The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks (2007) comes into force today the 14th of April 2015. Malta ratified this Convention earlier this year and has transposed the Convention into Maltese law through the publication of Legal Notice 83 of 2015 entitled, ‘Merchant Shipping (Wreck Removal Convention) Regulations, 2015’). The Regulations also come into force on the 14th of April 2015.
The Regulations apply to all Maltese ships wherever they may be and to all other ships, regardless of flag, while they are in the 25 nautical mile zone referred to in the Territorial Waters & Contiguous Zone Act (Cap.226 Laws of Malta).
Amongst other matters, the Regulations provide that all registered owners of Maltese registered ships and non-Maltese registered ships leaving or entering a Maltese port, of a gross tonnage of 300 or more, must obtain the necessary insurance cover or other financial security evidenced by an acceptable certificate, to cover possible liability under the Regulations.
