The UK
P&I Club’s Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME) Program has entered into a franchise agreement with Maritime Medical Services of Hamilton, New Jersey. Maritime Medical Services will manage the scheme across its network of 12,000 affiliated US and Canadian physicians, arranging appointments for seafarer medical examinations directly and feeding all results into the PEME Program’s central database.
The PEME Program is designed to protect shipowners from claims arising from medical conditions existing prior to employment via an examination which exceeds the standards required by many flag states. In its 10 years of operation since August 1996, more than 113,000 candidate crew have been examined worldwide. Participating shipowners are provided with a proven system for managing this aspect of crew risks and benefit by having a fitter and healthier crew and a reduction in claims due to crew illness and repatriation.
The appointment of Maritime Medical Services adds coverage of the U.S. crew market to the program’s network of crewing centers.