Insights

Concerns that wash water discharged from open loop scrubbers may have harmful effects on local waters has led to many ports banning ships fitted with open-loop scrubbers or impose additional requirements relating to the discharge of wash water from such systems. 

On 21st April, 2020, OFAC renewed and re-issued General Licence 8, now General Licence 8F. The amended General Licence is a clear escalation of the US sanctions targeting Venezuela, and may be indicative of an increased focus by the US on its Venezuelan sanctions policy. Read more...

Reports of financial difficulties facing one of the biggest players in the Singapore bunkering market, Hin Leong Trading (Pte.) Ltd. give rise to concern within the industry. Hin Leong’s bunker arm, Ocean Bunkering Services (Pte.) Ltd. (OBS), was ranked the third-largest shipping fuel supplier in Singapore last year. It is understood that OBS has informed its customers that it plans to suspend marine fuel deliveries, after banks failed to provide a letter of credit to buy cargoes.

On 30th March, 2020, in a landmark decision which followed fifteen years of litigation, the US Supreme Court held that the safe port clause in the standard ASBATANKVOY form constitutes an express warranty of safety by the charterer as a matter of US law.

In the last edition of our Sulphur Series we foreshadowed some of the potential considerations relating to the use of scrubbers as a means of compliance with the MARPOL sulphur cap regulations. Now that scrubbers have come into common usage on many ships, we take an updated look at some of the legal and practical issues that have come to the fore. Find out more.