Specialist insurer Beazley has received in-principle approval from Lloyd’s to establish Syndicate 4321, beginning January 1st 2022. The syndicate will focus exclusively on offering additional capacity to businesses that perform well against ESG metrics. It will be led by Will Roscoe, Head of the Market Facilities Division. Syndicate 4321 has been established under the Lloyd’s…
Iranian supertanker leaves Venezuela
In what was reported by Reuters as a probable breach of US sanctions Iran-flagged supertanker on Saturday October 16th was about to set sail from Venezuelan waters carrying 2m barrels of heavy crude provided by Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA, according to documents seen by Reuters and vessel tracking services. The shipment is part of…
South Africa’s Richards Bay bulk terminal declares force majeure
South African monopoly port operator Transnet declared a force majeure on Friday October 15th at its Richards Bay Bulk Terminal following a fire that broke out at the port on Wednesday October 13th. Richards Bay Bulk Terminal is Africa’s largest coal export facility and is located off Richards Bay port – one of seven commercial…
Swedish Club achieved surplus in a tough year: Tysers
Broker Tysers has now released its annual assessment of the P&I Market and, in particular, the International Group Clubs. IMN will be summarizing the individual clubs over the coming days, concluding with a combined summary of the club’s financial performances, conditions, rankings, ratings etc. Today: The Swedish Club Self-managed Gross Tonnage Owned 56,000,000 Chartered 32,000,000…
New report brings environmental threat of FSO Safer back into headlines
A research paper released early last week has brought back to public attention the case of the abandoned FSO Safer off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, virtually abandoned since 2015 with a hull that is getting more and more fragile. Negotiations to offload the vessel of its 1.1m barrels of Marib light crude have been continuing…
ECDIS over-reliance and poor bridge resource management led to a vessel grounding
In the latest instalment of American Club’s “Good Catch” initiative, the club reported on an incident of over-reliance on ECDIS and poor Bridge Resource Management (BRM) leading to a vessel grounding. A 500ft vessel was delayed from entering an unfamiliar port shortly before arrival when the expected berth was not available. The Master slowed down…
Philippines losing global market share for sea crews
One apparent impact of Covid-19 has been to highlight the problems inherent in having a global shipping industry that in the past few decades has chosen to focus on only a few countries when it comes to providing its crew members. One of the beneficiaries of this focus was the Philippines, with crew being flown…
IMB says that piracy and robbery are at their lowest level for nearly 30 years
Piracy and armed robberies of ships and their crews fell to a near-30-year low during the first nine months of 2021, according to the latest update from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). However, the IMB cautioned against complacency. It said that efforts should continue to combat crime. The Gulf of Guinea, which took over…
Protests Over Covid-19 rules in Italy sees Genoa port blocked
Protests in Italy at the country’s recently introduced Covid-19 rules for workers have spread to several of the country’s largest ports, including Genoa, which appeared to be blockaded on Friday October 15th. Workers at three of the country’s major ports were reported either to be on strike or to be staging protests that demand the…
West announces 15% general increase for 2022/23 policy year
West of England Club has announced that it will be imposing a 15% general increase in Class 1 (P&I) and Class 2 (FD&D) for the coming policy year 2022/23. For non-mutual covers in both classes there will be no generally announced increase, but rates on policies would rise. Deductibles will also rise. Group CEO Tom…