BIMCO has produced a COVID-19 Crew Change Clause for Time Charter Parties, responding to the extraordinary circumstances faced by many owners whose crew have had to remain on board during the COVID-19 "lockdown" for periods often beyond their contracts of employment.

By 30 June 2020, ships that used EU ports in 2019 must carry onboard a document certifying that they have fulfilled their obligations under the EU regulation for monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions for the 2019 reporting period. The comparable deadline under the global IMO data collection system was 31 May 2020. The EU system for monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from maritime transport requires ships above 5,000 gross tonnes calling at ports in the European Economic Area (EEA) to track and report key information about CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and other relevant information per voyage and on an annual basis, starting in 2018. Voyages that take place within the EEA are also covered, as are emissions occurring when the ship is securely moored or anchored at a port (at berth) whilst loading, unloading or hoteling. Any operation other than transportation of cargo or passengers for commercial purposes is excluded from the regulation. When the data produced by this ongoing monitoring activity have been reported to and successfully checked by an independent accredited verifier, a document of compliance (DoC) will be issued which confirms a ship’s compliance for a specific reporting period. A valid DoC has to be available for inspection onboard no later than 30 June of the year following the end of a reporting period. More information: Gard

South Korea’s Special Act on Air Quality Improvement in Port and Other Areas entered into force on 1 January 2020 as a part of an ongoing national programme to reduce air pollution from shipping and port activities. The act introduces a series of measures, some of which will have direct impact on ships’ operational practices, and we advise ship operators and masters to make note of the following:

New Korean emission control areas

Effective from 1 September 2020, the following South Korean port areas become domestic emission control areas (ECAs):

• Incheon
• Pyeongtaek-Dangjin
• Yeosu-Gwangyang
• Busan
• Ulsan

The maps below have been extracted from the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ announcement on 26 December 2019 (in Korean) and the red lines in the maps indicate the extent of the ECA in each port.

More information: Gard

Gard launched its first sustainability report as part of its commitment to the UN Global Compact. This outlines its ambitions for sustainable development, articulates how impact will be measured and illustrates the wide range of activities being carried out by the group in it day-to-day work placing sustainability at the core of its business. Read the full report: Sustainability Report 2019