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Standard Club News

02 Aug 2022

Seafarer Happiness on the Rise

© Denys Yelmanov / Adobe Stock

Seafarer happiness levels are trending upward after reaching a record low last quarter, according to the latest Seafarers Happiness Index report published by The Mission to Seafarers.The survey, undertaken with the support of the Standard Club and Idwal, reports on Q2 2022 and shows that the influx of industry solutions to tackle seafarer wellbeing has finally begun to lift morale and the mindset onboard. With more vaccinations, more frequent crew changes, wage rises and new amendments to the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), there has been a knock-on effect for seafarer optimism.

27 May 2022

North and Standard Club Members Approve Merger

(Photo: Standard Club)

Members of the North and Standard Clubs have voted to approve the merger between the two marine insurance firms, creating one of the largest providers of mutual cover in the maritime industries.The P&I clubs, which revealed plans to merge earlier this year, each held special general meetings on May 27 where members voted to greenlight the move to join forces as a single, larger mutual insurer. Pending regulatory approval, NorthStandard is expected to come together as a unified


28 Apr 2022

Seafarer Satisfaction at Eight-year Low, Report Says

©Igor Kardasov/AdobeStock

The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report, published today by The Mission to Seafarers, reveals the lowest levels of seafarer satisfaction for eight years, with the Index’s measure of overall happiness decreasing from 6.41 to 5.85 and levels dropping across all categories.The survey, undertaken with the support of the Standard Club and Idwal, reports on Q1 2022 and shows that a turbulent start to 2022 on many fronts has severely impacted seafarer happiness. From the COVID-19 Omicron variant to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and concerns over contractual issues


14 Mar 2022

North P&I and Standard Club Plan to Merge

From left: North CEO Paul Jennings and Standard Club CEO Jeremy Grose.

North P&I and Standard Club revealed they have entered formal discussions for a proposed merger to create a new global marine insurer and one of the largest providers of mutual cover in the maritime industries. The combined mutual insurer would provide cover for vessels equivalent to 400 million GT.The formal announcement follows the approval of the proposal by both clubs' boards and notification to principal regulatory authorities of their intention to merge. A joint North and Standard Club working group has been appointed to evaluate how a combined entity would maximize value for members.

19 Jan 2022

BIMCO Force Majeure Clause Launched

(Photo: BIMCO)

The unforeseen events of recent years have demonstrated how beneficial it can be for parties to contractually “expect the unexpected” – whether the event is extraordinary weather conditions caused by climate change or a pandemic. To help parties prepare for the unexpected, BIMCO has published a new clause.The new BIMCO Force Majeure Clause 2021 provides a comprehensive “code” for the parties to help resolve situations arising from unexpected events impacting the performance of the contracts. It is a “model” clause designed for use with all types of agreements.

30 Nov 2020

Standard Club Upgrades Data and Insight Capabilities

© Pawinee / Adobe Stock

Mutual P&I insurer The Standard Club said it has enhanced its data and insight capabilities as part of a two-year upgrade program."We have looked hard at how we can use technology and data to better serve our members, with a particular focus on supporting risk selection and pricing, and on delivering new member services," said Dipo Oyewole, the Standard Club’s Performance and Strategy Director.The data upgrade program has enabled the club to improve its modeling of risk through application of advanced modeling techniques and new data sources, it said.

25 Nov 2020

New Guidance Issues on Bulk Carrier Ventilation

INTERCARGO, The Standard Club, and DNV GL, have launched a new ventilation guide. Image: DNV GL

Proper ventilation is essential to preventing damage to the cargo and to ensure the safety of the crew and vessel in bulk carriers. To provide ship’s masters and crew with an understanding of different ventilation requirements for bulk cargoes, INTERCARGO, The Standard Club and DNV GL, the world’s leading classification society, have launched a new ventilation guide.The guide covers the main aspects on how and when to ventilate to control of humidity and to remove flammable and toxic gases released from cargoes.

11 Aug 2020

How Venezuela Lost Three Supertankers to Its Chinese Partner

A shipping joint venture between Venezuela and China has fallen apart in the wake of U.S. sanctions, resulting in the South American nation losing three supertankers at a time when foreign shippers are reluctant to carry its oil, court documents show.PetroChina Co Ltd, which had been state-run Petroleos de Venezuela’s partner in the Singapore-based joint venture CV Shipping Pte Ltd, took control of the three tankers between January and February, according the documents from a Singapore court reviewed by Reuters.The transfer of the Junin, Boyaca and Carabobo very large crude carriers (VLCC) has not been previously reported.It came after U.S.

