Japan P&I Club has been named as the star performer among protection and indemnity insurers in the dry sector, according to an analysis of port state control inspections.
Bulkers of more than 10,000 dwt that were insured by Japan P&I demonstrated a deficiency per inspection percentage of 1.15%, according to a study of 2017 data by Intercargo.
Japan P&I covers 1,072 bulkers and its members include large shipping companies such as NYK Line and MOL.
Close second
Standard Club came in a close second with a deficiency per inspection percentage of 1.16%. There are 762 bulkers in its insured fleet.
Norway’s Gard, which insures the most bulkers of all the clubs with 1,225 covered, had a deficiency score of 1.24%.
The Shipowners’ Club had the worst score of 2.88%. However, Intercargo said the club had shown the most improvement compared with its 2016 figure of 4.2%.
The Shipowners’ Club is also the smallest of the mutuals in terms of cover with just 32 insured ships.
Overall, the 13 members of the International Group Protection & Indemnity Clubs, which cover 88.3% of the dry bulk fleet, averaged a deficiency per inspection rate of 1.56% compared with 3.99% for insurers outside the group, Intercargo said.
Lives lost
Intercargo also reported that 32 lives were lost at sea in 2017, which it attributed to two major incidents.
A total of 22 seafarers died when the 266,141-dwt VLOC Stellar Daisy (built 1993) sank in March 2017, and 10 perished when the 57,367-dwt Emerald Star (built 2010) went down in October 2017.
In the decade between 2008 and 2017, Intercargo reported the loss of 202 seafarers lives and 53 bulkers.
