Safety at Sea Awards 2012
15/06/2012
The sixth annual Safety at Sea Awards took place on 14 June with the Training award being sponsored by the UK Club. Our risk management director, Karl Lumbers, and loss prevention executive John Grenville-Goble represented the UK Club and hosted a table of Club guests at the event.
Aimed at executives and managerial staff either in the early stages of their careers or without specialist insurance and claims experience, it is also useful for those who wish to broaden or refresh their knowledge in this field. "An Insight into Transport Law and Insurance" is a practical, extensive four day course for the non-insurance specialist. It combines topical issues such as piracy and sanctions with coverage of more established issues in liability and insurance.
London: Extended public holiday
31/05/2012
Our London office will be closed on both Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th June for a national holiday. Visitors to London should be aware that a number of major events in the capital for the occasion will lead to congestion on various transport routes and key landmark sites.
We are looking forward to seeing you at our Posidonia Open Day on the 7th June. Our open day commences at 12:00 with an Orthodox blessing of our newly refurbished office and runs on throughout the afternoon. Feel free to drop in at any time during the day and you will be assured of a warm welcome from our local office staff, Board Directors and other Thomas Miller staff who will be on hand.
International Group guidelines on VRPs
17/05/2012
Vessel response plans in respect of potential pollution and the contracting of oil spill response organisations are now required in many jurisdictions. The announcement earlier this week the waiver on compliance with vessel response planning requirements of the Oil Pollution Act 1990 in Alaskan waters was terminated, highlighted the need to check OSRO contracts for compliance with International Group guidelines.
The Managers have been made aware that legislation has been passed in Indonesia which purports to place a ban on the expert of minerals from Indonesian ports, unless the shipper has been granted a specific export permit. The cargoes which may be affected include nickel ore, bauxite and iron ore. Reports suggest that ships which are scheduled to load or are in the process of loading ore cargoes may be subject to delays where the exporters of the cargo do not possess the relevant permit.
Good result in difficult times
10/05/2012
This year we report another operating surplus and a further increase in the Club's free reserves and hybrid capital to $486 million. This level of capital, puts our Club's financial strength at the top level of its peer group in the P&I sector. This result is particularly pleasing as it comes in a year which has seen results elsewhere in the market adversely affected by an increase in claims and volatile investment returns. Overall the Club produced a surplus of $11 million. The main driver behind this positive outcome was the continuing improvement in the claims reserves on the more recent policy years and the early indications that 2011 will be a low claims year.
Review of the Year 2012
10/05/2012
Good result in difficult times:
Chauncy Maples on course
19/04/2012
Robin Travis Scholarship Application
18/04/2012
The invitation to apply for the 2012 Robin Travis Scholarship can be found here.
Enhanced sanctions against Iran
29/03/2012
The EU's formal Regulation implementing the enhanced sanctions against Iran proposed in January this year has now been issued. The position of shipowners in respect of the ban on transport of Iranian crude, petroleum products and petro-chemical products is largely unchanged from the EU Decision of 23 January. However, the position of insurers and reinsurers has been relaxed somewhat in response to strong lobbying from the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) over the past two months.
The Club announced this week it is reorganising its structure to establish UK Europe as the sole provider of direct insurance to UK Club members. These changes are a response to the impending Solvency 2 regulations for insurers in the European Union. By reducing the number of separately regulated insurers from two to one, the UK Club aims to streamline governance, reduce compliance costs and more efficiently manage the Club's solvency capital requirements whilst meeting the impending Solvency 2 regulations for insurers in the European Union.
Cargo matters - LP News Supplement
15/03/2012
The safe carriage of refrigerated cargoes invariably depends on maintaining suitable storage conditions, not just temperature, throughout their transportation. This complex and various field of cargo transport is the subject of the latest in the Club's series of Cargo Matters publications.
Maritime London Officer Cadet Scheme
05/03/2012
Sharing information & knowledge
17/02/2012
The Club passed the milestone of 500 Twitter followers this week. This group of subscribers continues to grow daily, but more importantly the event highlights the ease with which users be alerted to new content on this website as well as saving it for use by themselves or sharing with colleagues. The "Share" function on our website enables copies of over 2,000 items of Club content to be saved offline or re-published via more than 320 apps, social media channels and communication platforms.
Further sanctions impact shipping
09/02/2012
Further material published on the Club website this week highlights the EU Council decision on the 23rd January that prohibits the import, purchase or transport of crude oil, as well as petroleum and petrochemical products from Iran. A set of FAQs from the International Group's Sanctions Working Group is among the resources that are available to assist Members.
Keeping track of international sanctions
02/02/2012
Our website maintains a special area on the subject to assist Members keep track of these developments. For example, the latest EU regulation in respect of Syria provides a comprehensive overview of the various goods, services and activities currently subject to sanctions. Keeping abreast of these sanctions is important. Keeping abreast of these sanctions is important. Members are reminded of the Association's Rule 5V which excludes a claim from cover where payment of the claim may expose the Club to any risk of sanction.
Threats & consequences
20/01/2012
After much study and only after in-depth trials with certain shipowners, the UK P&I Club is now launching an innovative risk management scheme utilising a 'BowTie' approach to identifying areas of risk and minimising the occurrence of incidents. Although sixty per cent of the Club's claims are caused by 'human error', human error is often only the last event in a chain of causal events - 'the straw that breaks the camel's back'.
2012 Renewal documentation now being issued
18/01/2012
The Club is now issuing 2012 Certificates of Entry for agreed renewals, as well as confirmations required for Bunker Convention and CLC Blue Cards. The Club produces Members' electronic cover documentation (PDF ) quickly but in some situations ships or flag states may require physical copies of documents. Members should be aware that authorities in some jurisdictions such as Japan and California, might wish to see a Certificate of Entry before the ship enters their waters for a call spanning 20th February 2012, even if it is arriving before that date. They should consult their port agents for advice.
Complying with China's pollution laws
12/01/2012
Updated information was posted this week on the Club website providing information and contact details on over 120 level one oil spill response contractors. Listings for filing agents and nine OSRO consortia are also available. All lists are published in English and Chinese. Since 1 January 2012 ships visiting China are required to contract with an approved oil spill response contractor. Advice and information on complying with the various regulations is collated and updated in the dedicated China pollution area of this website.