The advantages of ship owners being registered in the Isle of Man will be reinforced next month at a presentation by Simcocks’ shipping expert, Peter Taylor.

He will be discussing the Limitation of Liability in Maritime Claims Convention 1976 at the Empress Hotel in Douglas on Wednesday, October 1 at 6pm.

The talk will provide some background in to the unique concept of shipowners limiting their liability, discuss the convention itself, its application under Manx and international law as well as highlighting the advantages it offers to shipowners registered in the Isle of Man.
The presentation will launch a new season of monthly meetings of the Isle of Man Joint Branch of The Royal Institution of Naval Architects and The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.

Peter has been involved in two landmark court cases advising on limitation of liability. In the first the owner of the Yacht XTC of London, which caught fire in the Marina Port Vell, Barcelona destroying itself, sinking three vessels and damaging five other yachts, was able to limit its liability to approximately ?500,000 for the whole incident. In the Baltic Highway case, which involved a car carrier sinking in the North Sea resulting in major loss of life, the owners limited their liability at ?9 million.

Peter said: “The Isle of Man has a growing international reputation as a shipping centre of excellence and is home to international companies offering specialist maritime service in both ship and yacht management, finance, maritime insurance, maritime law and company formation. Anyone working in this sector already knows of the many advantages the Isle of Man offers but recent court cases have highlighted the very significant financial savings that could be made.”

Before becoming an Advocate Peter was involved in the shipping industry for more than 30 years, initially as an engineer officer in the Merchant Navy and as a surveyor for Lloyd’s Register and the Isle of Man Ship Register. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has been a Chartered Engineer since 1995. During his time in the industry he gained considerable experience in surveying merchant ships, commercial yachts and fishing vessels and in drafting international and merchant shipping legislation. He has also served as an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve.

At Simcocks Peter advises on most shipping and ship related matters and has a very detailed knowledge of seafaring employment matters under the relevant Merchant Shipping Acts and can advise on all aspects of employment, contracts, incentives, workplace disputes, regulatory issues and proceedings. He also advises on criminal matters, personal injury claims, engineering disputes and international arbitration. Peter is a panel Advocate for the seafarer union Nautilus.

Booking is not necessary and there is no charge to attend but you can register your interest or find out more about the branch by emailing Roy McLean, the Secretary of RINA and IMarEST Isle of Man Joint Branch at roymclean@manx.net.

Photo - Peter Taylor