Members calling at the Port of Cape Town should note that South African law firm Shepstone & Wylie have drawn our attention to water restrictions that are currently in force due to a drought. The Port of Cape Town has suspended the sale and supply of fresh water to vessels calling there, with exceptions being considered on a case by case basis. The notice from Transnet Port Authority courtesy of P&I Associates (Pty) Ltd, the local correspondent, can be accessed here.
News Alerts
We issue News and other Alerts to keep members posted about developments at the Club and other industry news. Please see our latest Alerts below.
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3 November 2017
31 October 2017
An outbreak of plague is reported in Madagascar. This infectious disease causes fever, chills, head and body aches, vomiting and nausea, and can be fatal. ETIC/Africa P&I Services, a local correspondent, reports that the outbreak is severe and fast spreading, affecting the whole island of Madagascar, including ports.
10 October 2017
Members will be aware from previous News Alerts (click here) that the US has since January 2017 issued a general licence authorising certain transactions that were previously prohibited under the US Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR) and Executive Orders 13067 and 13412. It was the intention that in/after July 2017 certain sanctions would be permanently revoked.
11 September 2017
The London P&I Club, in a joint project with leading classification society Bureau Veritas and its casualty and salvage subsidiary TMC Marine, has issued a new booklet providing operational guidance for preventing blackout and main engine failures. This new publication, the second in a series on loss prevention subjects, focuses on marine engineering issues and procedures related to the prevention of loss of propulsion.
8 September 2017
Members will already be aware of the Regulations concerning the low sulphur fuel requirements in specified Emission Control Areas (ECA), including Shanghai, Ningbo – Zhoushan, Suzhou and Nantong, as outlined in previous News Alerts (click here). The Correspondent, Huatai Insurance Agency & Consultant Service Limited, has provided a further update relating to all ports within the Zhejiang ECA.
7 September 2017
Recent attacks against merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and Bab Al Mandeb have prompted the multinational naval partnership that promotes security and stability across international waters, the Combined Maritime Forces, to extend the existing Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) through to the Red Sea, so creating a continuous recommended route, the Maritime Security Transit Corridor (MSTC).
6 July 2017
Members trading to ports in India will be aware of the service tax on freight as outlined in the Club’s previous news alert (click here). Harsh Pratap of HP Law firm, Mumbai, advises that the service tax was repealed on 1 July 2017 and replaced with a more comprehensive Goods & Service Tax (GST) that came into force on the same day. The new GST replaces a number of indirect taxes including excise and customs duties, and other taxes and surcharges relating to the supply of goods and services.
8 June 2017
The International Group Annual Review 2016/17 is available and can be accessed by clicking here.The Review covers many of the key activities undertaken by the Group during the last P&I policy year and includes summaries of the work carried out by a number of its Sub-Committees and Working Groups on a range of issues,including the Large Casualty Outreach Programme, the Maritime Labour Convention and the next P&I Club Correspondents’ Conference.
6 June 2017
Members will be aware from international news reports that various Gulf nations - including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt - announced on 5 June 2017 that they will halt diplomatic and trading ties with Qatar. This includes the suspension of land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, and with Qatari citizens and diplomats given two weeks’ notice to leave.
5 May 2017
Members transiting the very recently established main channel “Paso Cortada Isla Nueva” of the Parana River should note that the local Correspondent, Pandi Liquidadores SRL, Buenos Aires, reports that there have been a number of recent grounding incidents in the area.