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Two sides not far apart in the standings will face off this weekend as MK Dons welcome Notts County to Stadium MK for Boxing Day's edition of League Two . Only one point separates both sides, with the hosts having accumulated 30 points from 19 games, sitting ninth, two spots lower than the Magpies, who have played a game more. © Imago A nine-goal thriller against Newport on Saturday – the highest-scoring encounter in the fourth tier this season – is the latest chapter in MK Dons' league campaign. It rained goals at Rodney Parade last weekend, as the Dons once again notched at least three goals for the fifth time in their last six league outings, though their opponents proved twice as clinical on the scoreboard, consigning Scott Lindsey 's side to a 6-3 defeat. MK Dons' attacking prowess can largely be credited to Lindsey, who was appointed head coach on September 25 following Mike Williamson 's departure to Carlisle. Since the 52-year-old took charge, the team have netted at least three goals in seven of their 12 league matches, and Saturday's loss – one of three defeats in this run – is the only occasion where they failed to secure maximum points after hitting that goal mark this season. This is a sharp contrast to their slow start to the campaign, when they scored at least three goals just once, one of only two wins, in their opening seven matches, which also included four losses and a draw. The Dons will be confident of claiming maximum points on Thursday as they aim to end a two-game losing streak, drawing confidence from their strong record of seven wins in their last nine clashes with Notts, despite failing to secure victory in the last two meetings between both sides. © Imago While the hosts aim to halt their losing run, Notts ended a five-game winless streak in emphatic fashion, securing a 3-0 triumph over Bradford in their latest outing. This dominant performance was highlighted by quickfire strikes from Alassana Jatta and David McGoldrick , with the former netting a brace, securing their eighth win of the season. That result lifted the Magpies to 31 points, placing them in a playoff spot and well on course to surpass their 14th-place finish from last season, which marked their return to the Football League. Notts now aim to replicate their best winning streak of the campaign - a four-match run from late August to mid-September - and will fancy their chances against an MK Dons defence that has managed just one clean sheet in their last 14 league outings. The visitors will take encouragement from their solid scoring record on the road, with 15 goals making them the league's joint-fourth-highest away scorers, though their leaky defence, conceding 16 times on their travels, offers little hope for a shutout © Imago The hosts head into this encounter without any injury concerns, leaving head coach Lindsey with a wealth of options to choose from. After conceding six goals against Newport, the English manager is expected to make some changes to his backline. Recently returned to full fitness, MJ Williams and Joe Tomlinson could feature, with the former potentially replacing Nico Lawrence in a three-man defence, while the latter could take over the left wing-back role from Joe Cameron Pritchard . Joe White has seamlessly settled into a deeper midfield role and is set to start again this weekend after a solid performance and goal in his last outing. As for the visitors, Jodi Jones remains sidelined through injury, although Daniel Crowley returned last weekend. Head coach Stuart Maynard may keep the winning lineup from the Bradford match, with Jatta and McGoldrick, who are the team's leading scorers, starting up front once again in a two-man attack. MK Dons possible starting lineup: McGill; Maguire, Williams, Offord; Tomlinson, Nemane, White, Kelly; Wearne, Gilbey; Hogan Notts County possible starting lineup: Bass; Ness, Platt, Bedeau; Austin, Abbot, Palmer, Tsaroulla; Crowley; Jatta, McGoldrick Despite back-to-back league defeats, the hosts enter this clash as favourites, bolstered by their strong record against the visitors. Notts may have ended their winless streak with an impressive victory in their last outing, but it could prove short-lived as a formidable MK Dons attack aims to bounce back from recent setbacks. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here .Former Maryland running back Roman Hemby is staying in the Big Ten and signing with Indiana, ESPN reported Monday. The 6-foot, 208-pound junior entered the transfer portal last week and has one year of eligibility remaining. Hemby rushed for 607 yards and six touchdowns and caught 40 passes for 273 yards and one score in 12 games this season. His only 100-yard game in 2024 came against the Hoosiers on Sept. 28 when he rushed 10 times for 117 yards in Indiana's 42-28 win in Bloomington, Ind. He had a 75-yard touchdown run and a 12-yard touchdown catch. In four seasons with the Terrapins, Hemby accumulated 3,268 yards from scrimmage with 27 touchdowns in 42 contests. --Field Level Media
