whether or not the CLC applies.This advice has now been endorsed by the IMO Assembly in the attached IMO Resolution which recommends that State Parties to the Bunkers Convention:issue the certificate prescribed by the Bunkers Convention even when the ships concerned also hold a CLC certificate;require ships of 1,000 gross tonnage and above flying their flag or entering or leaving ports or offshore facilities in their territory to be insured and to hold a bunkers ...

The most important relevant items during the meeting INTERTANKO attended this week the IMO/MEPC Intersessional Meeting dedicated to finalisation of IMO guidelines for the calculation of the attained Energy Efficiency design Index (EEDI), the verification and control process of the data used for the EEDI calculation and the guidelines for the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP).Some of the most important relevant items that were handled at this meeting are as follows:Cubic capacity correction factor for chemical tankers - We remind you that when the EEDI regulation was approved by MEPC 62 in July 2011, it was agreed to include into the EEDI formula a cubic correction factor for chemical tankers which should take into account the cubic capacity of these ships as related to their deadweight. This week's meeting had to conclude on how to determine such a correction factor.After a number of deliberations, the cubic correction factor for chemical tankers will be determined by the formula fc = R-0.7 - 0.014 (fc = 1 when R = 0.98) where R is the ratio between the ship's deadweight and its capacity. The value of the correction factor is illustrated in this graph on which the red line is the ...

Any company engaged in substantial business with Iran should have a contingency plan INTERTANKO has received a number of enquiries from Members regarding recent and proposed US sanctions on Iran. Jonathan Epstein, a partner in the Washington DC office of our Associate Member, Holland and Knight, has kindly provided the following commentary on this issue for the benefit of all Members.BeginsOn December 31, 2011, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2012 ("NDAA" or "the Act"). Amended to and included in this major piece of legislation was Section 1245 ("Imposition of Sanctions with Respect to the Financial Sector of Iran"), which requires the President to sanction foreign financial institutions (e.g., foreign banks) that facilitate significant transactions with Iranian banks, particularly with respect to oil transactions.While there are grace periods for compliance, and considerable latitude given to the President to waive imposition of sanctions, the potential ramifications of this legislation are enormous for companies that operate tanker vessels carrying petroleum and petroleum products to and from Iran as, for the first time, the US has targeted transactions involving the export of crude oil from Iran to third countries.These new sanctions follow closely after the sanctions ...

Trends and assessments of piracy and sea robbery in Asia The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre issued the Report of the 2011 Piracy & Sea Robbery Conference, jointly sponsored by ReCAAP, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO), the NATO Shipping Centre, and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore on 14 April 2011.The conference addressed, among other things, trends and assessments of piracy and sea robbery in Asia; regional industry, ship owner's and seafarer's perspectives on piracy and sea robbery; and operational experiences of participating naval forces in combating piracy and sea robbery off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.To view the Report, click here.Source: ReCAAP

PhD Fellowship in Marine Pollution Law at World Maritime University INTERTANKO launches PhD Fellowship in Marine Pollution Law at World Maritime University.INTERTANKO is to fund a three-year PhD study into the emerging law and policy on criminal liability for marine pollution and the effects of this on seafarers.INTERTANKO will be working with the World Maritime University (WMU) and with the individual student chosen to undertake this important work. INTERTANKO's Council has identified criminalisation as a high priority item for the INTERTANKO Work Plan. In addressing this issue, INTERTANKO's Insurance and Legal Committee has sought to study emerging cases, case law and national, regional and international law which supports this 'blame culture' trend."It is this blame culture that has led to the criminalisation of our seafarers simply for doing their job," says Ken Marshall, Chairman of INTERTANKO's Insurance and Legal Committee. "We believe that this work will be a tangible benefit to our Members and indeed to seafarers and the whole shipping industry worldwide." It is to assist this study that INTERTANKO is establishing from January 2012 its PhD Fellowship in Marine Pollution Law at the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden."INTERTANKO has taken every opportunity to highlight the unfair treatment ...

Selection and Installation of Ballast Water Management Systems for Tankers INTERTANKO's Ballast Water Treatment Technology Guide launched earlier this week in Athens. Twenty member companies were represented at the launch which involved a seminar and Q&A session on ballast water treatment technology and compliance, moderated by INTERTANKO Senior Manager - Environment, Tim Wilkins.INTERTANKO's Guide to the Selection and Installation of Ballast Water Management Systems for Tankers has been developed to assist tanker owners during the selection, assessment and installation of Ballast Water Management (BWM) systems for existing and newbuilding tankers. It has been developed using experience and guidance from INTERTANKO Members on the Environmental Committee and INTERTANKO's Safety, Technical and Environmental Committee (ISTEC). It is therefore the product of research by several separate tanker operating companies and their technical teams who have been through the process of considering which BWM systems are appropriate for the tankers within their fleet.One of the key elements in tackling the problem of proper selection and installation of BWM systems on board tankers is the gathering of information. INTERTANKO Members identified early on that neither the information from the BWM manufacturers, nor that from the classification societies as technical bodies, was sufficient to base a ...

