At the 13th Interim meeting of the Asian Shipowners Forum (ASF) Ship Insurance and Liability Committee was held in Hong Kong this week Asian owner s expressed concern over the potential implications of the proposed EU Directive the Civil Liability and Financial Guarantees of Shipowners. In statement ASF says: "While applauding the proposed Directive's support for the ratification of existing instruments, the committee had several concerns, amongst them being possible confusion in the document about P&I insurance and the role of limitation in ensuring maximum possible amounts of compensation were made available to victims in the shortest possible time. The committee noted the compromise proposal that has been put forward by the [EU] presidency, but still has major concerns over the potential implications of the proposed directive.
Attending the meeting were the Secretary-General of the ASF and delegates representing shipowner associations from China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and the Federation of ASEAN Shipowner Associations (FASA), as represented by shipowner associations from Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
The Committee took note of the draft of the new UNCITRAL Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea that was agreed in January this year, and extended its deep appreciation to the representatives of the International Chamber of Shipping, BIMCO and the International Group of P&I Clubs for their hard and dedicated work on behalf of the industry over a number of years.
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