SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mathiew Christophe Rajoo, Probin Dass and Tan Hui Tsing, DennisMathiew
Other Claims Other claims include: • 1.51 million units of account for a ship with a ton - nage not exceeding 2,000 tonnes; and • for a ship with a tonnage in excess of 2,000 tonnes, in addition to the amount mentioned in the foregoing bullet point: (a) for each tonne from 2,001 to 30,000 tonnes, 604 units of account; (b) for each tonne from 30,001 to 70,000 tonnes, 453 units of account; and (c) for each tonne in excess of 70,000 tonnes, 302 units of account. However, if the ship is licensed as a harbour craft under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Act 1996, limitation shall be as if the aggregate of units of account in relation to a claim for loss of life or personal injury or other claims for a ship with ton - nage not exceeding 2,000 tonnes referred to the sum insured under the policy of insurance for third-party risks required by the Port Master in relation to that harbour craft. If the ship has a tonnage of less than 300 tonnes, limi - tation in relation to a claim for loss of life or personal injury shall be 166,667 units of account and 83,333 units of account in relation to other claims. 3.6 Seafarers’ Safety and Owners’ Liability The Maritime Labour Convention is applicable in Sin - gapore. The local legislation enacting and giving effect to this convention is the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) Act 2014. The Work Injury Com - pensation Act 2019 also applies, subject to modifica - tion prescribed for the application to the seafarer, to claims for compensation resulting from injuries suf - fered arising out of and in the course of employment of seafarers.
Pursuant to amendments to the Rules of Court in 2018, a party wishing to constitute a limitation fund can do so by making payment into court under an order thereof, or by producing a letter of undertak - ing (LOU) from a protection and indemnity (P&I) club acceptable to the court (Order 33 Rule 37 of the Rules of Court 2021). This brings Singapore in line with the UK position. The limitation fund can be set up by the “ship-owner”, as defined in Article 1 of the Conven - tion; this includes the owner, charterer, manager and operator of the vessel. To establish a limitation fund, a summons application must be made, together with a supporting affidavit. Where an LOU is to be used, it would be prudent to annex the draft LOU to the application, and the supporting affidavit will need to demonstrate the P&I club’s financial ability to meet its obligations under the LOU. The limitation fund is calculated according to the amended Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1996 Protocol regime (2012 amend - ments). The limits of liability for claims other than those men - tioned in Article 7, arising on any distinct occasion, shall be calculated as follows. Claims for Loss of Life or Personal Injury These are as follows: • 3.02 million units of account for a ship with a ton - nage not exceeding 2,000 tonnes; and • for a ship with a tonnage in excess of 2,000 tonnes, in addition to the amount mentioned in the foregoing bullet point: (a) for each tonne from 2,001 to 30,000 tonnes, 1,208 units of account; (b) for each tonne from 30,001 to 70,000 tonnes, 906 units of account; and (c) for each tonne in excess of 70,000 tonnes, 604 units of account.
4. Cargo Claims 4.1 Bills of Lading
The Hague–Visby Rules are applicable and are found in the Schedule of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1972.
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