Total losses and the peril of piracy in English law of marine insurance

Whereas the Marine Insurance Act 1906 provides substantial detail about total losses, very little is provided in relation to piracy in the said statute. The recent judgments in Masefield v Amlin by Steel J ([2010] 1Lloyd's Rep. IR 345) and then by the English Court of Appeal ([2011] EWCA Civ 24) have highlighted the difficulties associated with determining whether a seizure of the subject-matter of insurance, in this case cargo, by pirates, demanding a ransom, can give rise to a claim for a total loss. This is a very important matter which also raises issues of legality and public policy. This article examines the implications of this judgment against the backdrop of the English marine insurance definition of piracy and the intricacies of the law relating to constructive and actual total losses. The article concludes with the suggestion that possibly the marine insurance definition of piracy should tally with that in the domain of public international law, and further, that legislative intervention should be considered for the purpose of ascertaining the point in time whether and when seizure by pirates can constitute a total loss.     

保险界应对海盗风险新对策

2006年以来,世界范围的海盗事件逐年在增加且增加幅度大.海盗队伍逐年扩大,人质数量逐年增加,受劫船舶数量递增,赎金逐年高涨.有关数据表明,2007年以来索马里海盗活动频繁,导致全球海盗袋击活动再次活跃,2010年已达近十几年之最.海盗袭击每年给全球航运业造成70亿至120亿美元损失,其中包括赎金和安保费用等.     

海运保险发展趋势

飓风等热带风暴增多,对港口和航运业造成很大损失。近期一系列的事件对海运保险业影响很大,索赔明显增多。本文以联运保赔协会为例,讨论了海运保险市场的现状和面临的问题并提出了发展趋势。     

船用柴油机轴系校中注意事项

船用柴油机是船舶的心脏,它对船舶航行和安全至关重要。所以,如果船舶柴油机安装不当,就会给船舶航行留下安全隐患。其中,船用柴油机在安装过程中的轴系合理校中,就应特别注意。     

关于海洋货物运输保险责任起讫的相关探讨

文章就现行的海洋货物运输保险条款（人保1981年版）第三条中对海洋货物运输保险责任起讫的规定内容,着重论述海洋货物运输保险合同是法律上规定的＂附条件生效合同＂,保险人在保险合同成立时间、保险合同生效期间和保险责任期间等不同责任期间的赔偿责任。     

The jurisdictional challenges to the prosecution of piracy cases in Kenya: mixed fortunes for a perfect model in the global war against piracy

Since 2008 Kenya has distinguished itself in the global war against piracy by undertaking prosecutions in the national courts of suspected pirates arrested in the high seas and handed over by navies of leading maritime nations under bilateral agreements (MOUs) entered into between Kenya and these leading maritime nations. As of July 2011, Kenya had over 20 convicted pirates serving jail terms ranging between 7 and 20 years and over 100 suspected pirates awaiting trial in national courts. This is the largest number of suspected pirates held and tried in any one state at any given time in modern history. To achieve this, Kenya had to effect far reaching changes in the law. In the initial stages, suspected pirates were charged under Kenya’s Penal Code (Cap 63 Laws of Kenya). However, the high court in the case of Re Mohamud Mohamed Dashi and eight others [2010] eKLR, ruled that Kenya had no jurisdiction to try suspected pirates under that law. In September 2009, Kenya passed a new law (the Merchant Shipping Act), which not only defined more comprehensively and extensively the offence of piracy, but also extended the jurisdiction of Kenyan courts to try piracy committed by non-nationals. Though the law gives Kenya a very broad jurisdiction to try suspected pirates, the process is still fraught with challenges due to lack of financial and human resources. In the case of Republic vs Hassan Jama Haleys Alias Hassan Jamal and five others [2010] eKLR, the court commented thus:

“… I must note that the ‘piracy trials’ have presented a unique challenge to the Kenyan legal system. We cannot ignore the fact that these are suspects who having been arrested by foreign naval forces on the High Seas are brought to Kenya for trial. They are strangers in the country, do not understand the legal system, may not know what their rights are and do not understand the language… the Kenyan Government and the International partners supporting these trials put in place a system to provide free legal representation for the suspects…”     

索马里海盗问题对我国航运界的影响

尽管索马里海盗问题得到了国际社会的高度重视,并出台了一系列的预防和惩治措施,但由于这些措施并未从根本上解决海盗问题,海盗活动仍然层出不穷。文中主要分析了海盗问题对我国航运界的实际影响,并给出了相关的建议。     

The impacts of maritime piracy on global economic development: the case of Somalia

This paper investigates the impacts of maritime piracy on global economic development. Calibrated with data between 2003 and 2008, we model shipping demands and competition in the Far East-Europe container liner shipping service and investigate the economic welfare loss effects due to reduced volumes of trade and shipping, as well as efficiency loss due to geographical re-routing of shipping networks which would be otherwise uneconomical. The substantial economic loss simulated from our model indicates that, even from purely the perspective of economic interests, more efforts from the international community should be dedicated to tackle maritime piracy.     

