The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL), a research centre within the College of Law and Criminology, continues to expand its operations.
On 26 June, it collaborated with marine advocacy group Oceana to organise an afternoon seminar in London on the insurance and regulatory aspects of irregular fishing (known in the trade as fishing that is illegal, unreported and uncontrolled (IUU)). The main purpose of the event was to disseminate as widely as possible the results of a study carried out by three members of the Institute (Baris Soyer, George Leloudas and Dora Nikaki) in collaboration with researchers from University of British Columbia (Canada). In summary, the study found that it had been disconcertingly easy for vessels involved in IUU fishing to get liability insurance in the market. The study recommended an urgent review of underwriting processes and consideration of regulatory changes to put insurers under a legal duty to deny cover to vessels known to be connected with IIU activities.
The event, which attracted an impressive 60 delegates, provided an excellent opportunity for those throughout the sector to engage in the debate. Presentations from Lasse Gustavsson (Senior Vice President of Oceana Europe) , Kjetil Saeter (Norwegian Business Daily), David Vajnai (Vice President Marsh Global Marine Practice), Baris Soyer and Gerorge Leloudas (IISLT) and Dana Miller (a marine scientist with Oceana Europe) were followed by a lively debate led by insurers, brokers and policy-makers. The afternoon ended with a reception generously sponsored by the Waterloo Foundation, which was also the funder of the project. An academic article, which is co-written by Professor B. Soyer, Associate Professor G. Leoudas and Dr D. Miller, detailing main findings of the project is to appear in Transnational Environmental Law later this year.
First published in 2016