The Australian Federal Court has ordered Japanese shipping company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K-Line), to pay a fine of $35.5m for criminal cartel conduct. This follows fines already imposed by Japan, the US, China and the European Commission, with others in the pipeline. In a note issued by Australian law firm Nathan Holding Redlich, the criminal conduct for which K-Line…
Indian companies that import crude oil, petroleum products, chemicals and fertilisers from the Arabian Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz are paying “phenomenally higher” cargo insurance premiums to cover war and strikes, an Indian broker has told newspaper Hindu Business Line. Standard Cargo insurance clauses exclude war and strikes. To acquire the cover, buyers need to attach the war…
Hiscox, the London-based international specialty insurer, has developed a new security product to help protect shipping targeted by nation states as risk managers in the shipping sector seriously review their options given the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. The Malicious Vessel Seizure product will respond to a single peril of a ship taken by a foreign government, providing loss-of-hire…
Swiss Re has teamed up with Singapore-based insurer EF Marine to offer protection and indemnity (P&I) cover with potential limits up to $500m, to foreign ships that call at Indian ports. EF Marine, which has offices in Singapore and Rotterdam and provides AA-rated security from Swiss Re, announced that it is now an approved insurance provider for the purpose of…
Offshore oil and gas companies that operate off the shores of New Zealand will be required to hold higher levels of insurance to ensure they can cover the cost of environmental damage, under proposed new rules announced by associate minister for transport Julie Anne Genter. The New Zealand Cabinet has agreed to consult on increasing the amount of insurance that…
Two further torpedo attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman that left one vessel ablaze and both adrift are likely to drive insurance rates up and persuade marine and energy insurers to tighten conditions, according to international law firm DWF. The likely total value of goods involved in the latest attacks is about $65m, according to risk management…
Large shipping losses were at their lowest level last year since the turn of the 21st century, according to maritime statistics from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). There were just 45 total losses globally in 2018. This is down from 98 in 2017 and 55% lower than the ten-year average of 104. It is the fourth consecutive year that…
Latest figures produced by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC), an anti-piracy consortium of Asian states, have revealed a 25% decrease in marine piracy activity in Asia. The data, presented by ReCAAP ISC executive director Masafumi Kuroki at its annual Piracy and Sea Robbery Conference in Singapore, showed that there were…
Marsh executives have sought to allay risk manager concerns that the JLT acquisition will lead to a lack of focus, loss of talent and seriously harm competition in the sector. Speaking the day after the deal completed, they said the combined company will redouble efforts to put clients at the centre of its thinking and decision-makers close to the front line of risk…
QBE Insurance Group has turned around net losses of $1.25bn in 2017 to record a profit of $350m in 2018, improving its combined ratio to 95.7%…