RIMOUSKI, Québec, Dec. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Puma Exploration Inc. (TSXV: PUMA, OTCQB: PUMXF) (the “Company” or “Puma”) announces that it has closed a non-brokered placement (the “FT Private Placement”) consisting of 6,685,000 flow-through units (the “FT Units”) at $0.10 per FT Unit for gross proceeds of C$668,500. Each FT Unit comprises one flow-through share and one common share purchase warrant (“Warrant”). Each Warrant is exercisable to purchase one common share of the Company at $0.15 per share valid for 24 months. The Warrants are subject to an acceleration clause that entitles the Company to provide notice (the "Acceleration Notice") to holders that they will expire 30 days from the date the Company delivers the Acceleration Notice. The Company can only provide the Acceleration Notice if the closing price of the Company's Common Shares on the TSXV is equal to or greater than $0.25 for 30 consecutive trading days. The Acceleration Notice can be provided at any time after the statutory hold period and before the expiry date of the warrants. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement are subject to a hold period of four months and one day pursuant to applicable securities laws. The net proceeds of the FT units will be used to incur eligible Canadian exploration expenses and flow-through mining expenditures, as defined under the Income Tax Act (Canada), that will be renounced in favour of the purchasers, with an effective date of no later than Dec. 31, 2025. The funds will advance the exploration of the newly acquired McKenzie Gold Project and other company assets in northern New Brunswick. In connection with the closing of the private placement offerings, the company paid aggregate cash finder's fees of $39,445 and issued 394,450 non-transferable finder warrants. The finder warrants have the same terms than the warrants included in the units and exercisable at $0.15 per common share. Certain directors and other insiders of the Company participated in the Private Placement. They subscribed for 350,000 FT Units for an aggregate price of $35,000, an amount no more than the maximum amount permissible under applicable securities laws and regulatory rules. Participation by the directors and other insiders in the Private Placement is considered a "related party transaction" under Multilateral Instrument 61- 101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation and minority shareholder approval in connection with the insiders' participation in the Private Placement in reliance on sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 in that the fair market value (as determined under MI 61-101) of any securities issued under the Private Placement (and the consideration paid to the Company therefor) to interested parties (as defined under MI 61-101) did not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization (as determined under MI 61-101). Qualified Person The content of this press release was prepared by Marcel Robillard, President, who supervised the preparation of the information that forms part of this news release. About Puma’s Assets in New Brunswick Puma has accumulated an impressive portfolio of prospective gold landholdings strategically located close to roads and infrastructure in Northern New Brunswick - the Williams Brook Project and the new McKenzie Gold Project. Both are located near the Rocky Brook Millstream Fault (“RBMF”), a major regional structure formed during the Appalachian Orogeny and a significant control for gold deposition in the region. Puma’s work to date has focused on the Williams Brook property, but prospecting and surface exploration work on its other properties have confirmed their potential for significant gold mineralization. About Puma Exploration Puma Exploration is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on finding and growing a pipeline of precious metals projects in New Brunswick, near Canada's Famous Bathurst Mining Camp. Puma has a long history in Northern New Brunswick, having worked on regional projects for over 15 years. Puma’s successful exploration methodology, which combines old prospecting methods with detailed trenching and up-to-date technology such as Artificial Intelligence, has been instrumental in facilitating an understanding of the region's geology and associated mineralized systems. Armed with geophysical surveys, geochemical data and consultants’ expertise, Puma has developed a perfect low-cost exploration tool to discover gold at shallow depths and maximize drilling results. The Company is committed to its DEAR business model of D iscovery, E xploration, A cquisition and R oyalties to generate maximum value for shareholders with low share dilution. Connect with us on Facebook / X / LinkedIn . Visit www.explorationpuma.com for more information or contact: Marcel Robillard , President and CEO. (418) 750-8510; president@explorationpuma.com Mia Boiridy , Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Development. (250) 575-3305; mboiridy@explorationpuma.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve several known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Puma to be materially different from actual future results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made, except as required by law. Puma undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. The quarterly and annual reports and the documents submitted to the securities administration describe these risks and uncertainties.Warning as FDA announces many cold and flu medicines do not workCHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Mitch Mascari's 22 points helped Drake defeat Florida Atlantic 75-63 on Friday. Mascari shot 6 for 9 (6 for 8 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Bulldogs (5-0). Bennett Stirtz scored 17 points and added six assists. Tavion Banks had 12 points and shot 2 of 5 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. The Owls (4-3) were led in scoring by Leland Walker, who finished with 14 points and five assists. Matas Vokietaitis and Tre Carroll each scored 10 points. Drake entered halftime up 32-28. Mascari paced the team in scoring in the first half with 11 points. Drake took the lead for what would be the final time on Banks' free throw with 14:22 left in the second half. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights
