Merchant Marine Circular No. 180

Transcription

1 PANAMA MARITIME AUTHORITY Directorate General of Merchant Marine Segumar Panama Merchant Marine Circular No. 180 To: Subject: Ship owners/operators, Legal Representatives, Recognized Organizations, Masters of Panamanian Flagged Vessels Entry into force of the Bunkers Convention References: International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage of 2001 (Bunkers Convention). Resolution N DGMM Bunker Convention 1. The purpose of this Merchant Marine Circular is to provide the guidelines to be followed in order to obtain the Bunkers Convention Certificate or the Statement of Compliance issued by the Republic of Panama taking into account that this Convention will enter into force on 21 November 2008 as well as the firm interest of this Administration to ratify the said Convention prior to its entry into force. 2. As the Bunkers Convention establishes it in Article 7.1 the registered owner of a ship having a gross tonnage greater than 1000 registered in a State Party shall be required to maintain insurance or other financial security, such as the guarantee of a bank or similar financial institution, to cover the liability of the registered owner for pollution damage in an amount equal to the limits of liability under the applicable national or international limitation regime, but in all cases, not exceeding an amount calculated in accordance with the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, as amended. 3. Being also that the Bunkers Convention, on Article 7.2 establishes that a certificate attesting that insurance or other financial security is in force in accordance with the provisions of this Convention shall be issued to each ship after the appropriate authority of a State Party has determined that the requirements of paragraph 1 have been complied with. And also that, States that have already ratified the Convention may not allow vessels, to which this convention applies, to enter or leave their ports upon entry into force of this convention. 4. Until this Administration finalizes the formal process of ratifying the Bunker Convention, Owners/Operators, or Representatives of Panamanian flagged vessels are given the following two (2) options: 4.1. To apply for the Bunkers Convention Certificate through a State which has

2 already ratified the Bunkers Convention. Once Panama ratifies this Convention, all vessels flying the Panamanian flag should carry onboard the Bunkers Convention Certificate issued by this Administration which will be valid throughout the validity of the insurance or other financial security. However, if the vessel is holding a certificate issued by another Member State, it will be valid until its expiry date. The following is the list of the Member States which have already ratified this Convention and through which Owners/Operators, or Representatives of vessels flying the Panamanian flag can apply, in order to obtain this certificate until its ratification by this Administration: Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Jamaica, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Norway, Poland, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Tonga, and the United Kingdom. (See attached contact list) As mentioned before, the Panamanian Administration has requested to the General Assembly the ratification of the convention; in the meantime this Administration has adopted through our national legislation the same content and technical requirements specified in the convention in order to issue a temporary Certificate of Compliance. In order to issue this certificate, the Owners/Operators, or Representatives of vessels flying the Panamanian flag shall comply with all the requirements stated on Article 7.1 and 7.12 of the Convention. 5. This request shall be submitted through our SEGUMAR PANAMA offices at the following address: fullterm@segumar.com along with the proof of insurance or other financial security (Blue Card). 6. Attached to this Merchant Marine Circular, you will find the form for requesting the Certificate of Compliance with the Bunker Convention. 7. These options will be temporary and free of charge, until the ratification of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage of 2001 by Panama. Note: Since our country is not yet party to this convention, this certificate of compliance is issued at owner s request, and this Administration can not guarantee its acceptance by the State parties to the Convention. However, through the diplomatic channels, the Republic of Panama, as the main flag state and considering the impact of this convention, has requested to the Member States, which have already ratified the convention, to accept the above mentioned Certificate of Compliance which meets the same legal and technical requirements as the Convention Certificate.

