Patience, Persistence and Passion

The past, as novelist LP Harley wrote, “is another country, they do things differently there.” Twenty years ago we’d just recovered from the anxiety of Y2K, mobile phones were on the cusp of becoming ubiquitous, social media was not the number one topic of conversation, and the term ‘BREXIT’ had never even been whispered.

Since that time, the Greek shipowning community has reinforced its position as the world’s largest ship owning nation. Despite Greece representing only 0.16% of the world’s population, Greek shipowners account for just under 21% of global tonnage and almost 55% of European Union controlled tonnage. Between 2007 and 2019, Greek shipowners more than doubled the carrying capacity of their fleet.

Greek shipping today is rightly recognised as one of the global economy’s cornerstones and a major facilitator of international trade. Comprising mostly of privately owned family businesses, Greek shipping is very flexible and adaptable to changing economics and trade flows. Indeed, the Greek shipping industry has already shown outstanding resilience and adaptability throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

What has North’s role been in supporting the development of the Greek shipping industry over the last 20 years, and why does it matter?

Every day our team in Piraeus and Newcastle see first-hand our Greek Members’ hard work and commitment to make their businesses a success, often in very demanding circumstances. Our P&I, FD&D, Underwriting and Loss Prevention teams do all they can to support, inform and advance that ambition. Collaborative and integrated, North’s 48-strong Piraeus and Newcastle based team can boast over 600 years of collective experience, expertise and insight into how the Greek maritime sector works. Any number of problems and challenges can be rapidly and effectively resolved, protecting the commercial interests of our Members. You’ve already seen several of the 20-strong Piraeus based team in this anniversary celebration, and many of you will already know the larger team in Newcastle, complementing our local presence here in Greece. This combined team has been blended to develop solutions for the challenging commercial environment in which Members need to be able to trade with confidence and are secure in the support available to them, 24-7, 365 days a year.

It’s all about Members

The illustration below highlights the strength and depth of the resource available to North’s Members in Greece. This structure was first introduced in August 2018 and was specifically designed to continue providing the highest service standards to our Greek Membership. This is an easy claim for P&I clubs to make, and many do, but North’s core service ethos is summarised through its strapline, ‘local service built around you’. This ethos ensures that our Members can be confident that they benefit from expert and accurate advice, insight and assistance that is timely, concise and commercially practical and actionable.

The Newcastle based team are frequent and regular travellers to Members based across Greece, and there is a regular programme of staff transfers between offices to ensure seamless service delivery and build on the already well-established relationships with local Members. This blended approach across our two offices matches a global outlook with on-the-spot capabilities and confirms that proven partners are the best option for trading with confidence in periods of market and economic uncertainty.

Expert and accurate advice is imperative on the claims front, where commercial pressures often mean that a rapid response is critical and that decisions need to be made on the best information available, albeit often with incomplete details and control. Our substantial local presence and experience of working with several prominent Greek shipowners, blended with the skills and expertise of those based in Newcastle, brings a compelling service proposition that many local owners are happy to benefit from, including the majority of the top 10 shipping companies based in Greece.

This service-led approach, reflecting a commitment to both flexibility and permanent relationships, has won the loyalty of our 83 Greek Members and as the shipping sector in Greece has expanded, North’s tonnage has grown in tandem with this. North’s total Greek tonnage now stands at 43 million tons, representing more than 25% of the total 160M GT entered with North.

Of course, claims expertise is only part of the story. Over the last two decades, the North team, both in Piraeus and Newcastle, has built considerable expertise in dealing with general enquiries, loss prevention questions and other shipping issues. We are all aware that ever-increasing regulation, which shows no sign of slowing, places a growing and complex burden on today’s shipowners. From environmental concerns and the IMO setting the pace for decarbonisation in the shipping industry with its 2030 and 2050 targets through to sanctions, cyber risks, a shortage of the right crew and the economic uncertainties caused by Covid-19, the challenges facing Greek shipowners are considerable.

Looking ahead

We have no doubt that Greek shipping will respond to these challenges and we’re here to make sure that we contribute and play our part now and, in the future, supporting our Greek membership. As you’ve seen our recent innovations include virtual Member training and education, bespoke webinars along with a range of new digital tools to assist our Members in proactively assessing risks in specific ports and countries. This includes our dedicated Covid-19 expertise area, our award-winning Covid-19 Tracker on MyGlobeView and the recently released Route Risk Advice tool.

Over the next 3 to 5 years, the team plan to continue growing the Greek membership, so we are investing in the right talent, skills and expertise across our Piraeus and Newcastle offices. We’re developing and coaching our existing people to meet the changing service expectations of our Members and we’re alert to opportunities for further recruitment. However, recruiting suitable people with the appropriate technical knowledge and service ethos isn’t easy, but we’re determined to bring in the right people who can meet the demands of our membership. Occasionally we receive extraordinary questions and, as Members expect us to respond quickly in every situation, having our expertise spread over two offices in Piraeus and Newcastle is extremely helpful. It provides a strength and depth that few others can match.