Marine Liability Insurance and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marine Liability Insurance and Law - Essay Example On the other hand, oil is leaking from the bunker tank of MV Othership, but it is proceeding to Singapore under own power. The collision occurred at 0613 Hrs, local time, when visibility was good and there was a wind variable force of 2. This may imply that one of the ship’s navigation equipment might have been faulty. From the records, both ships, MV Puffin and MV Othership have Hull and Machinery insurance, under standard Institute Clauses-Hull terms. It is also probable that these vessels do not have Liability Insurance and Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance. Hull and machinery insurance covers the ship itself, the equipment on board, including propulsion and auxiliary machinery, cargo handling and navigation equipment (NEPIA, 2013). It also provides cover for the ship’s contribution to general average and salvage and part of the liability for damage to another ship in collision. On the other hand, Protection and Indemnity (P& I) insurance covers third party li abilities (NEPIA, 2013). The situation requires that the owners of the entered ships should take necessary steps to mitigate the hazards and prevent further losses from occurring. For instance, damage of MV Puffin’s bow and MV Othership’s bunker tank and hull amidships may pose great risks, if mitigation steps are not taken. Secondly, two MV Puffin crew members have been slightly injured while three crew members of MV Othership have been injured. Also, second-hand cars and trucks in forward spaces of MV Puffin have been damaged while pallets of canned foods in number 3’ tween deck of MV Othership have been damaged. This means that each of the two vessels has caused injury to people, and damage to property involving third parties. Therefore, there is third party liability involved in this situation. b) Initial Advice to the Owner of the Entered Ships MV Puffin in Relation to ensuring that Safety Obligations have been carried out The owner of the entered ships, MV Puffin has to take necessary steps to ensure that safety obligations have been carried out. The fact that crew members of the two vessels have been injured, and that MV Puffin’s bow has been damaged and that oil is leaking from the bunker tank of MV Othership, may imply that there are health and safety risks exist. The following advice and recommendations on how to ensure compliance with safety obligations may be helpful. First, the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, section one, requires that the ship operator should provide for safe practices in ship operation and safe working environment (NEPIA, 2013). Therefore, the ship operator should establish safeguards against all identified risks, after correctly identifying the risks associated with this situation. This can be done by observing loss prevention through good practices and procedures, which should be applied to prevent occurrence of incidents that may lead to further loss (NEPIA, 2013).The operators should a lso seek to minimise the severity of the consequences when incidents occur. Secondly, this accident and all associated hazardous situations should be reported to the company. The ISM Code, section 9, requires that all non-conformities, hazardous situations and accidents should be reported to the company (NEPIA, 2013). This collision involving MV Puffin and MV Othership should be analysed. The accident should also be investigations so as to improve safety and prevent pollution. This