I was manning the emergency phone when a call came in reporting that a seafarer had stabbed two other crew members on board a vessel in the middle of the ocean. We focused on handling the emergency and prioritised the evacuation of the two injured crew. Fortunately, they arrived at the hospital in time and were saved despite serious injuries and severe bleeding. Later, I learned that the man who committed the stabbing had presented signs of psychological instability days before the incident. This was several years ago but the ...

P&I Club member Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Europe) has decided to underwrite all of its European business in Cyprus through its Cypriot entity. The Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) has welcomed the arrival of a new P&I Club among its member-companies In a statement, the Chamber said the company “has expressed its gratitude to the Cypriot authorities and the shipping community for the warm welcome and support it has received since it decided to base itself in Limassol and it looks forward to making a positive contribution”. The arrival of new ...

Reinsurance arrangements for the 2020 policy year for P&I entries with Gard P. & I. (Bermuda) Ltd and Assuranceforeningen Gard – gjensidig – (hereinafter individually referred to as the “Association” and collectively as the “Associations”) Owner’s Entries The structure of the cover reinsured through the Pool is broadly the same as in the current year and can be summarized as follows: • Club retention: USD 10 million. • Pool retention: USD 90 million (in excess of USD 10 million) in two layers: – Lower Pool retention: USD 40 million (in ...

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) have published their 2019 report on Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships. The report states that 162 incidents of piracy and armed robbery were reported against ships worldwide, in comparison to 201 incidents in 2018. There has been an unprecedented number of crew kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea. Of the reported incidents there were four hijacked vessels, 11 vessels fired upon, 17 attempted attacks and 130 vessels boarded. Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea saw more than a 50% increase in kidnappings ...

The victims are usually the crew handling the line, the winch operator and/or the supervising officer. A parting line has the potential to flex the whole distance from the place where it parts to the place where it is attached. A typical example can be found in this investigation report by the Swedish Accident Investigation Branch. During the pre-mooring tool box talks, crew members should discuss not only the hazards of snap-back but also potential snap-back zones. Depending on the mooring pattern, the configuration of these unsafe areas can change. ...

Although war risks are excluded from standard P&I cover (Rule 30.4.1), Assuranceforeningen Skuld (Gjensidig) (“the Association”), in conjunction with other P&I Clubs in the International Group, continues to provide War Risks P&I Excess Cover on the same basis as in the 2019/20 policy year for Members entered on a full mutual basis. The limit of cover remains at USD 500 million. The cover is subject to an excess of the proper value of the entered vessel, or whatever sums are recoverable from other war risks covers, whichever is the greater. ...

Wave is pleased to announce International Group of Protection & Indemnity Club (IG P&I) approval for Wave’s network as a supported method for transfer and delivery of electronic-issued bills of lading. This designation as an approved electronic trading system marks a first for an exclusively decentralized system that is eligible to receive liability coverage under IG P&I’s strict rules, paving the way for greater commercial use of Wave. IG P&I is an international group of 13 individual P&I clubs comprised of members which are collectively accountable for covering approximately 90% ...

North P&I Club has today announced details of a new benefit for its Members to promote safe navigation and improve standard across the maritime industry. Through partnering with SureNav, an industry leader working with ship operators to identify gaps in bridge team performance and compliance, North’s Members will receive a 45% discount on their remote navigation audit package. SureNav is dedicated to promoting safe navigation and to improving standards across shipping. They have been conducting remote navigation audits for some time and are pioneers in the field, working alongside OCIMF ...

While the latest amendments to MARPOL annex VI which entered into force on 1 January 2020 limiting the SOx emissions from ships has been the centre of attention for the past many months and is considered by many as the greatest change the shipping industry has seen in the last many years, there have been several important amendments to SOLAS which also entered into force on 1 January 2020. These amendments were adopted during the various MSC sessions between 2016 and 2018 and revise the SOLAS and the various International ...

On 16 October 2019, the Indian Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) issued Order No.05 of 2019 prohibiting the use of single-use plastic items onboard ships. The order prohibits the carriage of any such items onboard Indian flagged ships while foreign flagged ships are only prohibited from using any such item while operating in Indian waters. Our alert “India bans single-use plastic onboard ships” of 24 October 2019 has the details. While the initial plan was to implement the order in full by 1 January 2020, DGS later decided to postpone ...

Jonathan Moss, head of marine and trade at DWF, comments on the impact that the ensuing Middle Eastern crisis is having on the insurance market. Jonathan said: “The latest chapter of turbulence in the Middle East will undoubtedly lead to insurers and reinsurers particularly in lines such as hull, war, piracy, terrorism, cargo and construction raising premiums, renegotiating terms of cover and introducing riders and endorsements to policies to reflect the increased risks of trading in the region. “Insurers and reinsurers have been looking for a marked correction to the ...

International standards organisations such as ASTM, ISO and AOAC have sought to establish often elaborately detailed methodologies to investigate a given parameter. This is critical for international commodity trade so that buyer and sellers, who are often in different countries, are confident that the quality of their product can be confirmed and the test they use, albeit in different laboratories, is acceptably equitable. In reality, there are so many uncontrollable variables involved in material analysis between laboratories and indeed even within the same laboratory, some difference is inevitable. Designers of ...

For residual fuels, the most widely used specification is ISO 8217 Table 2. The Table 2 specification for sulphur content is stated as per “statutory requirements” and, since 1 January 2020, the global MARPOL sulphur limit is 0.50% with lower limits set for SECAs. In light of these recent regulatory changes we expect sampling and analysis of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) to receive greater focus. Given the relative cost of fuel components, we also expect that suppliers will blend fuels to achieve a maximum sulphur content that is ...

North P&I Club has announced details of a new benefit for its Members to encourage them to better understand their vulnerabilities to cyber risk and to improve their cyber security processes and systems ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s deadline for safety compliance in January 2021. North has partnered with HudsonCyber to offer its Members access to their HACyberLogix platform. HACyberLogix is a secure, cloud-based programme, designed specifically for the maritime industry. It will enable North’s Members to assess their cyber security capabilities and gain insight into what changes need ...

Further to the club’s previous news item on the ban of single use plastic in Indian waters, members are advised that on 8 January 2020 the Director General of Shipping (DGS), India has issued an addendum to DGS order 5 of 2019. The addendum, which can be found here, provides the definition of the single use plastic (SUP) and a phased methodology which will be adopted for complying with the DGS order. The plan has different timelines for identification, listing and prohibition of SUP for Indian and foreign flag cargo ...