Biden issues largest single-day act of clemency amid lingering anger over Hunter Biden pardonSophomore wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., one of the top skill-position targets in the transfer portal, is headed to Auburn to catch passes from Jackson Arnold. Singleton had a team-high 56 catches for 754 yards and three touchdowns with Georgia Tech in 2024 after posting 48 receptions for 714 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman in 2023. Auburn announced Singleton's signing Monday on social media. Arnold opted to transfer out of Oklahoma and picked Auburn, which has been extremely active since finishing the season 5-7. Along with Singleton and Arnold, the Tigers landed Wake Forest wide receiver Horatio Fields and Maryland tight end Preston Howard. Texas, LSU, Miami and Ole Miss all pushed to land Singleton. A product of Alexander High School in Douglasville (Ga.), Singleton was rated a three-star recruit in 2023 and had offers from Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Troy but not Georgia. Players who enter the transfer portal are permitted to return to their original school. Georgia Tech (7-5) was selected for the Birmingham Bowl and plays Vanderbilt (6-6) on Friday. --Field Level Media( MENAFN - IANS) Melbourne, Dec 25 (IANS) Travis Head has been passed fit to play while fast bowler Scott Boland returned to Australia's playing XI for the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India. Captain Pat Cummins confirmed Australia would make two changes for the fourth Test in Melbourne, with Sam Konstas to debut and Boland coming in for the injured Josh Hazlewood. Speaking about Head, who had suffered a quad strain during the Brisbane Test, Cummins said the left-hander ticked all the boxes during the stringent fitness test and was ultimately declared fit to play the fourth Test of the five-match series, currently tied at 1-1. "Trav's good to go, he'll play. He just ticked off some final things today and yesterday. But no worries about injury with Trav. He'll go into the game fully fit," Cummins told reporters. "I don't think you'll see too much management of him throughout the game. He just kind of plays as is. Maybe around fielding, if he's a bit uncomfortable, we will (manage him), but he's fully fit." Meanwhile, Konstas will replace Nathan McSweeney, who had been dropped from the squad after a string of low scores. Konstas will be Australia's youngest ever opener, and it is believed his age gap with fellow opener Usman Khawaja is the widest between opening partners in Test history. "There's a level of naivety that you just want to go out and play like you do when you're a kid in the backyard. You just want to take the game on, have fun, and not overthink it. "That's the message to Sam. That's definitely how I felt as an 18-year-old. I was just really excited, and once the game started, you go into game-mode and it's just like any other game," said Cummins. On the other hand, Boland returns in the series after the second Test in Adelaide, where he claimed 5 wickets, will replace the injured Hazlewood, who has been ruled out of the series with a calf injury. "He bowled beautifully in Adelaide. Whenever he gets his chance, he steps in and looks like he's one of the best bowlers in the world," Cummins said of Boland. "I expect him (to do) much the same. He loves bowling here, he's played probably more than anyone else here at the MCG in our team. He's prepared really well. It is pretty awesome that even with an unfortunate injury like Josh has, you can have someone like Scotty to come straight in seamlessly," he added. Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland MENAFN24122024000231011071ID1109028643 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Tank Dell appeared to be on track for a long recovery as he exited the Texans’ Week 16 game on Saturday. Further testing confirmed the second-year receiver tore the ACL in his left knee in addition to dislocating his kneecap, leaving him unavailable to the Texans for the rest of the season. When the news of the ACL tear came out, though, it was made clear Dell’s knee suffered other injuries as well. Providing specifics on that front, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson reports the 25-year-old is dealing with MCL and LCL tears, along with meniscus damage. As a result, Wilson adds Dell will require multiple surgeries to repair the issues. That means a situation similar to that of Browns running back Nick Chubb will be in store. Chubb went down with his knee injury in Week 2 last year and was sidelined through the beginning of the current campaign. He returned in October