WQIS honored by Flag Raised on Peking

The Water Quality Insurance Syndicate was recently honored by a small flag raising ceremony as its flag was hoisted high atop the Peking, a retired vessel permanentlydocked as part of the South Street Seaport Museum in lower Manhattan. The royal blue flag, which dons the company's trademark compass rose, was added to the 377 foot vessel to commemorate WQIS's support of the South Street Seaport museum. WQIS is an underwriter of pollution liability insurance for marine vessels in the United States, and is dedicated to providing the broadest coverage in marine pollution liability and creating the most responsive organization to serve the needs of its clients. The four-masted barque Peking represents the final chapter in the evolution of merchant vessels powered only by wind. Launched in Hamburg, Germany in 1911, was used to carry manufactured goods to South America and to return via Cape Horn with nitrate. After being retired for 43 years, the Peking was acquired by the South Street Seaport Museum in 1975 and towed to her current home at Pier 16. With a steel hull as long as a football field, and masts as tall as an 18-story building, the Peking is one of the largest sailing vessels ever built and the largest preserved by a museum. The Peking is open to visitors of the museum daily from 10am to 6pm.