North P&I Club Holds Its Annual Members Seminar at The Yacht Club of Greece

Around 150 members and guests attended North’s annual seminar at the Yacht Club of Greece in Mikrolimano, Piraeus on Tuesday evening (11 October 2016).

The presentations from North’s teams in Greece and the UK raised awareness around a raft of key issues and recent developments affecting the shipping sector. The topics covered included a review of North’s performance, claims trends and potential cyber risks for the shipping industry by Greek office director Tony Allen. UK-based loss prevention deputy director Colin Gillespie highlighted the importance of recruiting, training and retaining the right crew as part of North’s ongoing loss prevention initiative to assist its members in this critical area.

Greek office deputy director Helen Yiacoumis and senior P&I claims handler Captain Dev Lajmi then discussed issues around the rights, liabilities and legal implications when faced with improperly or inadequately documented, and possibly dangerous cargoes, presented for loading. Gordon Robertson, deputy director of claims in Greece, outlined the challenges and practicalities of due diligence obligations in relation to ‘check before fixing’, sanctions and armed guards. Senior freight, demurrage and defence (FD&D) solicitors Antigone Yanniotis and Ian Goulson rounded off the formal presentations, discussing the importance of scrutinising the details of charter agreements to avoid costly misunderstandings and disputes.

The evening ended with a buffet and drinks, allowing guests to enjoy the traditional surroundings of the Yacht Club overlooking picturesque Mikrolimano harbour.

North’s Greece office opened in 2000 and now has 13 staff including four P&I claims specialists and four FD&D solicitors. The Greek office looks after the needs of the Club’s steadily growing southern Europe membership, which now accounts for over 20% of entered tonnage.

ENDS

For further information contact: Tony Allen +30 210 4283038.

Note to Editors

North P&I Club is a leading global marine insurer providing P&I, FD&D, war risks and ancillary insurance to 131 million GT of owned tonnage. North acquired Sunderland Marine in February 2014 and formed the North Group. Through 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 in Greece, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore and Sunderland Marine offices worldwide. North is a leading member of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG), with 11.5% 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