Rules Class I - Protection and Indemnity (1-5)

Publications

1

These Rules are subject to the Act and Bye-Laws of The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Bermuda) Limited, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Club’.

2 Definitions

In these Rules the words and phrases hereinafter set out shall have the following meanings or effects if not inconsistent with the subject or context:

Act

means The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Bermuda) Limited Company Act 1974 enacted in Bermuda on 24 June 1974 and every modification thereof for the time being in force;

Cargo

means goods, including materials used for the packing of goods, in respect of which an Owner enters into a contract of carriage, but excluding containers or other equipment owned or leased by the Owner;

Container

includes trailer, flat, pallet, tank or any other equipment the function of which is the containment or transport of cargo during carriage;

Contributing Tonnage

means the gross tonnage of a ship, or other agreed tonnage upon which, according to the terms of entry of the ship, contribution is paid to the funds of the Club;

Convention Limit

in respect of a ship, the limit of liability of the owner of that ship for claims (other than claims for loss of life or personal injury) at the Overspill Claim Date, calculated in accordance with Article 6 paragraph 1(b) of the International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (the “Convention”) and converted from Special Drawing Rights into United States Dollars at the rate of exchange conclusively certified by the Club as being the rate prevailing on the Overspill Claim Date, provided that,

(a) where a ship is entered for a proportion (the “relevant proportion”) of its tonnage only, the Convention Limit shall be the relevant proportion of the limit of liability calculated and converted as aforesaid, and

(b) each ship shall be deemed to be a seagoing ship to which the Convention applies, notwithstanding any provision in the Convention to the contrary;

Directors

means the Board of Directors for the time being of the Club;

Effects

means personal property, documents, navigational or other technical instruments and tools brought on board, or being taken to or from, the Entered Ship by a Seaman or Supernumerary, but excluding cash, valuables or any other article which in the opinion of the Managers is not an essential requirement for a Seaman;

Entered Ship

means a ship which has been entered in the Club for any of the risks enumerated herein in the manner hereinafter provided;

Fleet Entry

means the entry of more than one Ship by one or more Members where it is agreed by the Managers that those ships shall be treated as a single fleet for underwriting purposes;

Group Excess Loss Reinsurance Contract

means the excess loss reinsurance contract entered into by the parties to the Pooling Agreement;

Group Reinsurance Limit

the amount of the smallest claim (other than any claim arising in respect of oil pollution) incurred by the Club or by any other party to the Pooling Agreement which would exhaust the largest limit for any type of claim (other than any claim arising in respect of oil pollution) from time to time imposed in the Group Excess Loss Reinsurance Contract;

Hague and Hague-Visby Rules

means respectively the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules relating to Bills of Lading signed at Brussels on 24 August 1924 and that Convention as amended by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 23 February 1968;

Hull Policies

means the Policies effected on the Hull and Machinery of a ship, including Excess Liability Policies;

Laid Up means out of service and that the entry of a vessel may qualify for a return of premium in accordance with Rule 33;

Managers

means Steamship Mutual Management (Bermuda) Limited and/or their London representative;

Member

means every owner of a ship or part of a ship or any person or entity who effects an entry for insurance in the Club;

Overspill Call

a call levied by the Directors pursuant to Rule 39 v for the purpose of providing funds to pay part of an Overspill Claim;

Overspill Claim

that part (if any) of a claim (other than any claim or part of a claim arising in respect of oil pollution) incurred by the Club or by any other party to the Pooling Agreement under the terms of entry of a ship which exceeds or may exceed the Group Reinsurance Limit;

Overspill Claim Date

in relation to any Overspill Call, the time and date on which the incident or occurrence giving rise to the Overspill Claim occurred in respect of which the Overspill Call is made or, if the Policy Year in which such incident or occurrence occurred has been closed in accordance with the provisions of Rule 39 vi a and b, noon GMT on 20 August of the Policy Year in respect of which the Club makes a declaration under Rule 39 vi c;

Owner

means an owner, owners in partnership, owners holding separate shares in severalty, part owner, mortgagee, trustee, charterer, operator or manager of a ship;

Passenger means any person carried on board the entered ship pursuant to a contract for carriage;

Policy Year

means the year from noon Greenwich Mean Time on 20 February to noon Greenwich Mean Time on 20 February next ensuing;

