MMLA

Malta Maritime Law Association

Member of the Comité Maritime International

  • About MMLA
    • Committees
      • Sub-Committees
    • Maritime History of Malta
  • News
  • Events
    • Past Events
  • Publications
  • Resources
  • Contact

COVID-19 temporary precautionary measures – Framework of protocol for conducting maritime support services

May 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

On the 23rd May 2020, the Ports and Yachting Directorate within the Authority for Transport in Malta (the Maltese Port Authorities) published Port Notice 09/2020 entitled COVID-19 Temporary Precautionary Measures – Framework of Protocol for Conducting Maritime Support Services. This Notice is further to Port Notice 06/2020, which was previously issued by the Authorities on the 26th March 2020.

Port Notice 09/2020 was issued by the Maltese Port Authorities following consultation with the Port Health Office. It creates a framework of protocols that must be respected when maritime services providers in Malta are engaged to conduct various maritime support services.

Ships, yachts and all other vessels intending to obtain services in Maltese waters or within ports and harbours must seek prior port clearance. If cleared, vessels will be required to follow the protocols established in the said Port Notice.

Interestingly, the previous blanket ban on all yachts from entering Malta has been lifted. Yachts requesting permission to enter Maltese waters for services and ships requesting to enter Malta to carry out maintenance will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If and when approved, protocols and other conditions that must be followed by the vessels will then be communicated to the local agents by the Port Health Office.

The Notice also provides for an exemption to the otherwise applicable travel ban in cases of crew repatriation and likewise in cases of “ship operations”. Requests will be referred to the Superintendent of Public Health for consideration and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If approved, protocols and other conditions that must be followed will be communicated by the Port Health Office.

by Dr Jotham Scerri Diacono and Dr Jan Rossi, Ganado Advocates

Source: Lexology

Filed Under: COVID-19, Latest, Malta, Maltese law

Effect of COVID-19 on Maltese shipping industry

April 1, 2020 Leave a Comment

Europe is presently facing its most testing challenge since World War II. Faced with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, many EU states are increasingly adopting stringent measures to ensure that the spread is, to the extent possible, contained. Malta is no exception in this regard.

Conscious of the fact that Malta is a small island with one of the highest population densities per square kilometre in the world, local authorities have been busy implementing various staggered restrictive measures aimed at social distancing. These measures range from the closing of all schools to stopping all commercial flights in and out of the island.

As a result, most sectors of Malta’s economy have to some extent been affected by this epidemic. The local shipping industry has also been hit with several restrictions in recent weeks.

Restrictions on shipping

In early March 2020, all passenger vessels travelling from Italy were prohibited from entering Maltese ports. By virtue of Port Notice 05/20, the Authority for Transport informed the shipping community that it was imposing an immediate temporary ban on the entry of cruise liners and passenger vessels to Maltese ports. This restriction has now been extended. On 21 March 2020, the superintendent of public health extended the order of a travel ban on persons entering or leaving Malta to and from all countries, including by sea. However, an exception was made for all cargo ships, including container ships and ro-ro vessels carrying goods and essential commodities and tankers loaded with essential fuels.

Legal notices affecting court procedures

The measures taken to date have also affected the legal community. By means of Legal Notices 97 and 65 of 2020, the superintendent of public health has ordered the indefinite closure of:

any of the courts of justice, that is the superior courts and the inferior courts including appellate courts irrespective of their competence or jurisdiction, and includes also any tribunal established by law which operates from the building of the Courts of Justice, and any boards, commissions, committees or other entities which operate from the building of the Courts of Justice before which any proceedings are heard or procedures undertaken which are subject to legal, judicial or administrative time limits for filing any claims, defences or other acts.

The closure order came into effect on 16 March 2020 and will remain in force until it is revoked. Legal Notice 97 of 2020 also sets out the time frames in which an appeal of a decision by any other administrative tribunal, board or body may be filed in court once the latter reopens.

Notwithstanding the above, for now, the court registry is still accepting filings in situations where any delay could be seriously detrimental to a party. In such cases, the claimant must file an application to open the court registry and justify the urgency at hand. Within the context of shipping, this effectively means that the filing of warrants of arrest of ships, urgent injunctions prohibiting the transfer of ownership of vessels or the entry of any further mortgages, or any such similar measures, can continue to be filed. Moreover, the processes involved remain expeditious and provided that all documents are in hand, an arrest or a flag injunction can still be carried out in a matter of hours.

