The clause sets out the insurance requirements for private maritime security companies but also stipulates that the use of firearms or security equipment while on board must not invalidate that insurance.

Panel members at the event were asked how insurers can be expected to cover what could be perceived as an unlawful act in certain jurisdictions and circumstances.

Ince partner Stephen Askins said the problem had been the “elephant in the room” while Guardcon was being written in consultation with several liability underwriters and said that it had been recognised as a difficulty.

“This may be something we have to discuss further. Until it is tested we can’t be sure,” Mr Askins said.

Sources in the insurance industry have also warned that shipowners are potentially being exposed to significant losses if PMSCs fail to secure adequate insurance provision in the first place. According to some insurers, many PMSCs still have fragmented insurance cover that does not comply with Guardcon.

Guardcon launched in March, partly to counter previously inadequate insurance arrangements.

Clause 12 states that PMSCs need employer’s liability, third-party cover for personal injury and death with a limit of $5m, property damage and other loss, professional indemnity insurance and personal accident insurance for each armed guard in a sum not less than $250,000 per person.

Insurers are concerned that despite the introduction of Guardcon, discussions with clients and insurers reveal that many PMSCs still have major gaps in their insurance policies.

Adequate insurance provision is now a key component in contract negotiations between shipowners and prospective security suppliers. As the industry evolves, more PMSCs will begin to fail audits, struggle to win business, or face lawsuits for under-insurance.

In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Embassy in London deposited with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) the original Instrument of Accession signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III in a simple ceremony held recently at the organization’s headquarters in London.

The 1996 Protocol shall be binding on the Philippines effective on June 8, 2012, or 30 days after the deposit of the Instrument of Accession with IMO.

“With its accession to the 1996 Protocol, the Philippines will now be able to cast its vote in the ongoing discussions in the IMO concerning ocean fertilization and carbon dioxide sequestration in the seabed,” Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Enrique Manalo said.

“These two novel developments have consequential impact on the marine environment and we are thoroughly studying the effect these will have on our marine resources,” Manalo added.

The London Convention, one of the first international conventions for the protection of the marine environment from human activities, came into force on August 30, 1975. Since 1977, it has been administered by IMO.

The London Convention contributes to the international control and prevention of marine pollution by prohibiting the dumping of certain hazardous materials. In addition, a special permit is required prior to dumping of a number of other identified materials and a general permit for other wastes or matter.

“Dumping” has been defined as the deliberate disposal at sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures, as well as the deliberate disposal of these vessels or platforms themselves.

Amendments adopted in 1993 (which entered into force in 1994) banned the dumping into sea of low-level radioactive wastes. In addition, the amendments phased out the dumping of industrial wastes by December 31, 1995 and banned the incineration at sea of industrial wastes.

In 1996, Parties adopted a Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (known as the London Protocol) which entered into force in 2006.

The Protocol, which is meant to eventually replace the 1972 Convention, represents a major change of approach to the question of how to regulate the use of the sea as a depository for waste materials. Rather than stating which materials may not be dumped, it prohibits all dumping, except for possibly acceptable wastes.

The video of the armed guards eagerly tackling a group of pirates has been (yet again) the subject of more scrutiny over the past week. This time though instead of hand wringing the rallying call has been to see the video for what it is – it is people with guns protecting otherwise defenceless seafarers from kidnap, injury, torture and possible death.

Writing in Lloyd’s List, Michael Grey took the line that we should see this not as some kind of failure of checks and balances of a security companies operating manual. Instead it should be viewed as the ugly realities of dealing with a despicable and evil threat to the lives and liberty of innocent seafarers.

Very few of us in shipping are actually “gung ho” – and most, if not all, have had real issues as we have wrestled with the sad fact that armed guards are the best option to protect our people and vessels. Having taken that leap of faith, it seems churlish to complain if the guards are a little overzealous.

The Marshall Islands, for it was onboard one of their vessels the video was filmed, has said it intends to take appropriate action…which is to do nothing. Some have seen this as sloping shoulders, but to us it is the right approach. The flag is saying to the pirates – you come at our ships and you take what’s coming to you.

It is sad to have to say such things, but until the much vaunted attacks on land fix piracy, or until there are sufficient naval vessels, then shipping is left to fend for itself. That is through the use of armed guards…and that is further through the use of armed guards who are allowed to defend the vessel.

