UK P&I Club webinar to address claims in Hidrovía – Paraná River
UK P&I Club will host a live webinar on 8 April (9am ET, 2pm GMT) exploring the current trends for seagoing vessels and the challenges for dry-bulk trade on the Hidrovía – Paraná River in South America.
Entitled ‘Navigating Latin America: focus on Hidrovia – Parana River’, the webinar features a panel of highly experienced legal, insurance and maritime speakers from the Club and the wider industry. The expert panellists will address a range of issues that international and local shipowners and charterers face in the river, including cargo shortages, new regulations, cargo deterioration due to delays, ship sweat, towage and MARPOL Annex VI – Preventing air pollution from vessels, which has been recently incorporated into Argentina’s legislation.
This all-encompassing session will also address some of most important concerns related to common claims issues in the Hidrovía – Paraná River region, such as vessel speed and escort measures, surge/wash damage, and the impact of COVID-19 on seafarers.
Leanne O’Loughlin, Regional Director of the UK Club for the Americas, says: “Latin America is a hugely diverse region, presenting numerous opportunities for growth. The UK Club highly values its existing and long-standing relationships in Latin American countries, and we are keen to continue fostering our partnerships with shipowners, operators, charterers and traders.”
This is the second installation of the “Navigating Latin America” series after a successful first webinar focussing on Chile in December 2020. Rafael Diaz, Senior Claims Executive and responsible for the Latin America region, has taken the lead in organising and hosting the webinar series, with contributions from experienced and qualified panellists from the UK P&I Club, local correspondents and representatives from the shipping industry. Topics have been carefully selected based on the Club’s day-to-day handling of claims and inquiries in Latin America and in consultation with local partners in the region.
Marine insurance: IRDAI in talks with INSA to set up P&I club
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is in talks with Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) to develop a protection and indemnity insurance club (P&I club) in India, a move that will support the development of a marine insurance market in India, said insurance sector players at a Maritime India Summit.
Marine premium formed about 2 per cent of the gross domestic premium in FY20. India has been looking to put in place a P&I club for a few years now.
A P&I club is a mutual insurance association that enables risk pooling among members and provides information and representation for its members. A P& I club provides cover for open-ended risks (such as war risk, environmental damage such as oil spills and pollution) that traditional insurers are reluctant to insure. P&I clubs are structures where shipowners, operators and seafarers pool in money that can be used to help shipowners or seafarers in challenging times. These days even freight forwarders and warehouse operators are able to join P&I clubs in overseas jurisdictions.
Digital push
Meanwhile, the General Insurance Council is set to automate the re-insurance payment system, a first such initiative globally, making India the first country to digitise reinsurance, said Kuhu Mohapatra, DGM-Marine Underwriter, New India Assurance Company. Most of the re-insurance work and processes are paper-based globally, she pointed out, adding that Singapore is making an effort in the same direction.
While India accounts for a low share of marine insurance globally, its software prowess could be used to give India the necessary leg-up in the area, pointed out IRDAI.
Subhash Chandra Khuntia, Chairman, IRDAI, said that primary insurance (for marine sector) can grow if there is presence of reinsurance and called for starting a protection and indemnity club in India. He also sought support from shipowners for information sharing regarding Indian and foreign vessels and insurance pooling initiatives such as salvage association and P&I clubs. Salvage is the process of recovering cargo after a ship wreck.
Growth of this area depends on the availability of ecosystem, pointed out Arti Mathur, GM, Oriental Insurance Company. Marine insurance business in India is in the range of 1.5-2 per cent, which further shrunk during the pandemic, Mathur added.
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City IFSC (International Financial Services Centre) can be a platform for such activities, pointed out experts.
As India looks to develop a robust marine insurance sector, challenges that need to be addressed include lack of P&I clubs (for covering risks like loss of lives) and lack of claims assessment expertise, said Mohapatra.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
UK P&I Club releases ‘Ask an Expert’ video on grain contamination claims
The UK P&I Club has released the latest video in its online ‘Ask an Expert’ series, featuring Chris Ellyatt from CWA International on the increasing number of grain contamination claims and their causes.
The Club continues to see a number of grain contamination claims and Chris Ellyatt explains it is often difficult to work out if these claims are due to the inherent contaminants at the load port, or if they are a result of improper hold cleaning by the ship staff.
Chris highlights the importance of diligent recordkeeping during cargo loading to ensure any untoward contaminants are documented, and emphasises the need for extra care when preparing the holds for food grade cargo. He notes there have been instances where entire cargo is rejected due to issues such as small contamination by genetically modified cargoes in countries where they are banned. However, he reassures the viewers that despite the contamination, there are still options available for the owners and receivers to rectify the cargo avoid major losses.
Stuart Edmonston, Loss Prevention Director at UK P&I Club says: “This latest ‘Ask an Expert’ discussion aims to dissect the issues surrounding the different types of contamination, prevention options, the importance of sampling and analysis, and the various solutions available. Chris is an experienced scientist and as a consultant in the food and agricultural department at CWA, has attended live cases providing expert advice on issues across sampling, loading, discharging and storage of various food and agricultural cargoes.”
The ‘Ask an Expert’ video series provides specialist analysis and insight on a range of specific topics from leading figures in the marine sector. Informative and concise in their 30-minute format, the videos are designed to give the audience a broad understanding of an issue in an optimised timeframe.
The ‘Ask an Expert’ video on grain contamination claims with Chris Ellyatt of CWA International can be viewed here: https://www.ukpandi.com/news-and-resources/videos/ask-an-expert_grain-cargo-claims/
Source: UK P&I Club