Japan Club News

Bulk carriers entered in the UK Club have the lowest number of Port State Control deficiencies when inspected according to the latest edition of “Benchmarking Bulk Carriers” published by Intercargo, and reported in the UK Club''s news. The dry cargo shipowners association report states that UK Club ships average only 1.42 deficiencies per inspection compared to an average across the International Group of 2.16. The report also shows the individual P&I club market share of Intercargo membership. The UK Club, alongside the Japan Club, clearly leads in terms of market share with just over 12%.

The European Commission (EC) fined eight steel companies a total of 99 million euros after its probe into a cartel in the market for seamless steel tubes used in the oil and gas industries. The EC said the producers had colluded between 1990 and 1995 to restrict themselves to their domestic markets and not to Compete against each other, which it regarded as a serious breach European antitrust rules. The Commission said the cartel had been operated by European and Japanese firms, which are the largest seamless steel tube producers in the world, under the Code name "Europe-Japan Club."