News

The global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about exceptionally challenging trading conditions and the Club is committed to supporting Members through this difficult time. To this end, the Club has produced the following guidance which addresses some of the most frequently asked questions from our experience to date.

The ongoing development of COVID-19 requires that we regularly review our day to day operational practices. From 6 April, following Government instruction, the Singapore branch of the Club will temporarily close with all staff working remotely. This follows the temporary closure of our London branch last month.

The Club understands that in view of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, owners and managers are facing challenges in meeting various statutory requirements.

From 16 March, following UK Government advice, the London branch of the Club will temporarily close with all London staff working remotely. Despite the London branch closure, it remains very much business as usual with all staff able to service our Members and their brokers remotely. Our focus will remain towards offering the highest service levels and fundamentally supporting our Membership with their claims, operational liabilities and providing their insurance solutions.

As reported in our previous circular, Pollution Fines in Turkey published in September 2019, fines for causing pollution are imposed under the Turkish Environment Code dated 1983, number 2872. With effect from 1 January 2020, the level of fines have been revised to reflect increases of approximately 23% from the previous year. This update outlines the revised amounts.

Due to recent changes in Greek environmental law, higher pollution fines have been imposed by the authorities with effect from 31 December 2019. This update outlines the increases in the event of oil pollution, as well as providing guidance on what Members should do if a pollution incident occurs.

As part of the renewal of the International Group’s General Excess of Loss Reinsurance Contract for the policy year 2020/2021, the excess War Risks P&I cover will also be renewed for a period of 12 months, with the costs included in the total rates charged to shipowners.

On 20 December 2019, President Trump signed the National Defence Authorisation Act 2020 (the Act) into law. The Act contains numerous sanctions related elements, including Russia-related sanctions targeting certain vessel types engaged in pipe-laying at depths of 100 feet or more below sea level for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream pipelines, and on companies supplying those vessels. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have issued guidance through FAQs which…

An additional benefit of being a Member to the Shipowners’ Club is that all vessels entered are automatically enrolled with the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF). The cost of ITOPF membership is paid for by the Club on behalf of all Members. ITOPF is there to assist and advise in the event of a spill or threat of a spill of oil, chemicals or other substance in the marine environment.

The Club wishes to remind Members of its previous publications regarding the implementation of the global sulphur cap which is due to come into force on 1 January 2020. In addition to this advice, Members should also be aware of the potential amendments they could make to charterparties, in order to help minimise their exposure to contractual disputes relating to the sulphur cap.

The Shipowners’ Club hosted its first webinar on the topic of Sanctions: ‘What to watch out for in a fast changing world’.

At the 2019 half year point, the Club reported a Combined Ratio of 105.9%, with an underwriting deficit of US$ 5.7m. This represented a deficit marginally higher than budgeted, which was determined to be largely the result of the increased quantum of claims in both 2018 and 2019 when compared with 2016 and 2017.

This update is in response to the recent changes in Turkish environmental law and the significantly higher pollution fines that are now being imposed by the authorities. The intention of this update is to enhance Members’ awareness and provide some practical tips for reducing potential exposure to such fines.

On 4 September, the U.S. authorities took steps in the form of an Advisory to the Maritime Petroleum Shipping Community. This further demonstrates their intent to enforce the Iranian sanctions program aggressively including against non-U.S. persons.

Members should note that the wind down period ended on August 6 2019 and Executive Order 13871 is now in full effect. As a result, any transactions which involve any activities described in the Order are now subject to potential sanctions.

The Club would like to highlight to Members that with effect from 20 August 2019, under Regulation PM No. 7 of 2019, the Ministry of Transportation of The Republic of Indonesia has made it mandatory for vessels sailing in Indonesian waters to install and activate an Automatic Identification System (AIS).

On August 5, 2019, the US Administration escalated its Venezuela sanctions program, with the issue of Executive Order 13884 (the Order) and accompanying FAQs.