Further, to ensure that the closure of courts does not prejudice the rights of any persons, the superintendent of public health has also issued Legal Notices 61 and 84 of 2020 to suspend all prescriptive periods and other time bars. During the period that the courts remain closed, the running of any legal and judicial times and any other time limits have been suspended, including peremptory periods applicable to proceedings or other procedures before said courts. This suspension also applies to prescription in criminal and civil matters.

With regard to the legal and judicial time frames, which are not peremptory in nature, Maltese law already caters for the possibility of extending said limits. Article 106 of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure, Chapter 12 of the Laws of Malta, allows for such a request on good cause to be made, provided that it is filed within the time period sought to be extended. However, it is not permissible to request such an extension once the original time period has expired. Therefore, in the given circumstances, said article alone would not have provided the necessary safeguards, particularly since it is still unclear when the courts will be reopened. Accordingly, the new legal notices ensure that further protection is offered by legislating the immediate suspension of all such time limits. By doing so, the legislature has also ensured that the judiciary will hopefully not be flooded with extension requests the moment that the courts are reopened.

On the other hand, most peremptory periods cannot be suspended or extended on the request of interested parties. This includes those time bars which cannot normally be derogated from. By way of example, this would include the one-year period to bring a claim in respect of damaged or loss of goods under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act and those maritime-related time bars found under the Commercial Code. These periods have therefore also all been suspended by means of the superintendent of public health’s legislative interventions.

The abovementioned suspension will last until seven days from when the superintendent repeals the court closure order. Thus, where a legal and judicial time frame or prescriptive period would have ordinarily expired in the period when the court is closed, the interested party now has seven days from the reopening of the courts to file the necessary acts or court papers.

Thus, any party involved in disputes or contentious matters which could result in a claim before the Maltese courts should bear the above in mind and also watch this space to see when the Maltese courts will reopen. In the meantime, with respect to urgent filings such as ship arrests and flag injunctions, it is very much business as usual in Malta.

By Adrian Attard at Fenech & Fenech Advocates

Source: ILO

Filed Under: COVID-19, International Law News, International News, Latest, Malta, Malta Flag, Maltese law

Measures taken by the Malta Transport Authority in the context of COVID-19

March 31, 2020 Leave a Comment

The Malta Transport Authority has taken measures in the context of COVID-19 which have been made public with the following notices:

MS Notice 160 on SUPPORTING MEASURES TO THE MALTESE SHIPPING INDUSTRY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC offering shipowners the possibility of deferring due payment of registration fees and annual tonnage tax, the anniversary date of which falls due on or after the first day of April 2020. The deferment may be made for a period of three months, during which period the Registry will continue to issue renewed certificates of registry upon receipt of a request to proceed.

MS Notice 158 on EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES RESULTING FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Port Notice 6/2020 ADDITIONAL PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AND INSTRUCTIONS TO MARINE TERMINALS AND PORT SERVICE PROVIDERS

Port Notice 5/2020 PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TO CRUISE LINERS AND PASSENGER SHIPS

Filed Under: COVID-19, Malta, Malta Flag

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2

News & Publications

  • New MMLA President and Executive Committee elected December 28, 2022
  • A way forward for Malta’s maritime industry – William Vella November 21, 2022
  • Dr Ann Fenech elected CMI President October 24, 2022
  • MMLA President Dr Ann Fenech on The Judicial Sales of Ships August 9, 2022
  • MMLA President at UNCITRAL in New York July 11, 2022
  • Meeting with the Minister of Justice May 30, 2022

Contact Us

Malta Maritime Law Association (MMLA)
Sa Maison House
Sa Maison Hill
Floriana FRN 1612
MALTA
E: mmla@mmla.org.mt
T: (+356) 25 594 118
follow us on facebook and linkedIn

Join Us

Even though the MMLA is a law association, membership is open to all those with a real interest in maritime affairs with a legal twist.
Become a member...

International Events

The 2022 CMI Conference took place in Antwerp, Belgium from 18-21 October. Antwerp is the birthplace of the Comite’ Maritime International and this year celebrated its 125th anniversary.

The CMI Virtual Assembly was held on 30 September 2021

The CMI Assembly and Colloquium was held in Mexico City between 30 September – 2 October 2019: Find out more…

The CMI held the Assembly meeting and other events on 8./9. November 2018 in London. Find out more…

The Malta Colloquium on Judicial Sales was held on 27 February 2018 in Valletta. Find out more…

 

 

Copyright © 2023 · Enterprise Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in