before suffering a broken foot (which has left him out of the fold for the rest of the year). Given how late in the season Dell’s injury took place, though, his surgery schedule and recovery timeline could leave him on the sidelines deep into next season. Taking that point further, Wilson writes it is “regarded as an extremely unlikely scenario” the former third-rounder will be able to play at any point in 2025. If that were to be the case, it would add considerably to his missed time early in his career. Dell was limited to 14 games as a rookie after suffering a fractured fibula , an injury which ended his encouraging year. Expectations were high for 2024, during which he averaged 48 yards per game and scored three touchdowns. The final year of the Houston product’s rookie contract is 2026, which might be the next time he is available. The Texans did not add at the receiver position after Stefon Diggs suffered an ACL tear, but losing Dell prompted action. Houston claimed Diontae Johnson off waivers Monday , and he will have the opportunity to move past his short-lived Ravens tenure as a result. Johnson was a non-factor in Baltimore’s offense after arriving via trade from Carolina, but he could take on a notable workload in Houston down the stretch. Providing a consistent complementary presence would be welcomed on a Texans offense which is notably shorthanded. Houston’s attention will be on the final two games of the regular season in preparation for the second straight playoff appearance of C.J. Stroud ‘s career. Dell’s absence will be felt, though, and his recovery process will be a key storyline during the offseason. This article first appeared on Pro Football Rumors and was syndicated with permission.Alberta invests in synthetic diesel facility in Wheatland County
AP Business SummaryBrief at 2:10 p.m. EST
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Fourteen North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme using information technology workers with false identities to contract with U.S. companies — workers who then funneled their wages to North Korea for development of ballistic missiles and other weapons, the head of the FBI office in St. Louis said Thursday. The scheme involving thousands of IT workers generated more than $88 million for the North Korean government, Ashley T. Johnson, special agent in charge of the St. Louis FBI office, said at a news conference. In addition to their wages, the workers stole sensitive information from companies or threatened to leak information in exchange for extortion payments, Johnson said.
California to consider requiring mental health warnings on social media sites
Unlike most true crime documentaries, Chiefsaholic: A Wolf in Chiefs Clothing (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) was lucky enough to have first-person access to the perpetrator in-between his malfeasances. Director Dylan Sires hung out with Xaviar Babudar while he was on bail following his arrest for a string of high-profile bank robberies, and before he jumped bail, prompting a multi-state manhunt. Why would Babudar agree to be in the film in the first place? Well, he’s a bit of an attention hog: He’s a Kansas City Chiefs superfan, famous among the team’s diehard followers for his head-to-toe wolf costume and viral social media presence, where he was known as “Chiefsaholic.” His fellow Chiefs nuts always wondered how Babudar could afford to travel across the country and buy premium seats to all the away games and, well, here’s your answer, fishbulb: The hundreds of thousands of dollars he stole funded his excursions. And the story only gets wilder and more complex from there. CHIEFSAHOLIC: A WOLF IN CHIEFS CLOTHING : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? The Gist: Feb. 12, 2023: Super Bowl Sunday. The Chiefs are playing the Philadelphia Eagles for all the marbles. We hang out with Babudar in a hotel room as he watches the game on TV, wearing a shirt bearing the likeness of Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes and an ankle monitor. He seems more worked up about the game than the fact that he’s facing a cumulative 350 years in prison for 19 counts of armed robbery for snatching $846,000 from banks and allegedly laundering $1 million – so there’s no questioning his true fandom, and anyone who invests a bit too much of themselves in the success of a sports team (guilty!) can relate, because when YOUR TEAM is playing, the rest of the world just drops away for a couple of hours. Anyway. Now we jump back to Dec., 2022. We hear 911 audio from a bank employee in Bixby, Oklahoma and watch police bodycam footage outlining a chase. Babudar held up a credit union and took off on a bicycle, and eventually was apprehended on a suburban street with a backpack full of cash and a bb gun. Who is this guy? Just ask a bunch of lovable weirdos who paint themselves red every Sunday during football season, or host obsessive Chiefs podcasts, or hop in their Chiefs-themed party buses and tailgate their asses off. They know him as Chiefsaholic, the guy in the wolf costume who turns up at every game and posts crazy memes and fan videos on twitter to tens of thousands of followers. We meet one fan who says she couldn’t wait to see his pregame video post every gameday. Everybody knew Chiefsaholic, that he was a gregarious personality who hated