Marine Insurance: Cargo Fires are a Burning Issue for Shipping
Commercial insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty released its Safety & Shipping Review, an annual analysis of shipping losses and accidents worldwide. The 2022 report reveals that the maritime sector continues its long-term positive safety trend over the past year with 54 total losses of vessels reported globally, compared with 65 a year earlier. This represents a 57% decline over 10 years (127 in 2012); while during the early 1990s the global fleet was losing 200+ vessels a year.The 2021 loss total is made more impressive by the fact that there are an estimated 130…
Wakashio Wreck Removal Completed
Technical operations to remove the wreck of the Wakashio bulk carrier that ran aground and broke up off Mauritius wrapped up this week as salvors recovered final sections of ship debris that were lying up to 500 meters away from the site of the stern section.On July 25, 2020, the 300-meter Wakashio struck a reef near Pointe d'Esny off the Indian Ocean island's east coast, triggering an ecological disaster and prompting the Mauritian government to declare a state of emergency.
Egyptian Court Rejects Appeal Against Ever Given Detention in the Suez Canal
An Egyptian court on Tuesday ruled that the containership which blocked the Suez Canal in March could continue to be held in the waterway, rejecting an appeal by its Japanese owner against its detention, a judicial source said.The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, got jammed across the canal on March 23 and remained stuck for six days, stopping traffic in both directions.It has been held in a lake between two stretches of the canal since being dislodged on March 29…
Suez Canal Hopes for Deal on Detained Ever Given
The head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said on Monday he hoped talks would soon yield an agreement with the owner and insurer of a giant container ship which is still being detained since it blocked the waterway for six days last month.The 400-meter Ever Given became wedged diagonally across the canal in high winds on March 23, blocking all traffic. Since it finally came unstuck, it has been held with its cargo in a lake separating two stretches of the canal. The SCA has made a $916 million claim against its Japanese owner…
Stranded Suez Ship's Owner, Insurers Face Millions in Claims
The owner and insurers of one of the world's largest container ships stuck in the Suez Canal face claims totaling millions of dollars even if the ship is refloated quickly, industry sources said on Wednesday.The 400-metre, 224,000-tonne Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement, threatening to disrupt global shipments for days.GAC, a Dubai-based marine services company…
Insurers Discuss Container Casualty Causes
Handling of steel boxes throughout the shipping, ports and logistics supply chain has historically grown exponentially, putting strains on a range of operational procedures and the physical hardware employed to handle the steel boxes, particularly onboard ships. A recent webinar organized by the Thomas Miller managed insurance mutuals, container freight specialist TT Club and protection & indemnity insurer, UK P&I Club, revealed the diverse range of factors important to safe container ship operations and the security of the container stacks they carry.
Marine Surveyors at Peril, Unless ...
Having an excellent set of Standard Terms and Conditions (Terms) in your desk drawer or on your website, is all very well, but unless you have incorporated them into your dealings with your client, they will not form part of your legal relationship with your client and you will not be able to rely on the terms should a dispute arise. It is therefore very important that you incorporate your Terms into your dealings, advises intermediaries professional indemnity insurer ITIC. In the latest issue of its Claim Review, ITIC cites the case of a marine surveyor instructed by the shippers of a cargo of wheat to survey and certify the holds of a bulk carrier as fit for loading. The surveyor issued a certificate of fitness to load, and 70,000 metric tonnes of wheat was loaded.
Hold-harmless Clauses May Not Be So Harmless
ITIC has warned that the so-called ‘hold harmless’ clauses in many of the contracts entered into by its members may contain pitfalls which could prejudice their rights. A mutual hold-harmless indemnity clause should provide that each party to the contract agrees to take responsibility for - and to indemnify the other against - injury and loss to its own personnel and property and its own consequential losses, even if the accident and related losses are caused by negligence. But ITIC notes that…
American Club Reports Strong Renewal
The American Club, the only mutual protection and indemnity insurer domiciled in the Americas, has revealed very positive overall results for the February 20 renewal season. Tonnage entered for owners’ P&I risks increased by over 11% year-on-year as at February 20, while that entered for defence risks grew by over 30%. There was an overall premium increase of slightly under 8% for P&I on renewing tonnage, and nearly 6% for the club’s defence class. However, when the monetary value of deductible increases and other adjustments to insurance conditions are taken into account, the target of a 10% increase in premium set by the club’s board for 2014 was very broadly achieved, notwithstanding a continuation of the difficult commercial environment.