INTERTANKO attends the CGPCS session in New York INTERTANKO this week attended the CGPCS session in New York, where reports were given of the efforts to disrupt piracy enterprises ashore. This news was welcomed by all, particularly representatives from Somalia. Almost 70 countries were in attendance with solid representation from the industry, all determined to make an impact on the piracy menace.The UN Contact Group has grown continually since its first meeting early in 2009, consisting of four longstanding WGs and a recently formed fifth WG:WG1 - Military Operations and Regional CapacityWG2 - Legal IssuesWG3 - Self Protection of Commercial VesselsWG4 - Diplomatic and Public Information EffortsWG5 - Efforts to Disrupt the Piracy Enterprise Ashore(INTERTANKO representatives participate in WGs 1-3 and will join WG5 which has so far met just once. WG4 is closed to industry)The CGPCS emphasised that close international co-operation continues to be of central importance in order to effectively tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the wider Indian Ocean. The CGPCS underlined, though, that the ultimate responsibility to tackle piracy lies within Somalia, stressing the level of international anger at the ongoing suffering of innocent, kidnapped seafarers.The reduction in successful attacks was very much ...

To correct a number of clerical mistakes within the initial guidance MEPC.1/Circ.736 Members are advised that IMO has issued revised guidance for the recording of operations in the ORB. The reason for the amendment was to correct a number of clerical mistakes within the initial guidance MEPC.1/Circ.736 which is now revoked. A copy of the revised guidance can be seen here.However, please be advised that for reasons we do not understand at this time, the IMO Secretariat has changed the recording format of the dates to "dd/mm/yyyy" (the original guidance used the format "dd-MONTH-yyyy").To add to the confusion, the third bullet point of the General Guidance in MEPC.1/Circ.736/Rev.1 now reads as follows: "Dates should be entered in dd/mm/yyyy format, e.g. 16-MAR-2009".Please notify your ships about this inconsistency and the change in format. It is a clerical issue which can be explained by the crew as long as they are made aware of the conflicting guidelines IMO has issued.The INTERTANKO Secretariat has approach the IMO Secretariat for clarification on this matter.Source : INTERTANKO

If these rate levels continue, oil industry will be threatended At last week's INTERTANKO's Council Members meeting, deep concern was expressed over the current parlous state of tanker market rates."If these rate levels continue for a long period, then this could lead to a situation where sustainability of the oil transportation industry is threatened," said INTERTANKO's chairman, Capt Graham Westgarth, who was re-elected as chairman for another two years."Our members operate tankers to the highest standards and will continue to do so. Operating for a prolonged period in an environment where tanker owners are not even covering their operating costs is obviously not a situation that can be maintained," he said.Turning to the problem of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from tankers, the committee welcomed the adoption by IMO of amendments to the MARPOL Convention mandating energy efficiency measures (EEDI/SEEMP regulations) on vessels.The meeting advocated that:In the implementation of the EEDI requirements, there should be a 'level playing field' and that the EEDI requirements should apply equally to all ships on the same effective date.Compliance with EEDI should focus on improved hull design, propulsion efficiency and energy optimisation, rather than predominantly on reduced speed designs.Any measures taken to comply with ...

The purpose of the extension was to allow vessel operators additional time for evaluation INTERTANKO reported that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) had extended the deadline for filing extension requests for new vessels that are constructed on or after 1 January 2013 to install ballast water treatment systems. The extension is from 30 June 2011 to 30 September 2011.Following on from this, and after requests from Members, a standard letter template has been developed for Members to use in requesting exemption from the implementation of the requirements for new vessels constructed after 1 January 2013. AThe purpose of the extension was to allow vessel operators, who may be requesting an extension, additional time to evaluate several soon-to-be-issued scientific and regulatory documents and studies. These are summarised in a letter template (see below) and provide justification for granting an exemption for vessels constructed after January 1 2013 from these stringent discharge requirements.The main basis for this exemption request is the EPA's Science Advisory Board report which concludes that current ballast water treatment systems would have to be wholly changed to be able to meet the 1000x IMO discharge standards. Furthermore, the EPA study concludes that, even with ...