Ship manager fined for breaching clean air rules

The fine follows a California Air Resources Board inspection of the vessel back in July 2011 at a terminal in Los Angeles, says UK-based International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC). When asked whether he was aware of the revised 2009 California clean air regulations, which required vessels to switch main engine, auxiliary engines and auxiliary boilers to low-sulphur fuel when in California-regulated waters, the chief engineer said he was only aware of the requirement to switch auxiliary engines to low-sulphur fuel in accordance with regulations effective from 1 January 2007.

In addition, the vessel’s safety management system (SMS) was found without the 2009 requirement, and further examination of fuel switchover records revealed the vessel had called at California ports 17 times between 2009 and 2011 without switching over the main engine or auxiliary boilers. The fine was handed to the shipowner, who claimed against the manager, maintaining that the manager had been negligent.

ITIC said: “In 2009, a fleet circular had been sent to all vessels by the manager, setting out the change in regulations, and asking that it be displayed in a prominent position. The manager therefore initially rejected the claim on the ground that it had resulted from crew negligence, which was excluded under the BIMCO management agreement.”

“The owners, however, did not accept this rejection, maintaining instead that the manager had failed to update the SMS. As it was considered unlikely that the manager would successfully defend a claim resulting from its failure to update the SMS, the claim was paid in full,” added the ITIC.

ITIC provides professional indemnity insurance for the transport industry.