Our conference in September will give the marine insurance and transport professionals gathering in Berlin the opportunity to review the main events which have impacted marine insurance activities in recent months. 

Marine losses will certainly be high on the agenda following the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge in April after it was struck by the vessel Dali. Such a case reminds us how legally complex a shipping casualty can be with high financial exposure and a variety of loss types including, tragically, loss of life. It also demonstrates that marine navigation is always a risk even in noticeably quiet and controlled waters; and that a vessel’s value and size in relation to local sea traffic can lead to very high-profile losses.

Other losses have occurred since our last conference in Edinburgh, notably a number of fires on board containerships and boxes lost overboard. These events (sometimes with tragic loss of life) are more usual for the markets, but they show that marine and transport incidents are still a real issue for which marine insurance is a solution.

The last few months have also highlighted the worsening trend in geopolitics and its impact on shipping and marine insurance. The Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea have led to at least four known total losses, sadly resulting in loss of lives, and major damage to vessels and cargo. It has proved difficult to manage these with the regular LOF solution as it has not been easy to enter the area and assist the stricken vessel or avoid pollution.

Detainment of vessels by Iranian authorities’ proxies is also of growing concern and this is a clear signal that the Persian Gulf area could become difficult for ship transits with a high uncertainty for insurers providing hull, cargo, and P&I cover.

That aside, shipping and marine insurance should also be concerned with a number of other developments:

The Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling enters into force in June 2025 and the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) system is already in force for all merchant vessels calling at EU ports. This was rolled out in January 2024 and has the potential to accelerate the number of new-builds utilising greener technologies which will, in turn, accelerate the recycling of those vessels sent to scrap.

In these changing times, all serious shipping stakeholders are considering the optimum solution for reducing their vessels’ greenhouse gas emissions from “cradle to grave” and remaining compliant with all regulations.

Marine insurers must also comply with the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) applicable since 1 January 2024. This requires financial institutions to monitor the decarbonisation trends within their organisation and through their business portfolio. IUMI and marine insurers supporting or applying the PPMI principles will already be familiar with those developments.

Our September conference will be an exciting forum to consider these important changes, their impact on our future activities and the way we insure them; together with the atypical and repeated losses that we are now experiencing.

Although vitally important, these issues should not obscure the celebration of our 150th  anniversary. IUMI was launched in Berlin in 1874 and so it is fitting that we return in 2024 to acknowledge some of the important milestones in our long history.

Our conference common theme is "Building on 150 Years of Enabling Global Commerce" allowing us to continue the debate on how we can best manage risk for our assureds and support global trade.

I hope to meet many of you in Berlin.