3 August, 2008 Inquiries concerning the subject of this Circular or any request should be directed to: Directorate General of Merchant Marine Panama Maritime Authority Phone: (507) /5350 Fax: (507) /5364

4 ENABLED B/.4.00 Legal Base: Article 956 Fiscal Code Panama, PANAMA MARITIME AUTHORITY GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF MERCHANT MARINE REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE OF INSURANCE OR OTHER FINANCIAL GUARANTEE REGARDING CIVIL LIABILITY FOR BUNKER OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE Mr. General Director of Merchant Marine General Director I/we In order to comply with the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, I (we) respectfully request you to issue for the vessel, the Certificate of Insurance or Other Financial Guarantee Regarding Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, demanded in Article VII of the Convention. Please find data information request for the issuance of said Certificate, according to the requirements of the aforementioned Convention. 1) Name of the Vessel: 2) Call Letters: 3) Name of Owner: 3-a) Address: 4) Type of Warranty: 5) Term of the Guarantee: 6) Name and Address of the Insurer(s) and/or Guarantors (s):: 6-a) Name: 6-b) Address: To support field 5, 6-a and 6-b, we submit Issued by: Dated on until day month year day month year No Applicants Signature

5 Contact List of Member States which have already ratified the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage of 2001 (Bunkers Convention). Bahamas The Bahamas Maritime Authority 120 Old Broad Street London EC2N 1AR United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) (24hrs) Fax: +44 (0) Bulgaria Bulgarian Maritime Administration 3 Alexander Batemberg P.O.B. 279 Bourgas Telephone: Fax: dic bgs@bse.bg Croatia Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Safety of Navigation, Maritime Environment and Inland Waters Protection Directorate Telephone: , Fax: tatjana.krilic@pomorstvo.hr Cyprus Aeolou 13 Nicosia 1416 Telephone: George G. Georgiou, Director , mob Loizos Loizides , mob Fax: ggeorgiou@dfmr.moa.gov.cy

6 Estonia Estonian Maritime Administration Valge Tallinn Telephone: Fax: eva@vta.ee Germany See-Berufsgenossenschaft Reimerstwlete Hamburg Telephone: Fax: rainer.mayer@see-bg.de Greece Hellenic Mercantile Marine Ministry Safety of Navigation Directorate 150 Gr. Lambraki Av. Piraeus Telephone: / Fax: Telex: Hungary Superintendence for Shipping supervised by the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Waterways General Inspection for Transport 1389 Budapest 62 P.O. Box 102 Telephone: (main sb)/ (direct) Fax: Jamaica Maritime Authority of Jamaica Seventh Floor Dyoll Building 40 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5 Telephone: (D) / Fax: maj@jamaicaships.com

7 Latvia Latvian Maritime Authority Inspectorate Office Trijadibas iela 5 LV- 1048, Riga, Latvia Telephone: Fax: arturs_oss@lja.bkc.lv Lithuania Lithuanian Maritime Safety Administration J.Janonio str. 24 LT Klaipedia Telephone: (alert) Fax: mrcc@msa.lt Telex: (539) SAR LT Luxembourg Commissariat aux Affaires Maritimes 26, Place de la Gare L-2636 Telephone: Fax: Telex: CAM LU Marshall Islands Marshall Islands Maritime and Corporate Administrators, Inc. c/o International Registries (UK) Ltd Commerce Park Drive Reston Virginia, United States Telephone: Fax: dutyofficer@register-iri.com Norway Ministry of Trade and Industry Division of Shipping Policy P.O. Box 8014 Dep. N-0032 Oslo 1 Telephone: Fax: randi.birkelund@nhd.dep.no

8 Poland Gdynia Harbour Master Office Polska Str Gdynia Poland Telephone: Fax: Samoa Secretary for Transport Ministry of Transport P.O. Box 1607Apia Samoa Telephone: / /2 Fax: Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Maritime Administration P.O. Box 313 Maritime House Govt. Wharf Ferry Terminal, Freetown Telephone: Fax: Singapore Shipping Division Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore PSA Building 460 Alexandra Road Singapore Singapore Telephone: Fax: Slovenia Ministry of Transport and Communications Maritime Inspection Division Lungusova Ljubijana Slovenia Telephone: Fax: Webpage: mpz.pomorstvo@gov.si edvard.roskar@gov.si

9 Spain Dirección General de Marina Mercante Calle Ruiz de Alarcón Madrid Telephone: Fax: Tonga Ministry of Marine and Ports P.O Box 397 Nuku'alofa Telephone: / Fax: marine@kalianet.to United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency Spring Place 105 Commercial Road Southampton S015 1EG Telephone: Fax: Webpage: PSC_Headquarters@mcga.gov.uk