ABS Raises Cyber Awareness to Marine Insurance Industry

Christopher J. Wiernicki, Chairman, President and CEO of ABS, addressed the American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU) today, describing the future of maritime safety and risk mitigation as it relates to cyber safety as well as outlining how the classification and insurance industries can strengthen their collaboration as the progression of cyber and autonomy propel maritime safety into new waters.  

“Building on our safety and risk control focus, class and insurance are in a unique position to lead in several areas – specifically, simplifying and establishing common terminology as well as delivering exceptional products and solutions like cyber programs and notations,” Wiernicki said.

“Maritime safety depends increasingly on cyber-enabled physical systems and integrated information technology and operational technology efforts, so safety-related standards and services, including class and insurance, must recognize and address this as the safety system that no one sees,” said Wiernicki.

“Technology is moving the maritime industry very quickly to more condition-based, continuous, real-time risk-based and cyber-influenced decision making,” Wiernicki added. “As a digital organization, ABS leads classification into the future through the holistic ABS CyberSafety® Program encompassing cybersecurity as well as software and data integrity that is defining a new absolute value of safety.”

AIMU President John Miklus commented: “As both ABS and AIMU share a common interest in safeguarding vessels and cargoes, their crews and the environment, there are clear opportunities for class and insurance to work together in shaping a smarter safety conversation. The insights shared today from ABS underscore the importance of how we are stronger together in our journeys, leveraging each other’s strengths to simplify the complexities of topics like cyber that are defining our future.”