Tag: LLMC Convention

Ahead of Denmark's decision to limit liability for maritime claims in respect of the raising, removal, destruction or the rendering harmless of a ship which is sunk, wrecked, stranded or abandoned, including anything that is or has been on board such ship, the matter of the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims comes again into light.

IMO to increase LLMC limits The general limits of civil liability will be increased significantly after a meeting in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) At a recent meeting in the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO), it was decided that ships causing accidents and harming the environment, property or human beings will in the future be subject to higher limits of civil liability.Thus, the new liability limits will provide improved protection in case of a pollution accident with bunker oil, typically in case of a hole in a ship's fuel tanks, the removal of wrecks and the like.As mentioned above, not only the possibilities of having the expenses for clearing up after bunker oil spillages will be improved. Also the possibilities of compensating injuries to persons on board a ship stricken by an accident will be improved.All in all, the amounts of the so-called 96 Protocol on liability limits will be increased by as much as 51 per cent. This means, for example, that a ship with a gross tonnage of 2,000 (corresponding to a ship of coaster size) will have its limit of civil liability for personal injury increased from DKK 17.5 million to DKK 26.4 million.Similarly, the liability ...

IMO to increase LLMC limits by 51% The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents all sectors and trades and over 80% of the global shipping industry, and leads shipowner representation at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Legal Committee, has expressed strong support for the agreement reached by IMO this week to increase the limits of liability under the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Convention 1996 (LLMC), by 51%.In addition to general maritime claims, the new LLMC limits, which will come into effect in three years' time, will apply to claims under IMO Conventions governing liabilities for bunker spills (other than claims covered by the Civil Liability Convention) and wreck removal once the Nairobi Convention enters into force.ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe remarked: "Throughout the debate at IMO over the past two years ICS has observed that the industry was open to a discussion of increases, but that these had to be based on agreed criteria, namely claims history, inflation, and the effect on the cost of insurance. In the event, the final increases agreed by IMO seem to be a reasonable outcome."He added: "It remains to be seen what economic impact the new limits will have on the ...

Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Amendments to increase the limits of liability in the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims were adopted by the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), when the Committee met for its 99th session in London.The LLMC Convention sets specified limits of liability for two types of claims against shipowners - claims for loss of life or personal injury, and property claims (such as damage to other ships, property or harbour works). Taking into account the experience of incidents, as well as inflation rates, the limits set in the 1996 Protocol have, in recent years, been seen to be inadequate to cover the costs of claims, especially those arising from incidents involving bunker fuel spills.The new limits are expected to enter into force 36 months from the date of adoption, on 19 April 2015, under the tacit acceptance procedure. The Convention provides for a virtually unbreakable system of limiting liability. Shipowners and salvors may limit their liability except if "it is proved that the loss resulted from his personal act or omission, committed with the intent to cause such a loss, or recklessly and with ...