The Association has seen a number of recent cases in which ship owner Members have responded to emergency calls whilst transiting the Indian Ocean, requesting them to provide assistance to distressed fishing vessels in the area. In each example the rescued individuals were migrants heading for Australia from Sri Lanka.
The London Branch restructure takes effect from 20 February 2013. Members affected by the restructure should note the revised contact address for all claims correspondence set out below. Members located in EEA may have a right to cancel their policy under local laws. This circular relates to the 'Notice to Policyholders - UK Transfer' of 3rd September 2012.
Circular 22/12: Special General Meeting
23/01/2013
The Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) have issued a Letter to all oil spill response plan holders advising that unannounced drills are to be conducted to test plan holders' notification process and the initial response actions by their Spill Management Team (In-house or contracted).
LP Initiatives 2013
14/01/2013
The UK P&I Club is committed to safety. Its high-level loss prevention programme - the most extensive in the industry - aims to offset rising claims and maintain quality amongst Members.
The Club ship inspectors/risk assessors have noted an increasing lack of awareness regarding marking and certification of lifting equipment
Special General Meeting - January 2013
07/01/2013
The Club's latest Circular 21/12 announces a Special General Meeting to be held on 22nd January 2013 in Bermuda. The circular includes the meeting papers and a proxy form that which enables Members to cast their vote on the three resolutions proposed at that meeting.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) have released a new alert concerning the location of pressure switches for vessel fixed fire suppression systems. US regulations require this pressure switch to be located outside the area it protects and have reported an increased number of fires where this has not been the case.
EU Council approves Iran sanctions regulation on December 21, 2012, implementing Council Decision 2012/635/CFSP adopted in October 2012
OUTLINE: This circular refers to the earlier Circular 17/12 "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution from Ships"; A revised set of FAQs is attached to this circular taking account of the revised Detailed Rules although the further MSA Notice anticipated in circular 17/12 has not yet been published; If a new MSA Notice requires amendments of these attached FAQs a new set of FAQs will be issued in a future circular; The IG spill response contract issued with circular 17/12 has been revised further and is also attached to his circular.
The Australian Government has moved to increase the maximum value of monetary fines for federal criminal offences across the board. This increase comes on top of recent very substantial increases in fines for pollution offences in particular