Today is one of the busier days at the conference as we have concurrent workshops in the morning and afternoon, with the Policy Forum workshop in the middle – phew! Where to go to first? If only we could have a clone of ourselves then it would make it far easier.
The morning commenced with the Legal & Liability workshop in the Canadian Room and the Inland Hull, Fishing Vessel and Yacht Committee (IFY as we fondly like to call it) in the Concert Hall. IFY Chair Anneke Kooiman took to the stage and dived right into the deep end. Anneke examined how for marine insurers to contribute to a sustainable future we have to confront the chaos now, looking at the challenges the IFY market faces and the potential opportunities within it too. Across the way, Charles Fernandez, our Legal & Liability Chair, also had his work cut out for him looking at the difficult market environment we currently operate in and the impacts this has for a more sustainable future.
The next session saw Helle Hammer, Policy Forum Chair, introduce her workshop and outline some of the main issues we have been working on. Helle highlighted container vessel fires, regulation of non-SOLAS vessels in the Arctic, and the new low-sulphur limit under the International Convention for the Protection of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI from 2020. We are pleased to announce that we also published our updated position paper today on cargo theft which can be viewed here.
But that was not all for today! After a delicious lunch we once again had a concurrent workshop with Ocean Hull and Offshore Energy going head to head. Delegates were torn as to which to go to but both Rama Chandran (Ocean Hull Committee Chair) and James McDonald (Offshore Energy Committee Chair) delivered informative, thought-provoking and detailed workshops.
Something we wish to bring your attention to is how IUMI’s Major Claims Database has grown from strength to strength. Our pilot project carried out in 2018 with just six member associations has nearly tripled in the number of participating member associations in the second year. Our project partners from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and our Facts & Figures Committee are working hard on a first report that will provide in-depth analysis on claims patterns and trends on a truly international level.
As the day draws to an end and we all feel a little weary a clone would once again come in handy. But there are dinners to be had and socialising to be done so please enjoy and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow for our last day.
