The Japan P&I Club has recorded another fall in its entered fleet following the annual 20 February protection and indemnity renewal.
In its renewal report the Tokyo-based mutual said its entered ocean-going fleet now stands at 87.8m gt, with an additional 2.6m gt of coastal vessels.
That compares with an entered ocean-going fleet of 90.4m gt and 2.6m gt of coastal vessels at the same point last year.
The Japan Club fleet has been in gradual decline since 2020 when its combined coastal and ocean-going fleets amounted to close to 100m gt.
The Japan Club has recently been forced to apply a 25% supplementary call on its members for both the 2020 and 2021 policy years and a 10% general increase at the 2023 renewal.
Japan Club executive director Hiroaki Sawabe said the renewal environment had not been easy even though the International Group of P&I Clubs pooled claims and Covid-19-related claims had fallen.
“Despite this tough business environment, most of our members have renewed their contracts with the association, and we are deeply grateful for their renewal. While we have lost some contracts, we have welcomed new members in both coastal and ocean-going vessels insurance,” he said.
In recent years the Japan Club has been hit by the highest coastal claim in its history involving a car carrier in 2021.
The loss is understood to involve the 11,454-gt ro-ro Byakko (built 2020), which sank after colliding with the 3,497-dwt tanker Ulsan Pioneer (built 2016) near Imabari City.
