North P&I Club Encourages Members to Sign Up for Crisis Response Service

North P&I Club is committed to providing its members with the highest levels of service and today announces an exclusive partnership agreement with Navigate Response that offers members a 20% discount on their crisis media management service.

North is encouraging its shipowner members to consider the value a crisis media management service can bring when dealing with unexpected disasters, emergencies and other incidents which may reflect unfavourably on their business operations or brand reputation.

According to North’s director of marketing and communications Rob McInally, ‘we are always looking for new and innovative value-adding benefits for our members. At North we strongly believe that robust crisis media response plans can help shipowners and operators minimise threats to their reputation and stakeholder relationships. Sound crisis media response planning can help avoid more serious problems down the line, including significant cost implications.’

The emergence of social media has had a significant impact on crisis media response, shortening the timeline to respond and encouraging the spread of misleading, incomplete or even false information –so called ‘fake news’. During a crisis, companies are now expected to respond more quickly and across more channels than ever before.

Navigate Response’s COO, Dustin Eno said, ‘The intensity of media, social media and stakeholder pressure that can be associated with even minor incidents often catches companies by surprise. Unfortunately, delays or mistakes in media management are often interpreted as signs that a company is either incompetent or hiding something. Such assumptions can quickly damage vital relationships, lead to third party interference and lead to potentially expensive litigation.’

Eno added, ‘If the average person can name a ship, it’s probably because it sank. Unfortunately, this selective knowledge of our industry makes people quick to believe anything negative about the maritime sector and sceptical of anything positive. One of the best ways to overcome this hurdle is to communicate with key audiences openly, early and often.’

McInally concludes, ‘The Navigate Response service can help our members strengthen their approach to dealing with an unexpected crisis. Media management, liaison, communication and reporting all play their part in safeguarding the reputation of shipowners at a time of crisis.’

ENDS

For further information contact: Kim Heaselden on +44 191 232 5221 / kim.heaselden@nepia.com

Notes to editors

1. North P&I Club is a leading global marine insurer providing P&I, FD&D, war risks and ancillary insurance to 140 million GT of owned tonnage. Through its guaranteed subsidiary Sunderland Marine, North is also a leading insurer of fishing vessels, small craft and aquaculture risks. The Standard and Poor’s ‘A’ rated Club is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK with regional offices and subsidiaries in China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Greece, Japan, Singapore and Sunderland Marine offices worldwide. North is a leading member of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG), with over 12% of the IG’s owned tonnage. The 13 IG clubs provide liability cover for approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage and, as a member of the IG, North protects and promotes the interests of the international shipping industry. For further information visit: www.nepia.com

2. Navigate Response is one of the leading experts in handling and advising on the management of crisis communications in the international shipping, port and offshore industries. Part of the Navigate Group of companies and headquartered in London and Singapore, Navigate Response operates a global network of 38 offices in 24 countries around the world. The team is on call 24/7 to provide crisis communication management support and currently provides support to 40 companies with a collective fleet of 3,500 vessels. For further information visit: www.navigateresponse.com/