SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Verónica Meana, José Antonio Domínguez, Enrique Ortiz and Mikel Garteiz-goxeaskoa, Aiyon Abogados
Qualifying ships: • must be operated from Spain or any EU member state; and • must be seagoing vessels for sea transport, carriage of goods or passengers, rescue ves - sels and other services that must be rendered at sea (tugs and dredgers have some specific requirements). This system will not apply: • if all vessels are not registered in Spain or any other EU member state; • if the vessels are intended, directly or indi - rectly, for fishing, recreational or sports activi - ties; and • if certain circumstances derived from or in connection with particular EU Regulations occur at the same time at the shipping com - pany. The REBECA Finally, for those shipping companies whose vessels are registered in the REBECA, Spanish Law No 19 of 1994 for the modifications of the Canary Islands’ economic regime and tax sys - tem establishes together with other tax advan - tages such as bonuses in social security and others, a corporate tax rebate of 90%. 8. Implications of Non- Performance, the IMO 2020, Trade Sanctions and the War in Ukraine 8.1 Force Majeure and Frustration Under Spanish law, in line with Article 1105 of the Spanish Code of Civil Procedure, non- performance of a shipping contract in maritime law, such as late delivery, non-arrival of a char - tered vessel, or slow cargo operations, may be
excused as force majeure if caused by extraor - dinary, unforeseeable and unavoidable events, such as severe weather, natural disasters or similar events. Additionally, under the rebus sic stantibus principle, fundamental and unforesee - able changes in maritime circumstances altering the contractual equilibrium may justify seeking modification, withdrawal or termination of the contract. 8.2 Enforcement of the IMO 2020 Rule Relating to Limitation on the Sulphur Content of Fuel Oil Spain has implemented IMO 2020, which lim - its the sulphur content of fuel oil used on board ships from 3.5 to 0.5% mass by mass (“m/m”). The Authorities responsible for enforcing sul - phur-content limitations are the Directorate Gen - eral of the Merchant Navy (the “DGMM”) and the Harbour Master Offices that are subordinated to the DGMM. According to Articles 10 and 11 of Royal Decree No 61 of 2006 (as amended by Royal Decree No 290 of 2015), there are two limits: • a limit of 0.10% m/m for vessels within Span - ish ports or operating in territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters within the Emission Control Areas (ECAs); and • a limit of 0.5% m/m for territorial waters and EEZ waters outside the ECAs. However, Spain, does not have any ECAS at the present time. The current limit is therefore 0.10% m/m for vessels at Spanish ports and 0.5% m/m for vessels operating in Spanish territorial waters or in waters within the Spanish jurisdiction. Should a Harbour Master detect an infringe - ment of the aforementioned limits, normally in the course of a port state control inspection, a
543 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook