The Association is grateful to Muñoz & Montañés Abogados in Valencia for contributing to this update. The development Members who trade to and from Spain, whether on a regular basis or on an occasional ad hoc voyage, will be interested to learn of the new Spanish Shipping Act 2014 which came in to force at the end of September this year. The Act makes a number of changes to the law, and develops other areas further. In the attached article from Muñoz & Montañés some of the key changes are highlighted for member's reference. Loss prevention advice Members are recommended to consider how these changes may impact on their business and their practical side. Legally significant developments Of particular interest for instance are changes to the status of Letters of Indemnity, but it is important to note that the mentioned exception in the attached article is not too dissimilar from the position under English law which holds LoIs to be unenforceable if there is no "genuine dispute" over its subject matter, e.g.: a LoI issued for a cargo of clearly rusted and damaged steel which is shipped "clean on board" (see  Brown Jenkinson vs Percy Dalton  [1957] 2 QB 621). Equally important are the changes to the terms under which limitation can be invoked, which would be subject to the LLMC 1976 Convention / 1996 Protocol, but from which the liability for wreck removal of the vessel or its cargo are excluded by Spanish law. As for successfully relying on law and jurisdiction clauses against third party holders of bills of lading, it would appear that the requirements under Spanish law still make it a difficult proposition to successfully force such a party to adhere to clauses it did not directly agree to, i.e.: enforcing a London arbitration clause against the Spanish receiver of a cargo. In this regard the present EU legal position continues to remain disadvantageous to owners and charterers seeking to enforce otherwise clearly incorporated or expressly stated te