A merchant vessel both at the time that is being registered as a Maltese ship and during the period of its registration under the Malta flag must be classed with a classification society.
An amendment was recently offered by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to the pending National Defense Authorization Act legislation which would substantially change the way the U.S. Government provides Jones Act compliance guidance.
Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Dr. Aaron Farrugia recently launched works of Malta's first National Policy for Yachting which is expected to be released in the coming months.
In August, a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the time charterer of a bulk carrier, did not exercise operational control over the vessel to be deemed either.
A party inexperienced with Limitation of Liability Act ("LOLA") proceedings may find themselves in deep water by assuming that the procedural rules applicable to ordinary civil cases applies equally to a case brought under LOLA.