Colin Trappe News

Ship owners, operators and their P&I clubs face ever-increasing claims over the next few years, according to the 45 million GT North of England P&I club. Growth in the freight market, a raft of new and revised liability conventions and weakness of the dollar are exposing the industry to greater financial risk and continuing hikes in P&I insurance. According to joint managing director Rodney Eccleston, “Both the value and number of cargo claims have soared in recent months due to unprecedented freight rates, sometimes exceeding cargo values, and because ships and crews are working flat out. The A-rated club says P&I claims values are also increasing due to weakness of the US dollar, which has fallen substantially against most major currencies recently.

North of England P&I club strengthened its management team with the appointment of four new directors to the board of its wholly owned management company, North Insurance Management Limited (NIML). The now 13-strong NIML board is led by managing director Rodney Eccleston and deputy managing directors Paul Jennings and Alan Wilson. The newly appointed directors are financial controller Jeff O’Neill, underwriter Thya Kathiravel, admiralty claims specialist Colin Trappe and FD&D specialist Katherine Birchall. All were formerly associate directors.