18 Oct 2018

The Standard Club Withdraws from Underwriting at Lloyd's

The world’s fourth largest P&I club announced Thursday that it is withdrawing from underwriting at Lloyd’s from 2019.The Standard Club had established a syndicate in 2015 to underwrite marine and energy risks. It represented one strand of the club’s broadly-based strategy to provide its members with a wider range of insurance covers to meet their needs and diversify the club’s source of revenues.The club said it in press release that remains committed to these strategic aims but it has concluded that current overcapacity and a weak pricing environment have made Lloyd’s a challenging environment for it to develop a profitable underwriting business with sufficient scale.The club is exploring alternative approaches to provide its members with additional insurance covers


12 Oct 2018

Standard Club and Strike Club to Merge

The London-based marine insurers the Strike Club and the Standard Club have announced plans for the Strike Club to join the Standard Club group.According to a press statement Strike Club will continue as a member-controlled dedicated mutual delay insurer, operating as class of Standard Club and supervised by existing board.Both mutual insurers are managed by companies within the Charles Taylor group.The Standard Club will create a new Strike class in each of the Standard companies, into which The Strike Club business would transfer. There will need to be minor changes to The Standard Club’s Byelaws, and to the Articles of the subsidiary companies (Standard UK, Asia, Ireland and Re), to give effect to this, it said.These changes will need members’ approval.

13 Aug 2018

North P&I Club Strengthens Greek Presence

Global marine insurer North P&I Club said that Gagan Dhillon will take over Michael Asherson’s responsibilities for the Greek Membership and lead the claims team based in Newcastle.Gagan, a Master Mariner, first sailed in command of a tanker in 2007 before joining North in 2010 and gaining a First Class (Honours) degree in law.Michael Asherson will take up a position as partner with leading South African law firm Shepstone and Wylie in Durban and will leave the Club at the end of August.After 18 years with the Club, Michael a qualified South African attorney and registered solicitor in England and Wales, leaves with our best wishes for his relocation home to Durban and future legal career.Paul Jennings


19 Apr 2018

Oil Recovered from Sunken Ship Thorco Cloud

More than 440 tons of heavy fuel oil was extracted from the tanks of the sunken general cargo vessel Thorco Cloud. The wreck lies in two sections 1,730 meters apart and 70 meters down in the middle of the eastbound traffic lane of the Singapore Strait following a collision in December 2015. The heavy oil in the fuel tanks and in trapped compartments was seen as a major pollution hazard. Both the bow and stern sections contained fuel tanks that required emptying, so the Thorco Cloud’s owner, Marship GmbH, supported by the P&I insurance company Standard Club, contracted Jaya Salvage Indonesia early last year. Bumi Subsea provided remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and the dynamically positioned Surf Allamanda, owned by Bourbon Offshore.

24 Jul 2017

Nautical Institute Rolls Out Ice Navigator Scheme

The Standard Club has advised its members that at the start of July the Nautical Institute launched its Ice Navigator Scheme. This scheme is designed to help meet the demand for properly trained officers with the skills and knowledge to handle a ship in ice. The scheme is designed to run in conjunction with the Polar Code and builds on STCW requirements. It focuses on the practical elements necessary to handle a ship and manage operations in ice covered waters worldwide; it is not limited to the Polar Regions. Participants in the scheme can be awarded Ice Navigator Level 1 or 2. These qualifications are internationally recognised, valid


21 Jul 2017

Standard Club Establishes New Offshore Advisory Committee

The Standard Club is driving developments in offshore P&I with the launch of the Standard Club Offshore Advisory Committee (SCOAC). SCOAC aims to analyse offshore trends, assist the club in further understanding and disseminating industry best-practice and develop new strategies to provide a focused direction for the benefit of the club’s offshore membership. The committee consists of leading offshore players including Allseas Group, Bumi Armada, Floatel International, Nortrans Offshore, Saipem, SBM Offshore and Subsea 7 – all members of The Standard Club. The members of the committee are senior figures in the offshore industry with extensive experience and knowledge allowing them to provide invaluable insight to the committee which in turn will be shared with the wider membership.

13 Jul 2017

IMB Reports 87 Piracy Incidents in H1 2017

The IMB has published its report on piracy and armed robbery for the second quarter of 2017, covering the period from 1 January to 30 June 2017. The report highlights continuing decline in the number of incidents of maritime piracy, said a press release from The Standard Club. 87 incidents have been reported in the first six months of 2017, with 63 ships boarded, eight attempted attacks, four ships hijacked and 12 ships fired upon. This represents a decrease from 2016 when there were 97 reported incidents in the same period. In relation to crew, the IMB reports that 63 crew members were taken hostage, three injured, two killed and 41 kidnapped. The majority of the 87 reported incidents occurred in the following four countries: Indonesia, Nigeria, Somalia and Venezeula.