hated hated the Las Vegas Raiders, but nobody really knew who he was. When his Twitter account went silent in Dec. of 2022, and he didn’t show up at games, people got worried. Was he sick? Was he dead? Was he (cough) in jail? At this point, the doc starts filling in some of Babudar’s biography. He’s homeless, living out of his car. His father abandoned his family, and he and his brother ended up being taken away from his mother, who committed many petty crimes. His criminal record included a handful of misdemeanors for theft. And he was a serial gambler. One Chiefs fan tells a story of how Babudar bet $80,000 on a game, lost, and didn’t seem to be bothered by it. Now we meet Michael Lloyd, the bail bondsman who read Babudar’s story of childhood hardship and posts his $80,000 bail – the family stole to feed themselves, Lloyd says, justifying his decision, although it’s worth noting something not mentioned in the film, namely, that a bail bondsman makes a percentage of the bail amount, so he stood to score a solid payday for springing Babudar. This catches us up to Babudar in the hotel room watching the Super Bowl with more than just his happiness at stake – we learn he stands to score $155,000 because, prior to the season and his arrest, he bet on the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl and Mahomes being named MVP. It’s no secret that both of those things happened. And this is when Lloyd starts to sweat heavily beneath his pasted-on toupee. A guy facing a zillion criminal charges with a pocketful of cash is what you call a flight risk. And if a client bolts, the bail bondsman becomes a bounty hunter, and is on the hook for the $80k and at threat of losing his license if he doesn’t haul in the fugitive. And bolt is exactly what Babudar does. What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Chiefsaholic is like the documentary How to Rob a Bank crossed with Patton Oswalt-plays-a-toxic-New-York-Giants-fan fiction film Big Fan . Performance Worth Watching: Instead of highlighting what a slippery weirdo Babudar’s lawyer is, let’s acknowledge Payton Garcia, the Iowa credit union teller who gamely and confidently represents all the people the robber traumatized by pointing a gun at them. Memorable Dialogue: The cop who nabbed Babudar, L. Sanchez, rubbed it in: “I’m a Raiders fan,” Sanchez said. “A Raiders fan just arrested you.” Sex and Skin: None. Our Take: Many true crime docs tend to sensationalize their stories, but this one doesn’t need to. It’s pretty sensational on its own, and Sires capitalizes on its twists and turns, shifting from following Babudar to being embedded with Lloyd as the bail bondsman, with a good chunk of change on the line, hunts his bounty. Lloyd tails Babudar’s mother and brother, who are also homeless and living out of a car, waiting for them to leave the vehicle so he can tag it with a tracking device or search through their trash for clues. (A weird sideplot almost emerges here, as Lloyd and Sires fail to suss out why Babudar’s family members visit various Targets and WalMarts so frequently; Lloyd finds return receipts in their garbage, leading one to assume that they’re perpetrating some petty fraud.) So Chiefsaholic isn’t just a retrospective documentary full of talking heads and archival footage – Sires renders it visually and dramatically dynamic, mixing in Lloyd’s on-location stakeouts (Dylan is present when Lloyd finds Babudar’s abandoned ankle monitor in the hotel room), reenactments and police footage. It’s tense and fascinating, and worries that the film wouldn’t justify its two-hour runtime were unfounded. Thematically, the story is quite the rich milieu: The portrait of extreme fandom doesn’t tell the whole story, but part of Babudar’s motive to rob banks surely had something to do with it; his gambling (which Babudar calls “an addiction” at one point) and family history play significant parts too. Social media toxicity is part of the film’s narrative, as Babudar’s online admirers leapt to defend him despite his fairly cut-and-dried guilt. Dylan also lucks into a subplot about the questionable ethics of bail bondsmen who stand to capitalize on springing volatile criminals from jail, although they do assume significant risk. And just when the doc risks becoming a sympathetic platform for Babudar, the other shoe drops and we’re subject to Garcia’s story of the emotional trauma she suffered; the mother of two feared for her life during the robbery, and couldn’t return to work afterward, a firsthand account that immediately punctures the flimsy and desperate defense put forth by Babudar’s lawyer, who insists that “nobody was hurt” during the robberies. This is a fascinating, well-constructed documentary. Our Call: Chiefsaholic is such an excellent film, it doesn’t deserve to be lumped in with the rest of the true crime dreck out there. STREAM IT. John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.Quinceañera: The story behind $10m Winx filly’s name
