Category

P&I Clubs and marine insurers

The Swedish Club’s Marine Insurance Seminar in China

By ALL Academy, Maritime Resource Management (MRM), P&I Clubs and marine insurers, Seminars/Conferences No Comments

Every three years, The Swedish Club’s Team Asia invites local members, brokers and other business contacts for a two-day Marine Insurance Seminar. This year’s seminar was held on 9-10 November at the Zhuhai Marriott hotel in Zhuhai, China. Nearly 100 guests participated and on the speaker list there were Club staff from both Hong Kong and Gothenburg offices. Martin Hernqvist represented the Academy with an “Introduction to MRM” presentation, subtitled “The Impact of Attitudes and Cultures on Maritime Accidents”.

MIS Zhuhai 09-10 November 2016

Delegates coming from various companies in Asia gather for The Swedish Club’s Marine Insurance Seminar.

 

Participants, speakers and organisers of the Marine Insurance Seminar in Zhauhai, China pose for a group photo.

Participants, speakers and organisers of the Marine Insurance Seminar in Zhauhai, China pose for a group photo.

 

Martin Hernqvist discusses contributing factors in accidents and the importance of resource management during the Marine Insurance Seminar.

Martin Hernqvist discusses contributing factors in accidents and the importance of resource management during the Marine Insurance Seminar.

 

MIS Zhuhai 09-10 November 2016

Martin Hernqvist with participants during seminar dinner.

 

MIS Zhuhai 09-10 November 2016

The Swedish Club Team Asia together with staff from The Swedish Club Gothenburg office.

 

MIS Zhuhai 09-10 November 2016

Kitty Lam and Carmen Or from The Swedish Club Team Asia.

The Swedish Club identifies lack of MRM behind navigational claims

By Accidents and investigations, Maritime Resource Management (MRM), P&I Clubs and marine insurers 2 Comments

In a report just published by the mutual hull insurer and P&I club The Swedish Club, lack of MRM has been identified as a common contributing factor in navigational accidents. The report is based on hull and machinery claims between 2004 and 2013 and the navigational claims – collisions, contacts and groundings – have been analyzed in more detail. The report lists a number of contributing factors behind these claims. The most important being:

  • Non-adherence to procedures
  • Ineffective communication
  • Poor lookout
  • Lack of situation awareness
  • Complacency

The report confirms the picture that we have seen for a long time – accidents are caused by “non-technical” factors rather than lack of technical skills. The non-technical factors are the focus area of Maritime Resource Management (MRM) training and the report also concludes that shipping companies need to better implement MRM in their organizations for substantial improvements to be seen.

Click here or the picture below for the report (1.5 MB, pdf-format).

The Swedish Club, Navigational Claims Report 2014

The Swedish Club, Navigational Claims Report 2014

Reinsurers learn about MRM at gathering in Sweden

By Maritime Resource Management (MRM), P&I Clubs and marine insurers, Seminars/Conferences No Comments

The mutual hull insurer and P&I Club, The Swedish Club, invited reinsurers to learn about Maritime Resource Management and its potential in reducing accidents at sea. The event took place on 13 May 2014 on the beautiful island of Marstrand on the Swedish West Coast.

Marstrand Island, Sweden

The island of Marstrand on the Swedish West Coast. The location of The Swedish Club’s “Reinsurance Day 2014”.

 

Reinsurance Day, Marstrand, 13 May 2014 lr

“MRM helps prevent accidents.” This message was positively received by the reinsurers gathered at the Grand Hotel Marstrand.

 

Allianz Safety and Shipping Review 2014

By Accidents and investigations, P&I Clubs and marine insurers No Comments

Published by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty at www.agcs.allianz.com
(Click picture for full report)

“Following the Safety and Shipping Review 2013, this annual release by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty analyzes the shipping losses (of over 100 gross tons) which occurred in 2013 and focuses simultaneously on key maritime developments over the same period of time.

Allianz Safety and Shipping Review 2014More than two years after the Costa Concordia disaster, improving passenger ship safety continues to be a priority. With more than 90% of global trade estimated to be carried by sea, the safety of international shipping vessels and routes is critical to the health of the global economy.

For the first time, the AGCS Safety and Shipping Review 2014 also includes the total number of shipping casualties/incidents by region. There were 2,596 casualties during 2013 with the East Mediterranean & Black Sea region the top hotspot (464), and the British Isles has been the scene of the most casualties over the past decade (see page13).

During 2013 there were 94 losses reported worldwide, ensuring the annual total dropped under 100 for only the second time in 12 years, continuing the recent downward trend. These losses are a 20% decline from 2012, which reported 117 losses.

The Safety and Shipping Review 2014 also focuses on safety concerns ranging across topics, from hazardous cargo to passenger ship safety to pollution control. Recent accidents, such as the sinking of the MOL Comfort (an overweight container ship) or the St Thomas of Aquinas (Philippine-registered 1972-built ferry), signal experts as to where standards need to be more closely examined.

