Britannia P&I has established its own exclusive correspondent company — B Korea — to serve its growing client base in South Korea.
Until now, P&I Bros has acted as the London-based protection and indemnity mutual’s local South Korean correspondent.
B Korea will be led by representative director Shin-Ho Park and Y K Park, founder of current Britannia correspondent P&I Bros.
Launching the Seoul-based company is in line with Britannia's policy of setting up independent offices in key markets.
It also has exclusive correspondent arrangements in Spain, Taiwan and the US, and regional hub offices in Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Kobe.
P&I correspondents are local shipping experts who are usually the first point of contact for shipowners whose vessels run into trouble. They act as problem solvers for shipping companies but have no role in settling claims.
South Korean shipowners represent about 8% of vessels under Britannia’s P&I cover. The mutual is noted for its strength in the Far East. Japan accounts for about 19% of Britannia's insured fleet.
Britannia has a total owned and chartered P&I book amounting to 162.5m gt.
Britannia chief executive Andrew Cutler said: “We are delighted to be officially launching B Korea, and are confident that its launch will continue to enhance the service provided to our members in Korea, as well as serve as a platform for future business opportunities in the region.”
Park said: “The launch of B Korea will enable Britannia to further develop and deepen relationships with our Korean members.”
This story has been amended since publication to reflect that Shin-Ho Park is representative director at B Korea.
