Kate Lewins

Ships are major contributors to global emissions of air pollutants, with their health and environmental effects being of particular concern in port cities and heavily populated coastal areas adjacent to major shipping lanes. This paper outlines the international regulations tackling two such ship pollutants, being oxides of sulphur (SOx) and particulate matter (PM). In order to understand the current regulatory strategy, it reviews the health and environmental impact of these emissions. The paper then addresses the 2020 sulphur cap on marine fuel imposed by MARPOL and its potential efficacy in reducing the health and environmental effects of shipping emissions. Examples of differing regional and national regulation of sulphur and PM are presented and discussed. The article questions whether the current international regulatory framework directed at reducing sulphur emissions from ships is an appropriate means to reduce PM emissions.

In England and its former colonies ship arrest(1) is an interim procedure overseen by courts exercising admiralty jurisdiction. It is available only for in rem claims.(2) The arrest on an in rem claim also gives the court the jurisdiction to hear the merits of the underlying dispute. To secure the claim against what is often the only asset in the jurisdiction, the claimant(3) is entitled to call upon the aid of the court to arrest the ship whilst the ship is within the jurisdiction of the court...

Crimes committed on board a ship, particularly whilst at sea, pose a more dynamic legal scenario than the same crime committed on land. A ship is subject to the laws of its flag state, but the flag state may be unwilling or unable to respond promptly or to prosecute such crimes. Other states might investigate the crime and prosecute the accused, but the right to do so must be defensible under international law and within the explicit legislative reach of that state. This seminar considers when a non-flag state may claim jurisdiction to prosecute criminal acts committed at sea.