No. 26 of 2008 - THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR BUNKER OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE, 2001 (BUNKER CONVENTION)
Shipping Circulars
No. 26 of 2008
19 Sep 2008
Applicable to: Shipowners, shipmanagers, operators, agents, masters, crew members and insurers
THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR BUNKER OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE, 2001 (BUNKER CONVENTION)
Shipping Circular No. 23 of 2007 informed the shipping community of the date of entry into force of the Bunker Convention (BC) and that MPA is preparing the necessary legislation to be brought into force on the same date the Convention comes into force internationally, i.e. 21 Nov 08. The legislation requires ships of above/greater than 1,000 gross tons to carry on board the Bunker Convention Certificate, which is intended to attest that insurance or other financial security to cover liability for pollution damage is in place.
2.This Circular urges the shipping community to take necessary action to comply with the Convention. Applicable Singapore-registered vessels would be issued with the Bunker Convention Certificate by the Singapore Registry of Ships (SRS). Each BC Certificate would be charged at a fee of $60 (incl of 7% GST). To prevent backlog, we encourage owners and managers of Singapore-registered vessels to approach their P&I Clubs early for the issuance of the Blue Card as insurance to cover liability for pollution damage as required under the Bunker Convention.
3.Oil Tankers that are defined in the Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 (CLC 92) would already be complying with the CLC 92 and need not be covered under the Bunker Convention. However, if an oil tanker which is greater than 1,000 GT and operating in 'clean' condition i.e. when there are no residues of oil in its cargo tanks, such oil tanker would be required to carry a Bunker Convention Certificate. As the Bunker Convention covers "any seagoing vessel and seaborne craft, of any type whatsoever", SRS owners should note that Port States that are party to the Bunker Convention may also require any tanker greater than 1,000 GT to carry a Bunker Convention Certificate, even when the tanker is not operating in "clean condition". Owners and operators are advised to verify with the relevant authorities in the foreign port which1the ship would be calling at on their position regarding this.
4.Applications for BC Certificates for applicable Singapore-registered vessels can be made to the office of Singapore Registry of Ships at (SRS) at MPA by completing the Form (Annex A) , and attaching a copy of the Blue Card for submission to the SRS via email to marine@mpa.gov.sg. Alternatively, the application can be mailed to SRS at this address: 460 Alexandra Road, #21-00, PSA Building, Singapore 119963 (Attn: Ship Registry). For a company that holds an account with MPA, the BC certificate would be charged to this account and the BC certificate would be mailed to the applicant. For a company that does not hold an account with MPA, we would require the company to make arrangement to collect the certificate from the SRS office.
5.For your guidance, the Form and the list of recognised P&I Clubs are attached as Annex A and B.
6.Please note that the electronic submission of Bunker Convention Certificate application via Marinet is currently under development. This service will be available in November 2008. We will update the shipping community once the service is made available.
7.For foreign-registered vessels of States not party to the Convention and are calling at Singapore, a Port Marine Circular will be issued in the near future.
8.Any queries relating to this circular should be directed to Mr Wong Kai Cheong at Tel: +65 6375 6236 or Ms Emily Sihab at Tel: +65 6375 6227
KHONG SHEN PING
DIRECTOR OF MARINE
MARITIME AND PORT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE