Marine & Transit - January 2008

In this edition we review a number of recent court decisions on maritime law issues...

...and outline two new pieces of legislation which will have implications for shipowners and their insurers.

New Health & Safety Regulations: bad vibes for shipowners?

The Merchant Shipping & Fishing Vessels (Control of Noise at Work) and (Control of Vibration at Work) Regulations 2007 come into force on 23 February 2008. Zoe Strong looks at the implications for shipowners and their insurers regarding the protection now given to marine workers for risks of noise and vibration.

“It’s ok thanks, we don’t need a tug”

Salvage claim arising after master’s decision not to follow towage advice of local pilot. Terry Donaghy examines the lessons to be learned from the Admiralty Court decision in The “Tramp”.

Over the bar? Avoiding contractual limitation pitfalls

Failure to supply correct documents scuppers owners’ demurrage claim. Mike Burns reviews the decision in Waterfront Shipping v Trafigura and considers its wider implications for claims presentation.

Arbitration clauses: a fresh approach

Can an arbitration clause be enforced when the validity of the contract itself is challenged? Terry Donaghy looks at the recent House of Lords decision on the construction of arbitration clauses in Fiona Trust v Privalov.

Unsafe ports: named ports not excluded from safety warranty

Can a general safe port warranty in a time charter apply to a named loadport?  Danni Bensley unravels the conclusions reached in The “Livanita”.

New corporate manslaughter legislation

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 comes into force on 6 April 2008. Emma Rice examines the implications for shipowners and operators and their P&I insurers.

This update does not attempt to provide a full analysis of those matters with which it deals and is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for legal advice. Weightmans LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance on the information in this update. The copyright in this update is owned by Weightmans.