The West of England P&I Club has today announced its financial results for 2021. Thanks to the successful implementation of a planned renewal strategy built around necessary premium increases and selective de-risking, West is in a strong position to meet future challenges. An improved technical performance saw West’s combined ratio improve to 114%, despite a particularly challenging environment for the industry. Without Covid claims the reported combined ratio would have been below 101%. The Club’s Free Reserve is $251.2m and the capital position remains strong, with West’s solvency coverage is ...

Joint report of 2021 global cargo theft trends finds shift in emphasis from risk of in-transit, vehicle- based attacks to losses while cargo is at-rest — storage locations are critical at risk areas. Widespread congestion at ports and inland facilities lead to increased opportunity for thieves during the period. The annual report, based on recent incident data for the whole of 2021 collated from sources including law enforcement agencies, governments and trade associations, has been compiled, as in the past years by leading international transport and logistics insurer, TT Club ...

Thomas Miller Specialty, a global multi-line insurance provider has announced a new partnership with Send Technology Solutions Ltd (Send) to automate and streamline its operating model. The new collaboration enables Thomas Miller Specialty to utilise Send’s cloud-based Underwriting Workbench solution to manage new business, renewals and endorsements across the business’ London and Hamburg offices from one single platform. The strategic partnership furthers Thomas Miller Specialty’s ambition to lead the market in technology-driven underwriting, providing a fully automated platform for all its specialty lines businesses and real-time provision of quality risk ...

China Classification Society (CCS) says China will ramp up the building of fully electric battery powered ships to operate on the country’s extensive inland waterways network following the successful maiden voyage of the CHANG JIANG SAN XIA 1, a 100m length cruise ship with the largest battery power in the world. The CHANG JIANG SAN XIA 1 was successfully delivered at the YICHANG XIN HUI SHIPBUILDING CO LTD on the Yangtze River in the Hubei province. The ship has capacity for 1300 passengers and will sail in the reservoir areas ...

Further to our News Item of 30 March 2022, the UK Government has announced today that the General Licence issued by them to allow parties to wind-down their activities with Sovcomflot has been extended until 30 June 2022. A copy of the Licence can be found here. The Managers are not aware of any parallel extension in the EU Regulations to allow EU entities to undertake transactions with Sovcomflot (and all other entities listed in Annex XIX of Regulation 833/2014) beyond the current wind-down period which expires on 15 May ...

1. Difference between Interruptions and exceptions to laytime An interruption to laytime covers a period when time does not count because it is outside the definition of laytime as expressed in the laytime clause. A common example is “Weather Working Day” (WWD) laytime period. An exception to laytime, refers to a period that is within the definition of laytime, but is excluded by an exceptions’ clause. The principal difference between the two is that with an exception to laytime it is necessary to show a causal connection between what is ...

For the first time, Gard is presenting an integrated annual report outlining its performance for the last financial year against a broad set of parameters, not only financial ones. By looking holistically at all its activities, Gard can measure the value it creates both for its Members and clients and for society at large. The financial year ending February 2022 was very challenging for the maritime industries, due to a variety of financial and operational difficulties. Our role is to support our shipowners when times are tough, and this year’s ...

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has recently released Port State Control (PSC) Annual Report for 2021. In 2021, 8,663 PSC exams were conducted by USCG which surpassed the 2019 pre-pandemic total of 8,622 PSC exams. The total number of ships detained in 2021 for environmental protection, safety, and security related deficiencies increased from 57 to 63. The annual detention rate decreased from 0.77 percent to 0.73 percent. The three-year rolling average detention ratio decreased from 1.02 percent to 0.87 percent. The number of detentions related to ...

Consolidation has long been predicted in the mutual P&I sector, but the proposed merger of marine insurance majors North P&I and the Standard Club has still taken many by surprise. Both mutuals have laid out a timetable to combine forces, with members of each club scheduled to vote on the proposed merger at the end of May. If approved by the members and the relevant authorities, ‘NorthStandard’ will be working together in time for renewals on 20th February 2023. Full integration of both clubs’ operations will then follow. The P&I ...

Charterer’s obligation to provide bunkers in compliance with charterparty specification Time charterers supplying vessels with bunker fuel oil need to ensure that they meet the contractual specifications set out in the charterparty. This may include a general obligation to provide bunkers fit for purpose and suitable for burning in the main and auxiliary engines. The charterparty may also provide that the fuel complies with particular specifications or grades the most common of which is ISO:8217. There are various versions of this document and reference may be to a particular version ...

Recurring fire safety deficiencies In April 2022, the US Coast Guard released its Port State Control (PSC) Annual Report 2021. Like most years, findings related to inadequate fire safety systems and arrangements on board visiting ships top the PSC’s list of causes for detainable deficiencies. It is a requirement of SOLAS Reg. II-2/14 that all fire protection equipment shall be kept in good order and readily available for use. It is also a requirement of SOLAS Reg. I/11 that any defects which affect the safety of the ship or its ...

Record pool claims and the unprecedented impact of unforeseen events such as the Covid-19 pandemic have forced P&I Clubs to further harden their rates over the recent 2022/23 renewal round, following sharp rises last year. And Drewry anticipates more hardening in P&I premiums over the near term, which will add to ship operating cost inflationary pressures, along with rising hull and machinery insurance costs (to be covered in a separate briefing). IG Clubs posted general increases averaging 11.5% across the Group this time around, while FD&D rises averaged 10.9% (see ...

On 8 May 2022 the United States imposed further sanctions on Russia, including several Russian shipping and other maritime sector companies. The U.S. State Department stated that “[the Russian Government] leverages maritime shipping and other marine sector companies to advance its strategic aims, including by supporting the resupply of its troops and the continuation of its occupation of Crimea, and exploiting and exporting energy reserves.” As a consequence eight Russian maritime companies and a number of associated vessels have been designated in accordance with Executive Order 14024. Details of the ...

The international shipping industry is responsible for the carriage of around 90% of world trade, so vessel safety is critical. The sector continued its long-term positive safety trend over the past year but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the growing number of costly issues involving larger vessels, crew and port congestion challenges resulting from the shipping boom, and managing challenging decarbonization targets, means there is no room for complacency, according to marine insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE’s (AGCS) Safety & Shipping Review 2022 “The shipping sector has demonstrated tremendous ...

As the number of LNG-fuelled ships is growing, BIMCO has drafted LNG clauses for time charterparties covering matters related to LNG fuel quality, fuel delivery/redelivery, gas-freeing and cooling down and an operational clause. The following clauses have now been published: • LNG Bunker Operational Clause for Time Charter Parties • LNG Fuel Delivery Clause For Time Charter Parties, • LNG Fuel Gas-freeing and Cool-down Clause, and • LNG Fuel Quality Clause For dual-fuel ships the clauses are intended to be used together with the existing BIMCO bunker clauses for conventional ...