In the final instalment of our six-part series uncovering the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, we take a look at the legal issues that could potentially arise between various parties, such as owners, charterers, ship managers, bunker suppliers, and ship builders, as a result of the compliance requirements imposed by the Regulation. What legal issues might arise from the contractual re-allocation of costs related to FuelEU compliance and fuel provision arrangements? The FuelEU Maritime Regulation (the FuelEU Regulation) provides that the company (as previously defined in FuelEU Maritime Series – Part 2: Exemptions and Responsibility) remains responsible for the payment of FuelEU penalties. The company may, nevertheless, conclude contractual agreements with the commercial operators of the vessel whereby the latter agree to reimburse the company for the payment of FuelEU penalties, in situations where said commercial operators assume the responsibility for the purchase of the fuel or the operation of the vessel (namely, by determining the cargo carried, the route to follow, and the speed of the vessel). However, it is important to note that the conclusion of such contractual arrangements will not relieve the company from its liability to pay the penalties. Where the company fails to pay, and the risk of a ship expulsion order arises, the shipowner (if it is not itself the company for the purpose of the FuelEU Regulation) and any other entity with an interest in the continuing operation of the vessel within the EU/EEA, may have little choice but to meet such liability themselves, while pursuing whatever contractual recourse they might have against the company or others under the relevant contractual arrangements. Such contractual arrangements should include the specific allocation of liability for FuelEU penalties under time, voyage, or bareboat charters, or under ship management agreements. BIMCO have been working on model clauses to that effect, and,on 25 November 2024, adopted their FuelEU Maritime Clause for Time Charter Parties 2024 to help stakeholders align their contracts in relation to compliance obligations under the FuelEU Regulation. The Clause is also intended to assist shipowners, charterers, and other parties, assign liability for potential penalties that might be incurred. What legal issues may derive from bunkering supply arrangements and shipbuilding contracts? As discussed in one of our previous articles (FuelEU Maritime Series – Part 5: RFNBOs, OPS and Penalties : Clyde & Co), one of the key objectives of the FuelEU Regulation is to encourage the use of renewable fuels by the shipping industry. To achieve this aim, there will need to be significant investment in bunkering infrastructure for the supply of renewable fuels, as well as the construction of new vessels capable of consuming said fuels. Part of the purpose of the FuelEU Regulation is to financially incentivise the shipping industry to switch from consuming traditional oil-based bunker fuels to renewable fuels. However, it would be worthwhile for those in the shipping industry to also consider the wider legal issues arising from changes to bunker supply contracts and to shipbuilding contracts, where vessels are to consume alternative fuels. Bunker supply contracts – legal issues Both vessel owners and bunker purchasers will want to ensure that they are able to take advantage of the preferential treatment provided under the FuelEU Regulation for consuming renewable fuels, including biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) (such as methanol and ammonia). Article 10 of the FuelEU Regulation states that such fuels must be certified in accordance with the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) 2018/2001. If the fuel consumed by the vessel does not meet the applicable standards or have the appropriate certification, then it “shall be considered to have the same emissions factors as the least favourable fossil fuel pathway for that type of fuel”. In order to confirm that the fuel complies with greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity and sustainability requirements, the vessel owner and bunker purchaser will want to ensure that the bunker supplier provides the appropriate certification required under the FuelEU Regulation. The EU has required certification of such fuels, with the aim of guaranteeing “the environmental integrity of the renewable and low-carbon fuels that are expected to be deployed in the maritime sector.” The FuelEU Regulation provides that the GHG intensity of fuel is to be assessed on a “well-to-wake” basis, with emissions calculated for the entire lifespan of the fuel, from raw material extraction to storage, bunkering and then use on board the vessel. Vessel owners and bunker purchasers will, therefore, need to be mindful of the importance of establishing how “green” the fuel actually is, and of the risk of bunker suppliers providing alternative fuels that will not allow for preferential treatment under the FuelEU Regulation. It would, therefore, be advisable for bunker purchasers to consider whether the wording of their bunkering supply contracts is sufficient to ensure that the fuel is properly certified under the FuelEU Regulation. This could include contractual provisions that require the supplier (i) to provide a bunker delivery note (BDN), setting out the relevant information regarding the supply (such as the well-to-wake emission factor), and (ii) to provide the necessary certification under a scheme recognised by the EU. Bunker purchasers should also be mindful that bunkering supply contracts often contain short claims notification time bars and provisions restricting claims for consequential loss. Issues could therefore arise