Director’s visit to Shoko Maru incident site, Japan

Image courtesy of the Japanese Coast Guard

During the first week of July 2014, the Director and Legal Counsel visited the site of the Shoko Maru incident, which occurred in May 2014 off the coast of Himeji Port, Japan. A meeting was held with the insurer of the ship, the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd, in order to familiarise the company’s staff with the international compensation regime. The Director and Legal Counsel also visited the Director General of the Maritime Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Tokyo and held several meetings with a number of representatives from the Ministry in which useful factual information relating to the incident was provided.
The Secretariat is continuing to monitor developments in this incident and a document will be submitted on the matter for the consideration of the 1992 Fund Executive Committee at its October 2014 session.