We have had a steep learning curve over the past 18months  - we now know all about a layered response, and proportionate force, etc, etc…but we also know what happens if the pirates get onboard.

As Michael Grey reminds us, this is about protecting sefarers from “kidnapping, torture and murder at sea”. When asked about the use of armed guards in the Shiptalk Life at Sea survey, nearly 3 out of every 4 seafarers asked (73.9%) supported the use of armed guards on their vessels. Despite the fact that over 40% reported concerns about having weapons on-board the vessel, they recognised that it is their only real hope to keep the pirates at bay.

With seafarers willing to accept armed guards over pirates, we have to make sure that we do not hamper their ability to actually defend the vessel. Many organisations are working hard to ensure that we do not see a “Blackwater” style massacre at sea, but where there are weapons there is a threat of death. Hopefully the pirates will have this stark fact in their heads the next time they launch a raid.

The Revd Canon Ken Peters, director of justice and welfare at MtS, successfully passed the exam after an intensive course held at the ILO’s Maritime Labour Academy in Turin. As such, Canon Peters can now provide training and advice in relation to the Maritime Labour Convention which gives seafarers a comprehensive set of rights and protection whilst working at sea.

Upon hearing of his achievement, Canon Peters spoke of the importance of the MLC, 2006 to the world’s 1.2 million seafarers.

“The entry into force of the MLC will be essential to improving the living and working conditions for seafarers the world over,” he said. “Its enforcement is key to upholding industry standards, and the new regulations will require diligence on the part of flag state inspectors and port state control officials. The Mission has often been asked to provide advice and information to flag states and shipping companies on how they can improve conditions for seafarers. This new qualification means that we can now train flag state and port state officials on this vitally important piece of legislation which protects the welfare and general wellbeing of seafarers.”

As the largest provider of port-based welfare services, The Mission to Seafarers is well-placed to provide advice, assistance and information on what is happening to today’s crews. In recent years, Canon Peters has assisted with the training of inspectors working under the Australian flag and is a regular trainer of inspectors operating under the flag of Liberia.

Almost five years have passed since the massive bulk carrier, “Pasha Bulker”, ran aground on Newcastle NSW’s Nobbys Beach during a violent storm.

In a paper published in the April journal Science, Australian scientists from CSIRO and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, reported changing patterns of salinity in the global ocean during the past 50 years, marking a clear fingerprint of climate change.
Lead author, Dr Paul Durack, said that by looking at observed ocean salinity changes and the relationship between salinity, rainfall and evaporation in climate models, they determined the water cycle has strengthened by four percent from 1950-2000. This is twice the response projected by current generation global climate models.

“Salinity shifts in the ocean confirm climate and the global water cycle have changed.

“These changes suggest that arid regions have become drier and high rainfall regions have become wetter in response to observed global warming,” said Dr Durack, a post-doctoral fellow at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

With a projected temperature rise of 3ºC by the end of the century, the researchers estimate a 24 per cent acceleration of the water cycle is possible.

Scientists have struggled to determine coherent estimates of water cycle changes from land-based data because surface observations of rainfall and evaporation are sparse. However, according to the team, global oceans provide a much clearer picture.

“The ocean matters to climate – it stores 97 per cent of the world’s water; receives 80 per cent of the all surface rainfall and; it has absorbed 90 per cent of the Earth’s energy increase associated with past atmospheric warming,” said co-author, Dr Richard Matear of CSIRO’s Wealth from Oceans Flagship.

“Warming of the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere is expected to strengthen the water cycle largely driven by the ability of warmer air to hold and redistribute more moisture.”

He said the intensification is an enhancement in the patterns of exchange between evaporation and rainfall and with oceans accounting for 71 per cent of the global surface area the change is clearly represented in ocean surface salinity patterns.

In the study, the scientists combined 50-year observed global surface salinity changes with changes from global climate models and found “robust evidence of an intensified global water cycle at a rate of about eight percent per degree of surface warming.”

Dr Durack said the patterns are not uniform, with regional variations agreeing with the ‘rich get richer’ mechanism, where wet regions get wetter and dry regions drier.

He said a change in freshwater availability in response to climate change poses a more significant risk to human societies and ecosystems than warming alone.

“Changes to the global water cycle and the corresponding redistribution of rainfall will affect food availability, stability, access and utilization,” Dr Durack said.