In April 2014 the International Labour Organization (ILO) approved several amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), a Convention that became effective in August 2013. These amendments became effective on January 18th 2017.
Thereafter and in accordance with the Convention, ships shall be provided with certificates or other documents that establish the existence of financial security or compulsory Read more
The Official Journal of the European Union has published on 4th January 2014 the Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1 of 3rd January on procedures for watercraft identification under Directive 2013/53/EU on recreational craft and personal watercraft.
Its purpose is to ensure a better implementation of the coding systems required for watercraft identification and will enter into force on 24th January 2017.
One of the major problems shipowners might face is the presence of stowaways on board of their vessel. And what we mean by problem it is not only economy and security-wise but also, and above all, in terms of “human factor” involved in this situation.
On the one hand, we have the Master and the crew who are being affected by the sudden intrusion of one or several strangers in their work place and the place of their communal living and who, additionally, become fully responsible for the stowaways’ life situation. Read more
On 8th September 2016, Finland ratified the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments, also known as the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM Convention). With this ratification, the criteria established in article 18 of the Convention for the entry into force have been met, triggering the twelve month period for its application. Read more
Following a request from Clients, we hereby summarize the issues that we consider most relevant of the judgment issued by the Spanish Supreme Court num. 241/2015 dated 6th May and that affect recreational crafts.
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On the 30th of June of 2016 the Spanish Official Gazette (number 157) published a Resolution dated 15th June 2016 issued by the General Directorate of the Merchant Navy (GDMN), regarding the verification of the gross mass (VGM) of containers, and that partially amends the previous Resolution of the GDMN dated 31st May 2016 (https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2016/06/30/). This Resolution differs slightly from the Resolution dated 31st May 2016 in sections 2, 5, 10, 11 13 and in its Annex. Read more
Our colleague Veronica Meana was present at the 2016 Congress 2016 of Maritime Law “European Shipping Law: The influence of European law in the maritime sector on the 30th anniversary of the accession of Spain to the European Union” held in Madrid on 16 and 17 June and organized by the Spanish Association of Maritime Law.
On June 2, 2016, the Andalusian Council of Chambers of Commerce held the ‘Forum for the development of logistic infrastructure, growth and employment in Andalusia’ in Antequera (Malaga/Spain). The main companies of the Andalusian transport sector and our colleagues of AIYON ABOGADOS SLP, Enrique Ortiz and Jose Dominguez, experts in the areas of Shipping Law, Transport Law, International Trade Law and Insurance Law, attended the event.
Under the SOLAS amendments, which enters into force next 1 of July, a container packed with packages and cargo items should not be loaded onto a ship to which the SOLAS Regulations apply unless the master or his representative and the terminal representative have obtained, in advance of vessel loading, the verified actual gross mass of the container. Read more
Situations may occur where a packed container is delivered to a port terminal facility without the shipper having provided the required verified gross mass of the container. Such a container should not be loaded onto the ship until its gross mass has been obtained.