In April 2012 the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted amendments to the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976. This has brought in substantial increases - up to 51% - to the limits under the 1996 Protocol. Limits for both loss of life and personal injury as well as property claims have been revised and are still expressed in Special Drawing Rights (SDR). Please see following link for details: http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/24-LLMC-limits.aspx

The amendments are applicable only to those States which have adopted the 1996 Protocol. Greece is one of them, having adopted the amended Protocol in February 2009. Likewise it will not affect those States which are party to the 1976 Convention without having adopted the 1996 Protocol. A full list of the countries that have adopted the 1996 Protocol can be found here: https://imo.amsa.gov.au/public/parties/ll-mc96protocol.html Similarly it will not affect those States which have adopted the earlier 1957 Convention.

This amendment is coming into an environment of continuously increasing claims costs, especially for bunker spills and cleanup costs as well as for wreck removal operations. This also highlights the need for owners to have wider insurance covers in place, backed by “A” rated security, for them to able to withstand a high profile claim.