Glossary

The post of Shipping Master is a statutory post under the Cayman Islands Merchant Shipping Law. He has to administer the provisions of the Law relating to areas such as superintendence and facilitation of the engagement and discharge of crew, payment of wages and other emoluments to seamen, to their families, treatment of distressed seamen, enquiries into the disputes of seamen and ship-owners relating to service conditions, wages, and the recording of birth and deaths occurring on ships and, where necessary, enquiries in such matters.

Safety Management Certificate

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974 as amended specifies minimum standards for the design, construction, equipping and operation of ships, in respect of their safety.

Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Prevention

Segregated Portfolio Company (SPC). Section 232 of the Companies Law (2004 Revision) enables a Company, as a single legal entity, to segregate assets and liabilities between segregated portfolios (SP) established within the Company. Although each segregated portfolio must be separately identified they are not separate legal entities apart from the Company. The Cayman Islands law provides that assets and liabilities of each portfolio are legally separate from those of another SP. Therefore, creditors of an SP have recourse to the assets of that particular SP, and to any general assets of the Company (being assets not belonging to any particular SP) exceeding the Company’s minimum capital requirements, if the assets of that particular SP are insufficient to meet the creditor’s claim.

Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV), also known as "bankruptcy-remote entity" or “special purpose entity” is a legal entity created by a firm (known as the sponsor/originator) by transferring assets to the SPV to carry out a specific purpose or circumscribed activity, or a series of such transactions. Operations are therefore limited to the acquisition and financing of specific assets. SPVs can make no substantive decisions and have no physical location. The SPV is usually a subsidiary company with an asset/liability structure and legal status that makes its obligations secure even if the parent company goes bankrupt.

Ship Security Assessment 

Ship Security Plan

International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978 as amended.

Suppression of Unlawful Acts

Vessels of about 120,000-150,000 DWT. Typically includes vessels with load capacities of 1 million barrels of crude oil. Also the maximum ship size that is allowed to transit the Suez Canal fully loaded.

Larger pleasure yachts, usually defined as in excess of 24 metres in length. Other terms that are used to describe larger pleasure yachts include mega-yacht and giga-yacht.