All Sectors

Week 42 2026: Two Hong Kong Fatal Accident Reports, India's Deferred Salvage Rule and Iron Ore Fines

🕑 5 min read words Regulatory • Safety • Cargo

Week: 42, 2026 (w/c 12 October)
Source: Flag state, class society, P&I club and IMO updates for the week
How to read this: where we retrieved the full text, we summarise it and link our guide. Where we saw only a title, we say so and do not guess at the contents.

The Week In Short

Two Hong Kong investigation reports on fatal accidents: the chemical tanker OLIVIA (a wave on the fore deck at anchor) and the bulk carrier SELO (a Chief Officer in a hold of wood pellets). See OLIVIA and SELO.
India has deferred the salvage and pollution-response precontracting requirement to 1 April 2027, while its new entry rules otherwise stand. See our India guide.
West of England warned about iron ore fines from India after a fatal bulk carrier casualty. See the liquefaction alert guide.
Gard on hydrogen sulphide outside enclosed spaces. See our guide.
UK P&I on pilotage accidents. See the pilotage guide.

Flag State Regulations and Guidance

Cyprus — Circular 22/2026, on STCW endorsements attesting the recognition of non-Cyprus certificates. We have only seen the title. The same subject was covered by a Cyprus circular last year, which came with a list of countries whose certificates are accepted, so check the 2026 circular for the current list.
United States — Coast Guard Safety Alert 16-26 on the Inland Navigation Rules and local laws. See our conflict preemption guide.

Malaysia’s New Marine Sensitive Area Near The Singapore Strait

Trade press and P&I reports describe a new Malaysian marine sensitive area near the eastern approaches to the Singapore Strait traffic separation scheme, in force since 11 September 2026. As reported (we have not seen the official notice, so check Malaysia’s Marine Department Notice 01/2026 and the EEZ Regulations 2026 before planning a transit):

A 12-knot speed limit inside the zone.
Anchoring is generally prohibited, with exceptions for search and rescue, damage to the vessel and certain pollution incidents.
Bunkering is prohibited, subject to exceptions in the regulations. Cargo transfers need prior written government permission.
Dredging, salvage, research and work on cables or pipelines need written approval.
Breaches can lead to prosecution in Malaysian courts. Reports mention penalties of up to MYR 1 million, and detention where a breach causes or threatens discharge damage.
One report says very large cargo ships and tankers are barred from entering the zone. The size thresholds were not consistent across the reports we saw, so we are not repeating them here.

Gard expects some westbound ships may choose to stay south of the zone before joining the westbound lane. For the bridge team this is a passage planning item: mark the area on the chart, brief the watch, and have the speed and anchoring rules in the plan.

Recent Class Society Guidance

ABS — six updates, by title: Cargo Securing Manual FAQ; Modified Tank Entry Program; Carbon Dioxide Transportation by Ship; Telemedicine; Remote Inspection Technologies; Smart Functions for Marine Vessels and Offshore Units.
CCS — Guidelines for Ships Using Hydrogen Fuel 2026.
Indian Register of Shipping — Technical Information 019/2026 on the IMO revised guidelines on safety during abandon ship drills using lifeboats (see our guide to MSC.1/Circ.1578), 020/2026 on the IMO guidelines on maritime cyber risk management, and 021/2026 on the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES).
Lloyd’s Register — 17/2026, on the new IMO ESP Code framework for remote inspection techniques.
Polish Register of Shipping — Additional Rule Requirement 130/P, Offshore Wind Farms, October 2026.

We have seen only the titles of these. Where a title matters to your ship, go to the society’s own notice.

Recent P&I Club Guidance

Gard — hydrogen sulphide outside enclosed spaces. Full summary in our guide.
Japan P&I Club — Cyber Security Measures Aboard Ships.
London P&I Club — India: six-month exemption for salvage and marine pollution response requirements. West and the Swedish Club have also published on India’s new rules; see our India guide.
North Standard — the Malaysian marine sensitive area (above).
UK P&I Club — biosecurity measures for brown marmorated stink bug in Australia and New Zealand, 2026-27 season (title only), and the pilotage article above.
West — iron ore fines from India (see above) and India’s deferred precontracting requirement.

Other Regulations and Guidance in the News

ReCAAP — weekly piracy report.
BIMCO — dry bulk safety (scrap metal fires, fumigation, enclosed spaces); new contracts on ship recycling and energy-saving retrofits; tools for avoiding whales. Titles only. The dry bulk piece sits alongside the SELO case.
ICC — maritime piracy incidents remain at historic lows despite concerns over Somali piracy.
Tokyo MoU — a change in how performance on flag and recognised organisations is calculated.
Cyber — a claim by an extortion group about 38 maritime organisations is still unconfirmed. See our briefing.

Recent Accident Reports

OLIVIA (Hong Kong), 20 October 2025 — two crew on the fore mooring deck struck by a wave while at anchor; the pumpman died. Case study.
SELO (Hong Kong), 24 July 2025 — Chief Officer found unconscious in a hold carrying wood pellets. Case study.
BLACK CAT (New Zealand), 31 January 2026 — the TAIC interim report on a passenger catamaran that struck a charted rock off Akaroa; 41 people evacuated without injury. Interim facts only. Case study.

Coming Up At The IMO

From the published programme: IMO Council 2 to 6 November; the Intersessional Working Group on GHG emissions 23 to 27 November; MEPC 30 November to 3 December; and the Maritime Safety Committee 14 to 18 December. Papers filed this week included the draft guidelines for the mid-term GHG measures, the net-zero framework, ballast water, and a goal-based instrument for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships.

Test Your Knowledge

Think you've got this covered? Put it to the test in Crew Connect's free Knowledge Checker — try a quick general round and see how you score.