Emergency Contact Increasing limits under the amended 1996 protocol of the LLMC Home Latest updates News Increasing limits under the amended 1996 protocol of the LLMC 28 Nov 2016 Download Sign up for alerts On 30 November 2016, the limits of a ship owners’ liability for a maritime claim in the UK will rise by 51%, when the amended 1996 Protocol to the Convention on Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 comes into force in the UK. Member States voted to increase limits in April 2012, after high profile bunker spill cases like the “PACIFIC ADVENTURER” in Queensland in 2009 led Member States to conclude that the existing limits were insufficient to cover likely claims. The “tacit acceptance” provisions of the Protocol provided that the increased limits came into force in Member States on 8 June 2015. However, the Protocol required secondary legislation to take effect in the UK. The new limits are as follows:  Physical Damage  Vessel Tonnage  1976 LLMC Limit (SDR)  1996 Protocol Limit (SDR)  Amended Protocol Limit (SDR)  GT: 2,000  417,000  1,000,000  1,510,000  GT 30,000  5,095,500  12,200,000  18,422,000  GT 100,000  12,583,500  30,200,000  45,602,000  Physical Injury  Vessel Tonnage  1976 LLMC Limit (SDR)  1996 Protocol Limit (SDR)  Amended Protocol Limit (SDR)  GT: 2,000  1,038,000  2,000,000  3,020,000  GT 30,000  10,574,500  24,400,000  36,844,000  GT 100,000  25,584,000  60,400,000  91,204,000 These new limits apply to incidents occurring on or after 30 November. There will be no increase to the limits under the 1996 Protocol for vessels of less than 300 GT. In March 2016, CTRL Marine Solutions published an article on the UK Government consultation on the increasing limits of liability which took place between December 2015 and February 2016. As part of that consultation, the UK government proposed