Discussions expected to focus on fair treatment of seafarers, legal aspects of piracy, limits of liability of 1996 LLMC, liability and compensation for oil pollution damage resulting from offshore oil exploration and exploitation, and bareboat registration of vessels in relation to the 2007 Wreck Removal Convention, Bimco reports.
BIMCO will be represented at the 98th session of the Legal Committee of the international Maritime Organization (IMO) taking place in London from 4 to 8 April 2011.
A number of issues are scheduled to be discussed at the meeting, including fair treatment of seafarers. Discussions on this topic will inter alia take place on the basis of a submission made by BIMCO, together with the other members of the Round Table of International Shipping Associations, which includes a letter on criminalisation and fair treatment of international seafarers from the Round Table to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The letter, which was sent to the UN Secretary-General in December 2010, highlights the increasing tendency, on the part of states in the aftermath of pollution incidents, to arrest, hold, detain and imprison seafarers in violation of international maritime law and standards.
The Legal Committee will also discuss legal issues relating to piracy, inter alia based on a number of submissions dealing with existing international conventions including provisions relevant to prosecution of suspected pirates and how to ensure uniform and consistent application of such provisions in national law.
Discussions will continue regarding the liability limits of the Protocol of 1996 to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976 (1996 LLMC). As reported in an earlier news piece on the 97th session of the Legal Committee, this issue has already been discussed quite extensively by the Committee, but a decision could not be made until a formal proposal had been presented to it. Such a proposal was submitted following the 97th session of the Legal Committee and will be considered at the Committee’s 99th session. The proposal does not suggest any specific increase of liability limits, but suggests increasing liability for loss of life or personal injury claims proportionately to increases of liability limits for property damage claims. The Comité Maritime International (CMI) has made a submission for the upcoming meeting of the Legal Committee, which compares the ratio between the limits of claims for loss of life/personal injury and property damage respectively, and concludes that the concept of giving preferential treatment to loss of life/personal injury claims has been accepted internationally for many years.
Following recommendations by the Legal Committee at its 97th session, an informal consultative group was established to continue discussions on liability and compensation for trans-boundary oil pollution damage resulting from offshore oil exploration and exploitation activities. The upcoming meeting of the Committee will continue discussions on this issue based on an oral report on the work of the informal consultative group as well as a note submitted by the IMO Secretariat relating to already existing international and regional instruments dealing with liability and compensation for pollution damage, including instruments dealing specifically with damage resulting from trans-boundary pollution.
The Legal Committee will also consider a draft Assembly resolution on certificates of insurance for bareboat chartered vessels pursuant to the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007. The Convention does not specify which state should issue wreck removal certificates in case of bareboat registered vessels, and the draft resolution suggests that they should be issued by the flag state if it is party to the Convention and not by the state of the underlying registry in which the owner of the ship is registered. The suggested approach is similar to the solution found in relation to certificates for bareboat registered vessels under the Bunkers Convention and is introduced to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and ensure that only one certificate is requested.
BIMCO will be represented at the 98th session of the Legal Committee of the international Maritime Organization (IMO) taking place in London from 4 to 8 April 2011.
A number of issues are scheduled to be discussed at the meeting, including fair treatment of seafarers. Discussions on this topic will inter alia take place on the basis of a submission made by BIMCO, together with the other members of the Round Table of International Shipping Associations, which includes a letter on criminalisation and fair treatment of international seafarers from the Round Table to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The letter, which was sent to the UN Secretary-General in December 2010, highlights the increasing tendency, on the part of states in the aftermath of pollution incidents, to arrest, hold, detain and imprison seafarers in violation of international maritime law and standards.
The Legal Committee will also discuss legal issues relating to piracy, inter alia based on a number of submissions dealing with existing international conventions including provisions relevant to prosecution of suspected pirates and how to ensure uniform and consistent application of such provisions in national law.
Discussions will continue regarding the liability limits of the Protocol of 1996 to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976 (1996 LLMC). As reported in an earlier news piece on the 97th session of the Legal Committee, this issue has already been discussed quite extensively by the Committee, but a decision could not be made until a formal proposal had been presented to it. Such a proposal was submitted following the 97th session of the Legal Committee and will be considered at the Committee’s 99th session. The proposal does not suggest any specific increase of liability limits, but suggests increasing liability for loss of life or personal injury claims proportionately to increases of liability limits for property damage claims. The Comité Maritime International (CMI) has made a submission for the upcoming meeting of the Legal Committee, which compares the ratio between the limits of claims for loss of life/personal injury and property damage respectively, and concludes that the concept of giving preferential treatment to loss of life/personal injury claims has been accepted internationally for many years.
Following recommendations by the Legal Committee at its 97th session, an informal consultative group was established to continue discussions on liability and compensation for trans-boundary oil pollution damage resulting from offshore oil exploration and exploitation activities. The upcoming meeting of the Committee will continue discussions on this issue based on an oral report on the work of the informal consultative group as well as a note submitted by the IMO Secretariat relating to already existing international and regional instruments dealing with liability and compensation for pollution damage, including instruments dealing specifically with damage resulting from trans-boundary pollution.
The Legal Committee will also consider a draft Assembly resolution on certificates of insurance for bareboat chartered vessels pursuant to the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007. The Convention does not specify which state should issue wreck removal certificates in case of bareboat registered vessels, and the draft resolution suggests that they should be issued by the flag state if it is party to the Convention and not by the state of the underlying registry in which the owner of the ship is registered. The suggested approach is similar to the solution found in relation to certificates for bareboat registered vessels under the Bunkers Convention and is introduced to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and ensure that only one certificate is requested.