Caution : piracy expansion

On the 23rd of March, the turkish-owned m/v "Frigia", flying Malta flag, was hijacked in the Indian Ocean 1000 n.miles east of the northern coast of Somalia. The position of hijack is closer to India than Somalia and is about 400 n.miles beyond the normal EU NAVFOR operation area. The ship is reported to be heading towards one of the known pirate ports off the coast of Somalia. EU NAVFOR continues to monitor the situation.

New chineese oil polution regulation

As from today, the 1st of March, 2010, new chineese oil polution regulation becomes effective. The regulations have various requirements e.g. insurance compensation protocols and mandatory response plans as well as a requirement to contract with a pollution response contractor approved by China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). It is reported that an approved list of contractors has not been issued yet.

The requirement to contract with a response contractor applies to all ships carrying polluting or hazardous bulk cargoes and any other vessel beyond 10,000 GT. There are four levels of response contractors based on their ability to respond to spills of increasing size implied by the legislation.