Articles

Twice yearly Gard’s Arendal based employees gather to clean Merdø, our adopted island in Raet National Park.  Gard also sponsors local youth groups who fan out over the southern Norwegian coastline to pick up litter as part of the Hold Norge Rent (Keep Norway Beautiful) beach cleaning days. Given the magnitude of the problem with plastic in the ocean, do such efforts make a difference?  A recently published study suggests they do - but there is certainly more to be done to stem the flow of plastic litter into our ocean.

September marks the start of the risk season for Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs in New Zealand and Australia. This year, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Portugal, and Ukraine have been added to the list of ‘stink bug risk countries’.

The United States has recently enhanced the sanction provisions targeting the construction of the NS2 and TurkStream pipeline projects and those who provide vessels and services in connection with either project. 

While access to coronavirus testing for seafarers is now becoming more widely available, ship operators should bear in mind that no test is 100% accurate. As explained by Dr. Ingrid H. Johansen, a two-week quarantine for on-signing crew at the place of embarkation should still be the primary measure to prevent infected seafarers from joining a ship.

Many predictions were made in the run up to the imposition of the MARPOL 2020 sulphur cap, none of which was that the transition to Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) would be smooth sailing. From Gard’s experience, the transition has been smoother than many predicted but not without challenges.

More than 20 years ago, the case came to Gard lawyer, Kelly Wagland, in our London office and now it has a final resolution.  We thank lawyers,  Amitava Majumdar, Damayanti Sen & Tripti Sharma of the law firm Bose & Mitra & Co, for providing the details of the Indian Supreme Court’s decision in the case of The Chairman, Board of Trustees, Cochin v. M/s Arebee Star Maritime Agencies Private Ltd. & Ors (“Arebee”). The judgment is a significant positive development for liner operators trading to India.