Norway clamps down on oil spills

THE Norwegian parliament is considering new legislation that will extend Norway’s territorial sea from four to twelve nautical miles. According to Norway’s leading maritime law firm, Wikborg Rein, the proposed legislation is designed to reduce the threat of environmental pollution from oil spills and comes in the wake of the Prestige casualty.

“Russian oil companies are rapidly increasing their output from oilfields east of the Barents Sea. As a result, ever-increasing amounts of oil are being moved by tanker out of the Murmansk region and down the Norwegian coast. It is this increasing threat of pollution that has prompted the Norwegian authorities to take action,” explains Haakon Stang Lund, partner at Wikborg Rein.

The legislation, which is now with the national assembly for approval, would enable Norway to establish traffic separation zones along its coastline. Tankers with oil cargoes would be directed further out to sea, while vessels in ballast would be allowed nearer the shore. It is hoped that this will significantly reduce the possibility of a grounding which could result in a spill. Over recent years there have been a number of groundings along the Norwegian coast, some of which have polluted the coastline.

“This is just one of the measures being taken by the Norwegian government to prevent a Prestige-type incident in its waters,” says Stang Lund. “Norwegian authorities have already reached an agreement with the Russian authorities whereby the Russians must give 2-3 days’ notice of any laden tankers heading from north-west Russia along the Norwegian coast.”

The legislation would also enable Norway to establish a 24-nautical-mile zone for customs purposes. It is hoped that this will make it easier for the Norwegian authorities to intercept suspected immigrant and drug smugglers.

Nigeria moves down a gear

THE Nigerian shipping industry has been dealt a cruel blow by a recent decision to review the ban on car imports. In 2001, the Nigerian government imposed a ban on the import of used cars over five years’ old. In January 2003, however, it revised this ban, extending it to cars which are more than eight years old, writes Olatayo Kolapo of Matrix Solicitors.

With vehicles older than five years accounting for as much as 90 per cent of Nigeria’s car imports, this latest revision has hit Nigeria’s shipping and freight agencies hard. The car import business also provides employment to hundreds of thousands of people and contributes at least five per cent to the government’s revenue from import duties.

The neighbouring Benin Republic, on the other hand, is busy making the most of this recent development. With Nigeria’s revised ban leading to a meteoric rise in the market for used cars at Benin’s ports, work has already begun on a new, larger port in a bid to become the hub of shipping activity in West Africa.

(Article courtesy of the International Law Office)

DLA advises on $34m deal

THE Singapore office of maritime law firm, DLA, has recently been involved in a $34 million ship conversion and commissioning deal. The firm, which has one of the largest shipping practices in Asia, acted on behalf of Consolidated Projects Ltd in the tender and award of a major conversion and commissioning contract for an offshore barge.

The barge, the Jascon 5, is being built at a yard in China. It will then be towed to Singapore for outfitting and completion at the Sembawang Shipyard. The DLA team, led by James David and supported by Peter Shelford, provided legal support and advice to Consolidated Projects Ltd throughout the tender and negotiation process, which lasted almost six months.