Stephen Martin is to retire from his position as chief executive of Steamship Mutual at the end of the current policy year in February 2023.
Martin’s position is to be taken over by Jonathan Andrews, who is the head of the Eastern Syndicate. Hong Kong branch chief executive Rohan Bray will take over Andrews’ role.
Chris Adams is also to retire from his position as chief operating officer to be replaced by Graham Jones, current head of legal.
Martin was appointed chief executive in 2019 and has been with the club for 34 years, 10 of which were in senior executive roles.
The club is one of the largest and financially robust members of the International Group of P&I Clubs and, under Martin’s leadership, has remained strongly focused on its core P&I mutual business.
Martin has been a key figure in developing the club’s strategy over recent years.
In a challenging P&I market, in which all mutuals have lost money on their underwriting activities, Steamship added 4.8m gt of new tonnage at this February’s renewal, with owned tonnage now totalling 110m gt.
In 2021, Steamship reported free reserves of more than $500m and earned an A stable rating from S&P Global Ratings. Its six-year average underwriting performance has been profitable, with a combined ratio of 99.2%.
“At the end of this policy year, I expect Steamship to be in a strong position with its financial strength and commitment to high service levels, ensuring that it will continue to deliver on its main purpose of protecting and supporting its members,” Martin said.
“I have been fortunate to work with an excellent management team and to be able to promote from within those individuals who are committed to the established core values of the club.”
Andrews — Martin’s replacement — said: “The management team at the club is extremely experienced and together we will ensure that we continue to deliver the service and security that the members expect from the club.”
In other moves at Steamship, Charles Brown will retire from his role of head of claims and will be succeeded by Adrian Benham, who is currently head of claims for the Americas Syndicate.
Malcolm Shelmerdine, currently head of claims for the Eastern Syndicate and head of freight, demurrage and defence, will take on the position of head of the European syndicate.
