Both the European Union and the United States continue to apply trade sanctions against the Government of Syria and a number of designated Syrian persons and entities. This circular provides a general overview of key sanctions that apply to Syria shipping and related insurance activities and also describes the potential impact of certain recent developments.

The MLC entered into force on 20 August 2013. In April 2014 the International Labour Organisation (ILO) agreed several amendments to the MLC to implement the principles agreed back in 2009 by the joint IMO/ILO financial security working group. These amendments will enter into force on 18 January 2017.

This circular informs Members for Close 2013 Policy Year and Supplementary Calls & Release Calls for Open Policy Years

The International Group of P&I Clubs (IG Clubs) and the shipping line members of the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) have collaborated to produce a new set of guidelines for the carriage of Calcium Hypochlorite in containers. These new guidelines can essentially be considered "IMDG Code plus precautions" in that they include selected provisions from the IMDG Code plus additional precautions consistent with the science basis established in 1999 by consulting scientists advising the IG clubs. These new guidelines replace the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) produced by the IG clubs in 2010.