Marine Insurance Broker News

Italian worldwide leading broker for marine insurance Cambiaso Risso Group has signed a strategic partnership agreement with French insurance broker Siaci Saint Honore to foster a strong positioning in their markets.The deal will be subject to approval by the competition authorities in some of the 42 countries in which the two companies are active and will come into effect in the second quarter. It will give birth to the world’s top three marine insurance broker in the world, and second in Europe.President Marco Risso and Chief Executive Officer Mauro Iguera will keep their respective positions within Cambiaso Risso,  and will take major…

The American P&I Club was founded in New York nearly a century ago. To celebrate its first 100 years, a book entitled The American Club: A Centennial History has just been published. The book tells the story of the Club across ten decades of maritime and marine insurance history both within the United States and across the world. Its author is Richard Blodgett, a former Wall Street Journal reporter whose previous credits include histories of the New York Stock Exchange, Kohler and Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The American Club was founded in February, 1917.

Global oil and shipping markets reacted nervously on Tuesday after an international arbitration court ruled against Beijing's claims across large swathes of the South China Sea, fuelling geopolitical tensions in the vital waterway. A tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, found China had breached the sovereign rights of the Philippines and had no legal basis to its historic claims in the South China Sea, a major shipping lane between Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The ruling will be seen as a victory by other regional claimants such the Philippines and Vietnam…

Dan March has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the independent forwarder network WCA, with founder David Yokeum becoming Chairman, and Ram Menen joining a new global Supervisory Board. Based in London, March, who has been WCA Communications Director for over five years, will oversee the day-to-day operations and work closely with Yokeum and the new non-executive Supervisory Board – comprising Eric Fady, Philip Bilney, and Jim Barnhart, as well as Menen. Yokeum, who founded WCA in 1998, will remain actively involved in overseeing the direction and strategy of the company.

Barbican Group Holdings Limited (Barbican) announced that it has acquired Seacurus Ltd (Seacurus), a U.K.-based specialist marine insurance broker. Established in 2004, Seacurus focuses specifically on revenue protection in the marine insurance market. A provider of marine kidnap and ransom insurance, the company offers a range of products designed to help companies in the shipping industry manage a wide variety of operating and financial risks. Seacurus will continue to operate under its current brand. Details of the transaction have not been disclosed. In April 2013 Seacurus launched CrewSEACURE, an insurance product for employers of seafarers required to meet regulatory obligations under the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 and the International Guidelines on Seafarer Abandonment.

By Fred B. My last column addressed critical clauses in vessel charters. Since this issue of MarineNews is focused on vessel construction and repair, this column will focus on some, but due to space limitations, not all, critical clauses in vessel repair contracts. Vessel repairs are usually an expensive proposition. The vessel must be taken out of service and thus is not generating income while being repaired. Often, the vessel has to be drydocked. Thus, owners usually want to get as much done at once during this disruptive period.

When chartering an asset so valuable and with so many risk exposures as a vessel — whether a 15-ft RIB or a 4,000 HP tractor tug, put the agreement in writing. While I have previously written in this magazine about how maritime contracts can be enforceable under admiralty law (see “Marine Contracts: Do I Have to Put it in Writing?” MarineNews, June 2008), it is far preferable to put the terms in writing. Some terminology: A contract to lease a vessel is a “charter party,” or for short a “charter.” While I cannot cover all the terms a vessel charter should include…