Broker JLT asked all the P&I Clubs a number of questions for part of their annual review. Here is the response of the first five of them to the question: “For you, what
are the three key events of the past 12 to 18 months? IMN will be printing the responses of the other clubs over the next couple of days.
1) American Club’s CEO Joe Hughes said that the establishment of American Hellenic Hull Insurance Company Ltd was the signal highlight of the past 18 months, representing the expansion of the American Club’s business into the hull sector through its investment in a Solvency II-regulated insurer in Cyprus.
“Another recent highlight was the opening of a club office in Houston, Texas, further to expand its outreach into the heartland of its business in the US. A third was the winning of the Lloyd’s List North American Maritime Services Award last May, celebrating the club’s great progress in recent years on the eve of its centennial in 2017.”
2) Britannia Club’s CEO Andrew Cutler said that the most significant events were the Club’s merger discussions with the UK Club; the need to restructure to a smaller regulated board and a members’ representative committee; and Brexit –”the implications of which are still to be determined.”
3) Gard CEO Rolf Thore Roppestad said Gard thought that the grounding of the Hoegh Osaka, the UK’s vote to leave the EU and, generally, an increasing global trend towards protectionism were the most significant events.
He noted that the Hoegh Osaka incident was “a high-profile casualty with a combined value of hull and cargo of well over $100m” and that Gard’s response demonstrated its commitment to delivering a swift and comprehensive service to a major marine casualty of this nature.
Roppestad said that other events were interlinked. “National governments are taking steps to protect their economies, and the political atmosphere in many countries is becoming more isolationist. The recent European Union referendum in the UK, and the increasingly heated debate in the US presidential elections, demonstrate this desire to retreat behind national borders”. Roppestad said this was a potential threat to global trade – “which is the lifeblood of the maritime industries that we serve.”
4) Japan Club said that the most significant events were that that its free reserve surpassed ¥20bn at the end of March 2015. “The new medium-term operational plan started aiming for strengthening the club’s “reliability”, “competitiveness” and “soundness”. Also, the refund to the members by reducing the percentage of the supplementary call.