Introduction: Lars Lange, Secretary General, IUMI

Lars started his professional career as a maritime lawyer with the law firm Blaum Dettmers Rabstein in Bremen. In October 2008 he took over the position as head of the marine and aviation insurance department at the German Insurance Association (GDV) in Berlin. In January 2013 he moved to his present position as Secretary General of the IUMI where he runs the association’s IMO and EU activities and fosters the relations with other maritime stakeholders.

Lars also chairs the International Quality Assessment Review Body (IQARB) under the auspieces of the IMO and holds a number of honorary posts such serving as a member of the Advisory Committee to the IACS QSCS and as a technical expert to the BIMCO Safety and Security Committee.

Coverage extensions: Dr Jennifer Lavelle, Senior Associate, Clyde & Co

Dr Jennifer Lavelle is a Senior Associate and Marine Claims and Policy Specialist at Clyde & Co LLP. She specialises in providing marine and non-marine policy coverage advice to major international insurers and trading companies worldwide. Jennifer also handles recovery claims in arbitration and in court in the UK and abroad. She has a Ph.D. in commercial law and researched and taught various commercial and maritime law subjects at the University of Southampton before joining Clyde & Co., contributing to Merkin, Marine Insurance Legislation (5th edition) and Clarke (ed.), Maritime Law Evolving. She is currently assisting John Dunt in updating the third edition of Marine Cargo Insurance.

Coverage extensions: Bo Yu, Head of claims Asia, Markel International & Member of the IUMI Legal & Liability Committee

Bo joined Markel Singapore in 2020, most recently serving as Head of Claims for Asia, overseeing claims for Marine, Energy, Casualty, and Professional Financial Risks.
With over 14 years of experience, his career began in 2011 at Dolphin Claims with responsibilities in cargo claims adjustment and recovery. He subsequently worked at Marsh Singapore as a Claims Broker and Claims Advocate, handling claims relating to Cargo, Hull, P&I, and Marine Liability. Prior to his current position, he also managed similar type of marine claims at direct insurers including Great American and QBE.

Bo has served on the Legal & Liability Committee of IUMI since 2022. Committed and passionate to knowledge sharing, he is actively contributing to the IUMI Masterclasses for Cargo and Hull by developing curriculum content and delivering lectures. Bo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Graduate Diploma in Maritime Law and Arbitration from the National University of Singapore.

Loss prevention and claims: Jason Lee, Director, ALC Consulting Services

With over two decades of experience in the maritime industry, Jason Lee brings a wealth of practical knowledge to the table. His career spans key roles as a shipyard operator, ship-owner and shipbroker, giving him a deep understanding of the industry from multiple perspectives. He is also a recognized vessel valuation expert and currently manages a marine surveying firm ALC Group, operating in Singapore and Indonesia. ALC Group was recently acquired by France’s ERGET Group, a leading multi-specialist for corporate risk in Europe and emerging markets.

Jason will draw on real-world experience and actual case incidents to provide some practical insights into the complexities of maritime operations.

Contracts of affreightment: Toby Stephen, Partner, HFW

Toby is HFW’s Asia Head of Shipping and APAC Head of our global Crisis Management team. Toby’s work involves managing major marine and energy disasters, often in complex and hostile environments, dealing with high profile casualties involving inter-related actions in multiple jurisdictions.

He is also recognised for insurance coverage and other marine and energy related commercial and contractual disputes.

Toby has practical experience of working as a marine surveyor in Houston. He has also acted as head of the legal team at a leading Lloyd’s syndicate dealing with marine, energy and war risks. Toby is qualified in England and Wales and joined HFW as a solicitor in 2001. He became a Partner in 2007 and relocated from our London office to Singapore in 2017, where he also a Registered Foreign Lawyer.

Sustainability and ESG: Hendrike Kühl, Policy Director, IUMI

Hendrike Kühl is Policy Director at the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI). In this role, Hendrike supports the development of IUMI’s policy and advocacy efforts and is in charge of coordinating IUMI’s qualification and education programmes.

Prior to her position at IUMI, Hendrike was heading the Brussels office of the Trans-Atlantic Business Council, a trade association representing American and European corporations vis-à-vis the European Commission and the U.S. government agencies. Hendrike holds a BA in European Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Emek Ersin Takmaz, Deputy Regional Managing Director APAC, ABL Group

Emek is a Naval Architect and the Deputy Regional Managing Director for ABL’s operations in Asia Pacific based in Singapore. He has a decade of leadership experience including the successful establishment and growth of ABL’s German office as General Manager.

With a strong international track record, Emek is a solution-driven professional who has contributed to a wide range of challenging projects. Over the course of his career, he has held roles on the EPCI, vessel owner, and MWS sides preparing, reviewing, and approving contracts, calculations, drawings, method statements, and other project-specific documentation. Operationally, he has overseen the loading, discharge, and installation of special project cargoes and components for offshore wind farms as well as oil and gas projects. In his role as a consultant, he has also participated in various investigation cases preparing expert reports on damages to vessels and cargoes.

Before joining ABL Group, Emek served as Head of Projects Engineering with the T&I contractor Hansa Heavy Lift in Hamburg and Houston. Earlier in his career, he worked with the EPCI company McDermott in Dubai.