God Almighty
15/02/2018
Is it time for everyone to admit that global warming is upon us? If so, "Act of God" or Foreseeable risk? The more frequent occurrences of natural disasters have certainly led to safety concerns by many ship owners.
When Dylan sang ".you're gonna have to serve somebody." he was right; however, the recent decisions in The Amity and Sino Channel Asia v Dana Shipping & Trading show, you do need to beware of some potential pitfalls.
Time to Talk Day 2018
01/02/2018
Mental health issues are a global concern, and the UK Club continues to see an increase in mental health related claims and enquiries from Members. In order to address these concerns, The Club has been raising awareness on mental health via literature, videos, and charity partnerships.
What is Dry January?
18/01/2018
Dry January is the annual movement through which millions of people give up alcohol for the month of January.
Know your limits!
11/01/2018
In 2005, Hong Kong finally adopted the 1996 Protocol's limitation levels, which came into play locally on 3 May 2015. Since then, the negotiations have continued between participating member states on amendments to the limitation levels.
Almost 20 years since the role was introduced, we are about to welcome the third SOSREP - Les Chapman. So what does the SOSREP actually do and how effective has the role been?
The Brookes Bell Sharp End course is a highly esteemed and eagerly awaited trip for those in the shipping industry. With promises of exciting new knowledge, the chance to get up close and personal with a ship and of course some time to get to know your fellow attendees.
Sea what I mean?
16/11/2017
Did you know that many old English proverbs and idioms originate from sayings used by seafarers? Here are a few of our favourites...
OCIMF published the third edition of its Tanker Management and Self-Assessment guide (TMSA3) in April 2017. As of 1 January 2018, this will replace the TMSA2 and tanker owners will be required to follow the new self-assessment procedure.
World Mental Health Day 2017
05/10/2017
World Mental Health Day 2017 falls on Tuesday 10th October. The day provides an opportunity for all the major stakeholders working on mental health topics to showcase their work, and highlight the gaps which prevent a positive mental health care environment Worldwide.
World Maritime Day is formally celebrated by the IMO today (28th September) and the theme for this year is "Connecting Ships, Ports and People".
Moving towards autonomous vessels.
21/09/2017
In honour of one of the most discussed topics of LISW we bring you a thought piece on the move towards autonomous vessels.
Qatar and the restrictions imposed upon it (note - we do not use the word 'sanctions'!) by several members of the Arab League have caused a lot of distress at the UK P&I and Defence Club in the past few weeks. It turns out that a key difficulty was distinguishing between the wording of the restrictions themselves and how they were actually implemented in practice.
The countdown is on and excitement grows as International Shipping week draws ever closer, a week that is firmly in the diary of all those related to the industry.
This is...London
18/08/2017
Welcome to the first in a series of blogs over the coming months from claims handlers across our global network. We'll be giving our perspectives on the cities in which we work and their maritime connections!
With the enthusiastic and inevitable march of so called "FinTech" we are increasingly exposed to new 'concept terms' which are predicted to permanently settle into our daily vocabulary. They are often hailed as the latest 'thing', a breakthrough, which is prophesied by the digital evangelist to adorn the frontline banners of the impending tech revolution.
Somali pirates- back for good?
28/07/2017
Apparently Somali pirates are back, or so some news headlines have recently read - but in reality piracy never left Somalia, incidents just dramatically decreased as a result of protection measures and pirates in other parts of the world drew more attention.
Summer is once again upon us and the media coverage surrounding the refugee and migrant crisis in the Mediterranean continues, as do the criticisms of Operation Triton. So has anything really changed since Triton was introduced or do commercial operators still have to step in?
Cyber attack- take action!
30/06/2017
Last week saw the UK Parliament hit by a 'sustained' cyber-attack, which centred on identifying weak passwords and exploiting them. This in addition to the recent ransomware attack on several NHS trusts, causing problems in many hospitals in England, highlights how easily seemingly secure systems can be hacked.
Technology - friend or foe?
22/06/2017
As the years have progressed, so has technology. In the not so distant past, computers were a thing of luxury however they now deemed more of a necessity. We are becoming increasingly reliant on this assistance but should it be considered a friend or foe?