The Lord Chancellor last week announced a change in the discount rate following a review under the Civil Liability Act 2018. As of 5 August 2019, the discount rate will increase from -0.75% to -0.25%.

In response to the incidents that took place in the Gulf of Oman (GOO) last week, and the seizure of the Stena Impero in particular, the Club would like to draw Members attention to the following advise published by the BIMCO Maritime Security Committee.

The final article in our cyber risks series, produced in collaboration with Secure State Cyber, focuses on the benefits of antivirus software, the importance of contingency plans in the event of a cyber-attack and what actions Members can take to ensure good security practice on board their vessels.

President Trump has issued Executive Order 13871 (the ‘Order’) of 8 May 2019 ‘Imposing Sanctions with Respect to the Iron, Steel, Aluminum, and Copper Sectors of Iran’.

Reducing Members’ exposure to claims is central to the function of the Club’s Loss Prevention department. The department is able to fulfil this mandate by proactively addressing areas of concern which are identified by the Club or within the industry.

As of 31 December 2018, compliance with the Passenger Liability Regulation (PLR) became compulsory for all Class B passenger ships carrying out domestic voyages in all EU and EEA member states.

Canada will become party to the Nairobi Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007 (“the convention”) effective 30 July 2019 (by way of agreement dated 1 May, 2019).

Further to our circular Venezuela — U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, and based on recent developments and statements by the U.S. authorities, caution should be exercised in all dealings with PdVSA.

Further to the Club’s previous article on 1 February 2017, The Compulsory Insurance Scheme for Ships Carrying Passenger has now come into law with effect from 11 January 2019.

Over the past two years, the Club has seen eight damage to property claims allegedly caused by the snagging of fishing gear on subsea cables. Although the number of claims is reasonably low, due to the nature of the property suffering damage, the quantum of such claims is invariably high, sometimes reaching into millions of dollars. To raise awareness of such incidents the Club, in collaboration with Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW), has produced the following guidance which supplements our…

It has been brought to the Club’s attention that there have been an increased number of vessel detentions in the Eastern portion of the Singapore Strait, mainly in the waters around Bintan Island. These waters are often misconstrued as being the Outer Port Limit (OPL) of Singapore. The Club wishes to stress that these waters are in fact within the territorial waters of Indonesia.

The Club’s global claims team is organised into regional departments which are dedicated to specific jurisdictions or vessel types. This ensures the claims team has specialist knowledge of jurisdictions which enables us to better advise Members of the strategy to adopt when facing claims in that particular jurisdiction, as well as helping to identify any claims trends of which our Members need to be aware.

The Club is pleased to inform Members of changes to the Marine Legal Costs Cover Policy for 2019. The changes will take effect for all policies incepting as from 20 February 2019.

Since it was founded in 1855, the Club has witnessed the seemingly infinite evolution of the shipping industry from sail to steam and beyond. Today, we are observing possibly one of the most dramatic shifts in recent times, as vessels transition towards autonomy.

The choice of insurers for P&I risks has significantly changed in recent years. 25 years ago, aside from limited liability cover that was available on the back of the H&M policy, there were very few choices outside the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) system. Alternative facilities were established but the volatility associated with liability claims made it difficult to deliver consistent results. That same challenge remains true today and can only be overcome by a…

On January 27^th 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) lifted sanctions imposed on En+ Group plc (“En+”), UC Rusal plc (“Rusal”), and JSC EuroSibEnergo (“ESE”).

CTRL Marine Solutions Ltd (CTRL) is a law firm and marine consultancy which provides Members with bespoke Claims, Technical, Risk and Legal services at favourable rates and on flexible terms. CTRL is one of the first organisations of its kind to be set up by a P&I Club.

With the development of technology on board vessels it is becoming increasingly important for Members to be able to identify and respond, by way of procedures and appropriate actions, to cyber risk.

The Shipowners’ Club has underwritten Yachts for over 25 years and is unique in being the only Club to have a Yacht Syndicate with a dedicated Underwriting and Claims presence in both the London and Singapore offices.