The Dutch court in The Hague has ruled that cruise liner Royal Caribbean was wrongly fined €992,000 for an assumed violation of rules and regulation related to working conditions. In 2014 the Inspectorate for working conditions levied the fine on the basis of the Labour Act for aliens. Inspectors...
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has written to all Member States urging them to recognize all seafarers as “key workers”. He asked that they remove any barriers to their documentation and also that they lift national travel restrictions so that they can get...
Shipowners’ Club has put together a Covid-19 Q&A, answering the questions: The crew onboard shows symptoms related to COVID-19. Is the vessel off-hire? The crew onboard shows symptoms related to COVID-19. Is the vessel seaworthy? Can the voyage be interrupted if the crew is infected by COVID-19?...
https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/covid-19-faqs-from-shipowners-club/
Norway-based marine insurer Gard has noted that the first three weeks of April 2020 had seen a high number of piracy attacks on offshore support vessels in the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico. It is therefore advising ships to exercise caution when operating in the region. On April 17th the US...
https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/gard-piracy-in-gulf-of-mexico/
The Port of Gibraltar has announced that it will be easing restrictions to crew reports BIMCO, which applauded the move. Recently, BIMCO, ICS and other industry partners presented the IMO with a list of recommendations for governments and relevant national authorities to facilitate maritime trade...
London Club has noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had raised a number of questions regarding P&I coverage. To help guide Members and Brokers with some of the queries which it had seen relating to the operation of P&I cover, London Club has assembled a list of Q&As. These comprise: Are crewmembers...
https://insurancemarinenews.com/insurance-marine-news/covid-19-qas-from-london-club/
Nigerian Special Forces were reported to have boarded containership Tommi Ritscher (IMO 9656137) and rescued 11 crew members who fled to the citadel after pirates attacked the ship. Maritime security firm Dryad Global said in an update that special forces boarded the vessel late on April 21st and...
Since the beginning of April the China Ministry of Transportation has been implementing updated crew change procedures for Chinese crew in China. Crew changes of foreign national crew members on foreign flagged ships in Chinese ports are still suspended. Since April 1st MOT has required the...
John R Keough Partner, and Thomas P Myers, associate, at legal firm Clyde, have written on Sanctions Considerations for Maritime Arbitrators. Clyde noted that the US had generally imposed economic sanctions against countries and groups to discourage malign or terrorist activities, ranging from...
Nagasaki authorities have confirmed 33 coronavirus cases on cruise ship Costa Atlantica (IMO 9187796), which has docked for repairs. The Nagasaki prefecture has appealed for help from the central government to tackle the incident. Tests proved positive for 33 of the 56 close shipboard contacts of a...