The Club has published a number of articles previously on the situation in the Ukraine regarding access to vessels for ecological inspectors to check certification and take samples of segregated ballast water for...
June 2018
Speed restriction measures to protect North Atlantic right whales from the risk of being struck by vessels on passage have been in place in certain areas off the east coast of the United States for many years. Due to...
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of the Members of The West of England Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association (Luxembourg) will be held at the headquarter of the Association, 31 Grand Rue, L-1661...
The Club regularly receives claims arising from alleged shortages of solid bulk cargoes as a result of discrepancies between draught survey results. Draught surveys by their very nature are not an exact science, and the...
Further to the News Item published on 24th May, we have now received additional information from the government-approved OSRO in Puerto Cortes, OPC Honduras, as follows:
1. The December 2017 contract is the...
IG Circular May 2018
The Club continues to see claims arising due to collisions between vessels underway and at anchor within the Chittagong anchorage area, with 50 such claims involving entered vessels recorded since 2013.
Members with...
Further to the Notice to Members No. 18 2017/2018 issued in January 2018, please note that the new oil spill response requirements in Honduras will now come into force on the 26th May 2018.
The Honduras...
The Club is pleased to announce that its inaugural Member training week will take place between 17 and 21 September 2018. Intended to be for our Members and aimed at junior staff, the week will comprise a mixture of...
May 2018
We refer to our News Item of 9 May 2018 on Iran Sanctions.
While the dates of reimposition of sanctions are clear - 6 August for the trade of certain products such as raw and semi-finished metals,...
The West of England is pleased to announce the appointment of Greg Franklin who joins the Club as an Underwriter.
Greg will support our existing underwriting teams in Europe and the Americas and will start with the...
President Trump announced on 8 May 2018 that the United States will terminate its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that was agreed with Iran in July 2015 and will re-impose the sanctions...
It was reported in our News Item of 25 April 2018 that OFAC had issued two new licences which in effect gave parties until 23 October 2018 to wind down their activities and contractual commitments with Rusal.
Our U.S....
It has of course been a requirement since 2012 for certain vessels to pre-contract with a Ship Pollution Response Organisation (or “SPRO”) before entering Chinese ports. The International Group has published various...
Further to our News Item of 18 April 2018, the inclusion of United Company Rusal PLC (“Rusal”) in the amended U.S. SDN list has caused considerable confusion and disruption in the aluminium trades since Rusal are a...
On 6th April OFAC and the State Department added 7 Russian oligarchs to the list of SDNs together with 12 companies which they control, and 17 senior Russian officials.
While US persons are prohibited from engaging in...
Further to our News Item of 28th August 2017, there have been recent developments in Venezuela by way of the introduction of the cryptocurrency, the “Petro”.
The introduction of the Petro was designed to minimize...
The Club is pleased to announce that we have selected and accredited a further two clinics in the Philippines to our optional Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME) programme.
The new clinics, one in Manila, and one...
The Club is pleased to announce that our popular Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME) Programme which operates in the Philippines and the Ukraine, has been extended to include India.
Eight clinics have been...
The Board has taken the decision to withdraw from the AM Best interactive rating process following a review of the market practice and the costs and benefits of maintaining two interactive ratings. The...
As reported in our News Item of 26 September 2017, significant new sanctions against North Korea were unanimously agreed by the United Nations Security Council in August and September of 2017. Efforts to enforce those...
STS operations in West Africa: West of England Member succeeds in proving its demurrage claim in full and defeats a counterclaim for alleged additional expenses incurred by the Charterer
On 24 July 2017, the Upper House of the Parliament of India passed the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2017. The President of India has given assent to the Bill. The Bill is now the...
A unique strain of listeria has caused the world’s largest documented listeriosis outbreak, with over 550 cases reported since the start of 2017. The condition affects pregnant women or those with weaker immune...
IG Circular February 2018
Although the UAE has not ratified the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (“MLC”), a circular from the Federal Transport Authority (“FTA”) issued on 20th February 2018 requires all ships over 200 GT flying the UAE flag and...
The West of England has had another successful renewal and thanks the Members and their brokers for their continued support during the last 12 months.
Whilst maintaining our usual disciplined approach to underwriting,...
February 2018