2012 Financial Statements in full
27/07/2012
The complete financial statements of the UK Club are being mailed to Members and brokers on Monday 30th July.
The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control regularly issues listings of all the ships, companies & individuals with whom trading would result in a breach of sanctions. Known as the Specially Designated Persons (SDN) list it now runs to some 540 pages of closely typed text. These lists are continually updated so the online search facility makes identifying such proscribed companies, individuals or ships a much more convenient task.
Additional US sanctions on Iranian companies, including shipping organisations - July 12 2012
16/07/2012
This US Treasury press release and attached papers explains how the United States is imposing additional sanctions on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation networks. It is also taking additional steps to prevent the evasion of sanctions by publicly identifying a group of Iranian front companies and banks designating 11 entities and four individuals under Executive Order 13382.
From the 27th July to 12th August, London's hosting of the Olympics will have a significant impact on travel and transport infrastructure. The Paralympics which runs from 29th August to 9th September will also cause interruption and congestion to business travellers arriving in the capital. We have collated some key materials provided by the Olympic organisers to help you plan any London visits to avoid unnecessary delays or problems.
2012 Insight programme released
05/07/2012
The full programme for the four-day course "An Insight into Transport Law and Insurance" has been published on our website. Members of the UK P&I Club who attend this course benefit from a significant discount on the regular price, effectively supplying delegate places at cost. The Insight course which runs from Tuesday 2nd to Friday 5th October this year is aimed at executives and managerial staff either in the early stages of their careers or without specialist insurance and claims experience.
EU Council Press Release: 11808/12 - EU sanctions against Iran: exemptions to end on 1 July
27/06/2012
The latest package of EU sanctions against Iran will apply as earlier decided. Following a review of the measures, the Council confirmed that they would remain as approved in January. This means that two exemptions will end, as scheduled, on 1 July: Contracts for importing Iranian oil that were concluded before 23 January will have to be terminated by 1 July. From the same date, EU insurers may no more provide third-party liability and environmental liability insurance for the transport of Iranian oil.
Sanctions impact Members' cover
21/06/2012
Recent news reports of a ship entered with an International Group club having its cover withdrawn for allegedly carrying armaments to Syria are a reminder to operators that sanctions regimes can impact on their business. Restrictions on financial transactions, on dealings with designated parties, and on provision of insurance, may potentially restrict the ability of the Club to help and protect Members in the event of an incident. Such sanctions can affect Members who can trade lawfully to states targeted by sanctions even where those regimes are not applicable to them or they permit the trade in question.
Events & Awards
15/06/2012
Events in London & Piraeus over the last week have engaged the UK Club combining hospitality with support for maritime safety. In addition to Posidonia, the sixth annual Safety at Sea Awards took place with the Training award being sponsored by the UK Club.
Safety at Sea Awards 2012
15/06/2012
The sixth annual Safety at Sea Awards took place on 14 June with the Training award being sponsored by the UK Club. Our risk management director, Karl Lumbers, and loss prevention executive John Grenville-Goble represented the UK Club and hosted a table of Club guests at the event.
Aimed at executives and managerial staff either in the early stages of their careers or without specialist insurance and claims experience, it is also useful for those who wish to broaden or refresh their knowledge in this field. "An Insight into Transport Law and Insurance" is a practical, extensive four day course for the non-insurance specialist. It combines topical issues such as piracy and sanctions with coverage of more established issues in liability and insurance.
London: Extended public holiday
31/05/2012
Our London office will be closed on both Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th June for a national holiday. Visitors to London should be aware that a number of major events in the capital for the occasion will lead to congestion on various transport routes and key landmark sites.
We are looking forward to seeing you at our Posidonia Open Day on the 7th June. Our open day commences at 12:00 with an Orthodox blessing of our newly refurbished office and runs on throughout the afternoon. Feel free to drop in at any time during the day and you will be assured of a warm welcome from our local office staff, Board Directors and other Thomas Miller staff who will be on hand.
International Group guidelines on VRPs
17/05/2012
Vessel response plans in respect of potential pollution and the contracting of oil spill response organisations are now required in many jurisdictions. The announcement earlier this week the waiver on compliance with vessel response planning requirements of the Oil Pollution Act 1990 in Alaskan waters was terminated, highlighted the need to check OSRO contracts for compliance with International Group guidelines.
The Managers have been made aware that legislation has been passed in Indonesia which purports to place a ban on the expert of minerals from Indonesian ports, unless the shipper has been granted a specific export permit. The cargoes which may be affected include nickel ore, bauxite and iron ore. Reports suggest that ships which are scheduled to load or are in the process of loading ore cargoes may be subject to delays where the exporters of the cargo do not possess the relevant permit.
Good result in difficult times
10/05/2012
This year we report another operating surplus and a further increase in the Club's free reserves and hybrid capital to $486 million. This level of capital, puts our Club's financial strength at the top level of its peer group in the P&I sector. This result is particularly pleasing as it comes in a year which has seen results elsewhere in the market adversely affected by an increase in claims and volatile investment returns. Overall the Club produced a surplus of $11 million. The main driver behind this positive outcome was the continuing improvement in the claims reserves on the more recent policy years and the early indications that 2011 will be a low claims year.
Review of the Year 2012
10/05/2012
Good result in difficult times:
Robin Travis Scholarship Application
18/04/2012
The invitation to apply for the 2012 Robin Travis Scholarship can be found here.
Enhanced sanctions against Iran
29/03/2012
The EU's formal Regulation implementing the enhanced sanctions against Iran proposed in January this year has now been issued. The position of shipowners in respect of the ban on transport of Iranian crude, petroleum products and petro-chemical products is largely unchanged from the EU Decision of 23 January. However, the position of insurers and reinsurers has been relaxed somewhat in response to strong lobbying from the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) over the past two months.
The Club announced this week it is reorganising its structure to establish UK Europe as the sole provider of direct insurance to UK Club members. These changes are a response to the impending Solvency 2 regulations for insurers in the European Union. By reducing the number of separately regulated insurers from two to one, the UK Club aims to streamline governance, reduce compliance costs and more efficiently manage the Club's solvency capital requirements whilst meeting the impending Solvency 2 regulations for insurers in the European Union.
Cargo matters - LP News Supplement
15/03/2012
The safe carriage of refrigerated cargoes invariably depends on maintaining suitable storage conditions, not just temperature, throughout their transportation. This complex and various field of cargo transport is the subject of the latest in the Club's series of Cargo Matters publications.