West of England has continued its diversification drive through a move into cyber security.
The protection and indemnity club said it has made a "significant" investment in UK risk management company Astaara as it seeks to move away from its perception as a historically conservative club.
The deal is thought to be first by a P&I club in a specialist cyber risk insurer.
West of England believes shipowners are not as well covered in this area as they need to be, with dangers from ransomware, phishing, SQL injections, cross-site scripting and malware all lurking.
The move follows a February deal that saw it buy a major stake in Swedish delay insurance provider Nordic Marine Insurance.
The London-based P&I mutual said it had acquired Alandia Insurance’s shareholding in Nordic Marine.
West of England chief executive Tom Bowsher said the Astaara deal is the perfect investment to show members how seriously it takes cyber security.
"The cyber solution provided by Astaara is second to none and the most comprehensive in the market. We are investing in a cyber product and a team that has a huge amount of experience," he added.
Vessels under threat
"Astaara clearly meets the demands of the shipowning and broader maritime community, of which we have a long and proud tradition of supporting."
Attacks on vessels can be made through corrupted AIS signals or navigation systems, the West warned.
"This investment recognises the underlying demand for marine cyber specialist insurance services and validates the approach of Astaara in addressing the gaps in the existing marine and cyber insurance market," said Guernsey-based Astaara's chief executive, Robert Dorey.
He said today's market conditions are unparalleled, in terms of health threats to ports, ship crews and offices as a result of the global pandemic.
As a result, shipping companies are more reliant than ever on digitalisation.
"This is already against a backdrop of ever-increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks which disrupt supply chains, and stakeholders’ confidence in their investments," he said.
