Around 90% of all goods are shipped around the world by sea and containerised trade has been steadily increasing year-on-year.

Capacity has been rising in line with demand, with the world merchant containership fleet standing at 293 million DWT according to Statista.

Despite the numerous opportunities that this rising demand brings for the cargo market, it does leave it exposed to new and emerging risks.

Port accumulation, which is best described as the value of goods flowing through a port from the insureds that an insurer writes at any one time in the past, present or future, is one of these emerging risks that the cargo market does not always account for.

Understanding this is vital for the cargo market as it helps them to actively understand potential exposures to their portfolios. Such insights can help feed into their decision-making process, helping them to allocate capital effectively to mitigate any potential losses.

However, as discussed during the Russell Group-hosted roundtable at the IUMI conference, acknowledging the issue of port accumulation is one thing, but the actual monitoring of it, is another issue.

This is because of the inconsistency of data in the maritime market, with data coming in from numerous sources such as bills of lading and rating agencies. These inconsistencies in the data hinder the cargo market from really understanding their aggregations at a port level.

The ultimate solution, as identified by the participants, is to have unified, granular, real-time data relating to port accumulation. Such an approach would be hugely beneficial to the cargo market, by giving them the insights to mitigate this important emerging risk.

It is this approach that Russell, working in tandem with our marine clients, is actively trying to deliver to ensure our clients’ future viability.

The report from Russell Group’s roundtable on port accumulations is available to download here.