North P&I Club held a seminar on Wednesday attended by about 80 members of the maritime industry from the Middle East and India. The seminar focused on the practical and legal implications of the changing sanctions regime imposed on Iran and the global fuel sulphur cap being introduced on January 1st 2020.
Opening the event North’s Global Director of Underwriting Savraj Mehta said that “the maritime industry has changed considerably over recent years and North P&I Club is no different. We continue to enhance and refine our range of support to meet the requirements of our members in an ever-changing shipping and regulatory landscape. Our loss prevention initiatives and seminars are specifically aimed at encouraging our members to prepare early for the likely operational impact of these changes.”
Mark Church, Director (FD&D), updated the delegates on the USA’s re-imposition of Iran sanctions. Church said that practical issues would continue to impact on the ability to trade with Iran even where the trade was permissible. “We encourage members to enforce their own due diligence and assess high-risk areas to avoid non-compliance”, he said.
Alvin Forster, Deputy Director (Loss Prevention), provided delegates with an overview of the implications of the 2020 sulphur cap. He said that there was no simple single choice for ship owners.