The Cyprus Department of Merchant Shipping has announced the entry into force of new increased liability limits under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims of 1976 ("LLMC Convention") and the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage of 2001.
The new limits are 51% higher than the previous limits across the board. They were adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 2012 and came into force under the "tacit acceptance" mechanism under which amendments to the LLMC Convention are deemed to have been accepted unless a specified proportion of Contracting States raise an objection within a specified time limit. No objections were received and the new limits came into force on 8 June 2015.
Cyprus ratified the 1976 LLMC Convention and its 1996 Protocol in 2005. The increased liability limits are automatically binding on all States that have ratified the 1996 LLMC Protocol and therefore apply in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus and to vessels flying the Cyprus flag.
The new limits also apply to claims under the 2001 International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage 2001, which was ratified by Cyprus in 2004.
The Merchant Shipping (Shipowners' Insurance for Maritime Claims) Law of 2012 requires ships having a gross tonnage of 300 or more flying the Cyprus flag or, irrespective of the flag they are flying, calling at Cyprus ports or operating within the territorial sea of the Republic of Cyprus, to have insurance in place that covers maritime claims subject to limitation under the LLMC Convention and to carry documentary evidence of cover on board.
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