论海上保险中的委付制度

委付制度是海上保险法中的一项重要制度。它存在于损失发生之后,与实际全损和推定全损都有密切的联系。对委付制度进行研究,深入分析委付制度与实际全损以及委付制度与推定全损的关系,结合英国1906年的《海上保险法》及我国《海商法》对这一制度的规定,可以看出我国海商法还存在一定的不足之处,需要进一步的修订。     

Quantitative analysis of materiality in marine insurance

The ex post test of materiality is the traditional approach for a court to examine whether the non-disclosed information of the policyholder is material for a prudent underwriter. The approach of the ex post test has been questioned by the shipping industry, and amendments to the relevant clauses of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 are under discussion. In this research, the factors that significantly relate to marine incidents are determined based on the panel data through the step-wise random intercept model. The materiality of each factor can be reflected by constructing a factor-weighted risk indicator, which can be applied in the ex ante risk assessment of insured vessels. It endeavors to establish a risk index system for measuring the risk level of a ship, which can help both the underwriter and the policyholder in effective assessment of the materiality of information when they conclude the contract. A panel data of total loss incidents during the period 1999–2007 has been collected for verification of the methodology.     

打击索马里海盗的法律规制研究

根据国际海事局海盗活动报告中心发布的年度调查报告,2010年是1991年以来全球海盗活动最猖獗的一年,而且92%的劫船事件都发生在索马里附近海域。索马里海盗问题不仅干扰了正常的国际贸易还威胁着各国     

海盗审判问题之探讨

海盗罪作为严重违反国际法的罪行之一,国际社会以及各国对其均具有普遍管辖权,但是确定管辖权后的审判问题仍然是困扰着国际社会的一个难题。从司法的角度出发,通过分析比较目前存在的三种审判方式,提出建立海盗罪国际审判特别法庭的建议。     

国际航运中心与海上保险

<正>笔者没有弄清楚究竟从什么时候起,我国把"海上保险MaineInsurance",改称为了"航运保险Shipping Insurance"。"海上保险"是国际保险界几百年来的习惯称呼,在我国保险业准备走向世界,接轨国际保险业的时候,还是按国际习惯称之为"海上保险"为好。     

论海上保险委付行为的法律性质

依传统观点,海上保险委付行为被认为是民事法律行为,或单方民事法律行为,或双方民事法律行为。本文依据英美德法日及我国法律的规定和民事法律行为的基本理论,论证了委付行为真实的法律性质,即委付行为是被保险人所实施的单方行为,该行为在德日法例中是被保险人实施的单方法律行为,在英美和我国法例中则认为是被保险人为订立委付合同所发出的要约。     

海盗袭击与海员——海运行业共同努力阻止海盗行为

10月21日,"海员发展与教育培训研讨会"在青岛召开。部海事局、中国海员建设工会、中国船东协会、亚洲船东论坛及其海员委员会、部分亚洲国家海员工会、知名航运企业及亚洲知名航海院校的领导、专家齐聚一堂,交流中国航海教育和海员培训成果,共同谋划未来海员发展和教育培训的对策和措施。针对目前海运界非常关心的海盗问题,亚洲船东论坛秘书长苑田勇一先生作了"海盗袭击与海员"的主题演讲,号召海运行业共同努力,阻止海盗行为。本刊特将演讲内容翻译整理,以飨读者。     

海上保险合同告知义务的履行

根据我国《海商法》,在海上保险合同订立前,被保险人对保险人负有告知义务.结合我国有关案例和最高人民法院的意见对告知义务的履行加以简要分析,认为在被保险人履行告知义务时,保险人同样有了解并评估风险的义务,否则将可能丧失主张被保险人违反告知义务的权利.     

Port development within the framework of Malaysia's transport policy: some considerations

There is disjunction between the national port policy and the national transport policy in Malaysia, as the latter, for much of its time, focused on national integration rather than trade facilitation. During Malaysia's concentration on national integration, it relied on Singapore as its main port. This allowed Singapore to develop as a centre of transport for Malaysian trade. To break Singapore's stranglehold on its cargo and to make Port Klang a regional hub port, Malaysia must reconcile its national transport and port policies, with the main aim of facilitating trade. In view of the strong presence of transnational corporations in its trade and the fact that world trade today is based on reciprocity, Malaysia may have to consider a more laissez faire approach with regard to port development.     

Port development within the framework of Malaysia's transport policy: some considerations

There is disjunction between the national port policy and the national transport policy in Malaysia, as the latter, for much of its time, focused on national integration rather than trade facilitation. During Malaysia's concentration on national integration, it relied on Singapore as its main port. This allowed Singapore to develop as a centre of transport for Malaysian trade. To break Singapore's stranglehold on its cargo and to make Port Klang a regional hub port, Malaysia must reconcile its national transport and port policies, with the main aim of facilitating trade. In view of the strong presence of transnational corporations in its trade and the fact that world trade today is based on reciprocity, Malaysia may have to consider a more laissez faire approach with regard to port development.