where a purchaser tries to advance a claim against the supplier for consequential loss due to a lack of certification, but the bunker supplier argues that such losses are excluded under the terms of the bunker supply contract. Bunker purchasers should therefore consider the wording of their bunker supply contracts carefully and ensure that they are comfortable with the contractual provisions. Shipbuilding – legal and practical issues The FuelEU Regulation, together with other international legislation, provides a significant incentive for the construction of vessels which are capable of consuming renewable fuel. As a consequence, the shipbuilding industry is seeing an increase in the number of vessels on order or under construction which are capable of consuming alternative fuels, particularly methanol, with increasing focus on ammonia and hydrogen technology likely in future. The risk for shipowners is that if a vessel is not able to consume renewable fuels (or able to pool allowances across a fleet (see FuelEU Maritime Series – Part 4: Compliance and Adjustment Mechanisms : Clyde & Co)), then it could in future become prohibitively expensive to operate in voyages to and from EU ports given the increasing penalties the vessel will face under the FuelEU Regulation. Whilst production of alternative fuels is increasing, currently the costs of alternative fuels are high, and availability is low. Therefore, many customers are ordering vessels with dual-fuel engines, which are also capable of consuming traditional oil-based bunkers, in order to “future proof” their fleet and give optionality in respect of fuel use. However, the implementation of innovative technologies which allow vessels to consume renewable fuels also poses its own risks, particularly when such technology is nascent and developing (we refer you to our previous article on Shipbuilding Contracts: Legal Issues Arising from Technological Change and Innovation : Clyde & Co). As a result, it is worth both shipyards and buyers giving careful consideration to the allocation of design risk as well as the warranty regime in respect of post-delivery defects. Another important issue relates to fuel consumption efficiency, particularly given that renewable fuels are generally less efficient by volume than traditional oil-based bunker fuels. This means that vessels consuming renewable fuels are likely to require more frequent bunkering and/or greater fuel storage capacity. Shipyards and buyers should also give careful consideration to the performance guarantees in respect of alternative fuel consumption under shipbuilding contracts, and the extent to which liquidated damages and/or cancellation rights apply if the vessel fails to meet those performance guarantees during sea trials. FuelEU – Who is liable? The registered owner or the DoC holder? As we mentioned earlier in our Series, the clock is ticking: on 1 January 2025, the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 on the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport and amending Directive 2009/16/EC (the FuelEU Regulation) will come into force. If the energy consumed on board a vessel exceeds certain limits for the GHG intensity of the energy consumed on board a vessel, this will result in a deficit that will have to be offset either by (i) borrowing or pooling surpluses or (ii) by paying a penalty to the competent authority. But who is liable to the competent authority as the responsible entity? In principle, the shipping company is the responsible entity, it being liable to the competent authority. In order to further define the shipping company in connection with the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), the EU legislator stipulated in a Commission Implementing Regulation that the registered owner should, in principle, be the responsible entity for the EU ETS obligations, unless the ISM company (the Document of Compliance (DoC) holder) expressly assumed the EU ETS obligations, as the responsible party, from the registered owner on the basis of a contractual agreement with the registered owner, and this change was notified to the competent authority. It would have been expected that in the case of FuelEU, the registered owner would also be the responsible entity vis-à-vis the competent authority. However, the EU legislator actually stipulated that for FuelEU the ISM company (the DoC holder) should always be the responsible entity. This regulation is surprising because it does not reflect the commercial interests of the parties involved. First, the technical manager, as DoC holder, is only a service provider for the registered owner. Secondly, if the vessel is chartered out by the registered owner to a time charterer, it is beyond the control of the technical manager which bunker the time charterer uses and whether the time charterer exceeds the above-mentioned limits for GHG intensity. It is, therefore, difficult to justify why the technical manager should be regarded as the responsible entity vis-à-vis the competent authority, in particular regarding the payment of any penalty under the FuelEU Regulation. It may, however, make sense to regard the technical manager of a vessel who is affiliated with the registered owner as the responsible entity. In the case of technical managers who offer their services as third party managers, it is not justifiable to impose