According to the report, more than a third of 2013’s total losses were concentrated in two maritime regions. As in 2012, the South China, Indo China, Indonesia and the Philippines region saw the highest number of losses (18 ships), closely followed by the seas around Japan, Korea and North China (17 ships).

Emerging Risks
While the report offers details on topics that have historically challenged marine safety, it also looks at the rising trends and emerging risks that seafarers will need to regard. An increasingly difficult operating climate for ship operators has forced a number of innovations, including larger ship sizes to capitalize on economies of scale, the use of alternative fuels and changes in ship designs. At the same time, more economical trading routes are fast appearing in Arctic regions during the summer months, but these present their own set of challenges.”

Media release: ALL Academy offers Maritime Resource Management licences to combat maritime accidents

By Accidents and investigations, Maritime Resource Management (MRM), Media releases, P&I Clubs and marine insurers No Comments

An initiative to increase Maritime Resource Management (MRM) training in the maritime industry has been taken by ALL Academy International AB who now offers MRM training licences. “Lack of MRM continues to be a key factor in maritime accidents and there is an urgent need to do something about it. More shipping companies need to implement MRM”, says Martin Hernqvist, managing director of ALL Academy International AB, or ALL Academy for short.

Hernqvist, who parallel to his job at ALL Academy is the managing director of The Swedish Club Academy, continued: “The main promoter of resource management training in the maritime industry in the past has been the hull and P&I insurer The Swedish Club and MRM training licences have so far only been available through The Swedish Club Academy. A challenge has been to reach out to the shipping companies who have their insurances placed with other P&I clubs and insurance providers.”

Protection and indemnity insurance claims exceeding US$ 9 million are shared between the clubs in the International Group of P&I Clubs, Hernqvist explains. Any claim exceeding US$ 9 million will therefore have an impact on all clubs. Hernqvist said that major P&I claims may involve loss of lives and may have severe environmental consequences. The costs of these claims are escalating and many of these claims are also MRM-related, according to Hernqvist. “From a financial perspective, the grounding of the Costa Concordia stands out. It is by far the most expensive P&I claim ever. When the costs exceed the level ‘for own account’, all P&I clubs get involved and eventually all their respective members will have to contribute to cover the losses,” he added.

Martin Hernqvist said: “It is of the interest to all P&I clubs – and to their members – that everyone do whatever possible to reduce the likelihood of incidents. We are firm believers since 20 years now that MRM is the most effective tool available to increase safety and efficiency in our industry. However, it may have been difficult for other P&I clubs and insurers to promote a concept that has only been available through The Swedish Club Academy. The clubs are close colleagues in the international insurance market but at the same time competitors,” he said. “For this reason MRM licenses will now be made available also through ALL Academy. ALL Academy is the development company behind the MRM training programme and completely independent.”

Hernqvist hopes that many parties in the industry, not least other P&I clubs and insurers, through this initiative shall push forward for a greater use of MRM.  “We are excited about the new possibilities and we hope that MRM shall reach out to a wider audience. The industry needs it,” he concluded.

-ENDS-

Further information 

Martin Hernqvist, managing director, ALL Academy International AB
Tel: +46 (0)706 313 299
Email: martin.hernqvist@allacademy.com
Website: http://allacademy.com
For photos and logotype, click here.

Notes to Editors

ALL Academy International AB is an independent training development company primarily involved in human factors and resource management training programmes. ALL Academy is the company behind the Maritime Resource Management (MRM) training programme that has become the industry standard for resource management training. Primary users are maritime universities and training centres, ship owners, ship managers, manning agencies, pilot associations, marine insurers and P&I clubs. The MRM network is the maritime industry’s largest network in the human factors area and MRM training is today available in 35 countries worldwide.

Martin Hernqvist is the managing director of ALL Academy International AB and The Swedish Club Academy AB. Hernqvist was 20 years ago involved in the development of the maritime industry’s first ever resource management training programme, at that time called Bridge Resource Management (BRM). Maritime Resource Management (MRM) is a further development of BRM. MRM aims at involving the whole organisation, including shore-side management. In order to establish an effective safety culture within the organisation, a deep understanding and a commitment from the top is of utmost importance.

The Swedish Club offers insurance members MRM for free for two years

By Maritime Resource Management (MRM), P&I Clubs and marine insurers No Comments

At its Board Meeting in Amsterdam on 3 October 2013, The Swedish Club decided that insurance members of The Swedish Club shall be offered MRM licences for free for a period of two years. The Club expects that the decision shall help to move the industry forward in its strive for the establishment of effective safety cultures in shipping companies.

The launch date will be 1 January 2014 and both new and existing MRM licensees in the Club’s membership will be entitled to the offer. For more information about this initiative, please click here.

We expect that all training providers in the MRM network shall benefit from this move. There is a large number of different nationalities working on board the ships of Swedish Club members and these members will need assistance to put their seafarers through both initial MRM training and refresher training. So please be well prepared and make sure that you have well-trained and certified MRM Workshop Leaders at your training institutes ready to assist when needed.