Pooling Agreement

means the agreement to which the Club is a party between various Members of the London Group of P & I Clubs dated 18 September 1975 and any amendment, variation or substitution thereof;

Seaman

means any person, including the Master and apprentices, employed as part of a ship’s complement under the terms of a crew agreement or other contract of service or employment to serve on board an Entered Ship;

Ship

means any ship, boat, hydrofoil, hovercraft or other description of vessel (including a lighter, barge or similar vessel howsoever propelled but excluding a fixed platform or fixed rig) used or intended to be used for any purpose whatsoever in navigation or otherwise on, under, over or in water or any part of such ship, boat, hydrofoil, hovercraft or other description of vessel or any proportion of the tonnage thereof or any share therein, including any ship, boat, hydrofoil, hovercraft or other description of vessel under construction.

Statutory Obligations

includes any direction, obligation or liability imposed by enactment decree, order or regulation having the force of law;

Supernumerary

means a relative of a Seaman or any other person whom a Member has agreed to maintain or carry on board an Entered Ship (except a passenger) and including persons (other than Seamen) engaged under articles of agreement;

Tonnage

means the gross tonnage of a ship as certified or stated in the Certificate of Registry or other official document relating to the registry of the ship; and ‘Ton’ refers to the unit of such tonnage;

Towage

means any operation in connection with the holding, pushing, pulling, moving, escorting, guiding of, or standing by, a ship or object.

3 Scope of Cover

The terms upon which a Member is entered in the Club are set out in the Rules and any Certificate of Entry for that Member.

The risks against which a Member is insured by entry in the Club are set out in Rule 25 and are always subject to the conditions, exceptions, limitations and other terms set out in the remainder of these Rules and any Certificate of Entry for that Member.

iii

The cover set out in these Rules may be excluded, limited, modified or otherwise altered by any special terms which have been agreed in writing between a Member and the Managers.

A Member may, in accordance with Rule 4 i, be insured against risks other than those set out in Rule 25 where such special terms have been agreed in writing between the Member and the Managers. Unless otherwise expressly agreed such special insurance shall be subject to the conditions, exceptions, limitations and other terms set out in the remainder of these Rules.

A Member is only insured against loss, damage, liability or expense incurred by it which arise:

out of events occurring during the period of entry of a Ship in the Club; and

in respect of the Member’s interest in the entered Ship; and

in connection with the operation of the Ship by or on behalf of the Member;

and otherwise only as provided pursuant to Rule 25 xiii d in respect of cargo liabilities when a Member is entered for such cover.

A Member who has entered its Ship in the Club for insurance against any of the aforesaid risks shall, subject to paragraph vii below, pay contributions to the Club in accordance with Rules 10, 11 and 12.

vii

A Member may, in accordance with Rule 4 ii, be insured against any of the aforesaid risks upon the special terms that its cover shall be subject to such limit or limits as the Managers may determine, and that it is liable to pay a fixed premium to the Club, provided that this has been expressly agreed in writing between the Member and the Managers.

4 Special and Fixed Premium Entries

The Managers may, notwithstanding the provisions of the Bye-Laws of the Club or of these Rules,

at any time and in their absolute discretion accept entries upon special terms as to contribution, limit, nature and extent of risks covered and/or otherwise howsoever, including any risks excluded under these Rules;

accept entries on terms that a Member pays a fixed premium only and that its cover shall be subject to such limit or limits as the Managers may determine.

5 Directors

The business of the Club shall be managed by the Board of Directors who shall exercise the powers given them by the Act and Bye-Laws.

The Directors may delegate any of their powers to sub-committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they think fit. Any sub-committee so formed shall in the exercise of any power so delegated conform to any regulations that may from time to time be imposed upon it by the Directors.

iii

The Directors, or subject to any regulations imposed upon it as aforesaid, any sub-committee, may from time to time vest in the Managers such of the powers vested in the Directors or delegated to such sub-committees as the case may be, as the Directors or such sub-committee shall think fit, and such powers may be exercisable for such period and upon such conditions and subject to such restrictions and generally upon such terms as the Directors or such sub-committee, as the case may be, may determine.

Whenever any power is delegated to or vested in the Managers by virtue of or pursuant to these Rules, such power may, subject to any terms, conditions or restrictions contained in these Rules, be exercised by any servant or agent of the Managers or their London representatives to whom the same shall have been delegated or sub-delegated.