such a risk on them. The EU legislator merely states succinctly that the parties should enter into contractual agreements to address this risk (for example, through cost reimbursement claims by the technical manager against the registered owner). At the same time, however, the EU legislator also states that the technical manager remains liable to the competent authority even if it is unable to enforce a claim for reimbursement of costs against the registered owner. Be that as it may, however, there is no indication that the EU legislator will transfer the FuelEU obligations towards the competent authority from the technical manager to the registered owner (as is the case with EU ETS). The technical manager, therefore, bears the risk that if the registered owner has payment difficulties (because it may no longer receive payments from the time charterer, for example), it will be stuck with the costs of any penalties. In order to minimise its risk, it will therefore be essential for the technical manager to agree with the registered owner, in the management agreement, to receive any payments, including advance payments, which correspond to the amount of the penalties that the technical manager may have to pay to the competent authority, as regularly as possible and at short intervals. It remains to be seen whether technical managers, as third-party managers, will be able to obtain further security from a registered owner, for example, in the form of a valuable guarantee from a holding company. It is expected that BIMCO will publish shortly the template of an addendum to ship management agreement SHIPMAN 2024 with provisions on FuelEU. In any event, it is critical for the above considerations to be clarified between the registered owner and the technical manager. What legal issues might shipowners and charterers face when dealing with penalties and expulsion orders? As explained in our section on penalties for failure to comply with FuelEU Regulation obligations (FuelEU Maritime Series – Part 5: RFNBOs, OPS and Penalties : Clyde & Co), there will be penalties imposed on vessels that exhibit a compliance deficit of GHG intensity or that have made a non-compliant port call during the reporting period. The method of penalty collection will be determined by each Member State and will be payable by 30 June of the verification period. The payment of the penalty may cause friction between the company responsible for its payment under the FuelEU Regulation and the entity whose decisions directly or indirectly caused the non-compliance with the Regulation. For example, if a vessel is time chartered, the shipowner (the default company responsible for compliance with the FuelEU Regulation, assuming it is also responsible for compliance under the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention) does not have control over the fuel purchased by the charterer, in the absence of contractual terms on the subject. Therefore, the charterer’s decisions to purchase more polluting fuel may cause the shipowner to miss the GHG intensity target and the vessel to be subject to penalties. In order to avoid potential disputes caused by non-compliance with the FuelEU Regulation and discussions around whose fault it was that penalties were imposed, it is worthwhile including a clause in charterparties and other shipping contracts, such as ship management agreements, as to who is responsible for ensuring compliance with FuelEU Regulation and whether such a company should be reimbursed by another party to the contract, such as the charterer of the vessel, if their actions caused the non-compliance. An even bigger concern for parties to shipping contracts would be the non-payment of penalties or the continuous non-compliance with the FuelEU Regulation. The consequences are set out in Article 25(3) and include the discretionary right for ports of call to issue expulsion orders addressed to vessels flying a flag other than their own, in circumstances where those vessels have failed to hold a valid FuelEU Document of Compliance for two or more consecutive reporting periods. Until the company responsible for compliance fulfils its obligations, non-flag Member States will refuse entry to the vessel subject to such an order and the Member State whose flag the vessel flies will order a flag detention when it enters one of its ports. If a vessel is subject to an expulsion order or a flag detention, the parties to a charterparty should consider whether off-hire provisions should apply and ensure that any termination rights are documented properly. The absence of such provisions could lead to prolonged expulsion orders and flag detention, affecting the vessel beyond the charterparty period under which the non-compliance with the FuelEU Regulation occurred, not to mention the occurrence of avoidable disputes. A well-worded FuelEU Regulation clause could avoid these problems. Late last month, BIMCO released a FuelEU clause for time charterparties (as mentioned earlier in the article) and it is in the process of drafting a clause for ship management agreements, which may be useful starting points for negotiations between parties. However, given the individual characteristics of each agreement, it may be advisable to review these clauses to reflect the parties’ positions through a bespoke FuelEU Regulation provision. Source: Clyde & Co.