The Club is pleased to announce the successful completion of its 2021 renewal, which was conducted in especially challenging circumstances.

‘World Whale Day’ held annually on the third Saturday in February, was founded in Maui, Hawaii, in 1980, to honour humpback whales, which swim off its coast. Today, the event serves a bigger purpose and reminds us of the need for continuous protection of the many large species of whale that are listed as “endangered” or “threatened”.

The Standard Club has completed its renewal negotiations and is very well positioned to continue to support its members through these unprecedented times. The club has successfully renewed 95% of the expiring portfolio and welcomed a small number of high-quality new members. Many existing members have expanded their entries and in a number of cases consolidated their fleet into Standard from other clubs.

A bit of preparation means a quicker turnaround of a reimbursement claim – a welcome result for both insureds and Gard claims handlers. This article focuses on claims related to crew and does not discuss cover related to passengers or others who may be aboard in a capacity other than crew.

Britannia P&I will officially launch B Korea P&I Correspondent Co., Ltd. (‘B Korea’) as its Exclusive Correspondents in Korea on 20th February 2021. B Korea will replace P&I Bros Ltd. and be based in a new office located at the Seoul Finance Center, Jung-gu, Seoul.

The International Group has amended the Pooling Agreement so that as of 20 February 2021, P&I cover in respect of fines for smuggling and breach of customs regulations will no longer provided as of right, but only on a discretionary basis.

The SG-STAR Fund is the first global tripartite initiative bringing together like-minded international partners from the industry, unions and government to facilitate safe crew changes. The fund, based in Singapore, will be disbursed for use upstream in countries such as Philippines and India where a high majority of seafarers come from.

Further to our News Item of 28 December 2020 regarding new requirements for all ships to make oil spill response arrangements when bunkering at Zona Comun in Argentina, the Club’s local representative in Buenos Aires, Pandi Liquidadores, now advise that the Argentinean Coast Guard has clarified the requirements in light of industry concerns such that:

Virginia Beach-based insurance company Core Assurance Partners Inc. announced Tuesday that Zack Brandau has been named as president and Will Russell has been named as vice president.