02 Jul 2017

Inspection of Ships of 18 Years or Older in Brazil

Image: The Standard Club

The Standard Club has been informed by its local correspondent in Brazil that following recent casualties involving bulk carriers, a series of new inspection requirements have been imposed in Brazilian ports for certain ships that are 18 years or older. Brazilian flagged bulk carriers that have been converted from oil tankers, carrying cargo with a density equal to or greater than 1.78 t/m3, such as iron ore, require inspections from Flag State Control before the commencement of loading.

21 Jun 2017

BIMCO Updates SUPPLYTIME for Offshore Charters

Now in its fourth edition, BIMCO’s best-selling contract has been updated to reflect contemporary shipping practice and legal developments in the offshore sector. It has a purer knock for knock liability regime and is more neutrally balanced than its predecessor. The first edition of SUPPLYTIME appeared in 1975. It was developed to meet the demand for specialist support vessels to serve a rapidly growing offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry. Since then, SUPPLYTIME has become the benchmark for offshore support vessel agreements – and the industry’s contract of choice. Ian Perrot, who led the SUPPLYTIME revision project team said: "Over the past ten years or so we have seen a hardening of the terms and conditions in charterers’ own contracts.

31 Mar 2017

New Training Program on Near-miss Reports

Photo: Videotel

Videotel, a KVH company, has launched a new training program, “Report a Near-Miss, Save a Life”, in association with The Standard Club, a protection and indemnity (P&I) club, which insures ship owners, operators, and charterers for their liabilities to third parties. The training program examines the importance of sharing near-miss reports, so that lessons can be learned and publicized throughout a fleet, to help reduce the chances of similar incidents happening. Although standards have improved


23 Dec 2016

New Bunkering Procedures in Singapore

The Standard Club has quoted a  a circular earlier this year by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) for the mandatory use of the mass flow metering (MFM) system for marine fuel oil (MFO) deliveries in Singapore with effect from 1 January 2017. The circular covers the set of core requirements for metering system qualification, installation, testing, procedures and documentation for MFO deliveries via the MFM system in the port of Singapore. From 1 June 2016, all bunker suppliers, bunker craft operators and bunker surveyors are already required to comply with the requirements and procedures of TR 48:2015 for all MFO deliveries via the MFM system in the Port of Singapore.

22 Dec 2016

Implementation of the Polar Code

The Standard Club introduced the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (‘Polar Code’) as well as Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) amendments which were adopted in November 2014, in addition to environmental provisions and MARPOL amendments which were adopted in May 2015. The Code will enter into force on 1 January 2017. The code is mandatory and comprises of detailed requirements relating to ship design, operations, prevention of environmental pollution, crew training and safety. The safety section of the Code (Part IA) applies to new ships carrying SOLAS certificates on or after 1 January 2017. It also applies to existing ships from their first intermediate or renewal survey (whichever occurs first) on or after 1 January 2018.

15 Dec 2016

Implementation of Emission Control Areas in China

The Standard Club reported on the regulations issued by the Ministry of Transport of China which designated three emission control areas (ECAs) in its territorial waters. As mentioned therein, the implementation of low sulphur fuel is divided into stages in order to gradually tighten the regulations by putting a 0.5% sulphur content cap on bunkers used within the zones. In three following web alerts respectively dated 12 April 2016, 25 August 2016 and 7 September 2016 the club has provided updates on the development of the ECA measures. Attention must now be drawn to the fact that starting from the upcoming 1 January 2017, all key ports (e.g.

11 Dec 2016

Increased Limits of Liability for Shipowners in UK

The Standard Club had reported that in 2012 the  International Maritime Organization (IMO)  decided to increase the limits of liability under the 1996 Protocol by 51% and that these increases are due to come into force on 8 June 2015. This was because in recent years the existing limits have been considered inadequate to cover the rising cost of claims especially in relation to pollution and clean-up costs (e.g. the Pacific Adventurer bunker spill incident off the coast of Australia in 2009). However, the new 2015 limits requires in many countries to be given effect domestically by national legislation. These limits are now in force in the UK with effect from 30 November 2016 pursuant to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (Amendment) Order 2016.

21 Nov 2016

Drive to Promote Hazard Awareness

As part of a major initiative to promote hazard awareness throughout the shipping industry, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and The Standard Club have issued free safety posters to shipping companies worldwide. The release of the posters marks the final stage of a campaign by the two organisations to promote hazard awareness with a ‘Spot the Hazard’ competition for seafarers. The competition invited seafarers across the world to identify ten hazards within five typical scenes – bridge, deck, engine room, galley and port terminal. The level of engagement with the campaign was impressive. More than 1,300 entries were submitted by seafarers from 78 shipping companies, comprising a wide range of nationalities.