Shipowners need to strike the right balance between openness and credibility after casualties, an International Seaways executive told the assembled attorneys at the American Bar Association's Admiralty Disruption conference in New Orleans over the weekend.
James Small, the New York-traded tanker owner's corporate secretary and general counsel, said companies need to have a system to communicate and stay accurate when fires or other incidents happen.
“Everyone is paying attention" when a casualty happens, he said.
Small's advice comes on the heels of a report from the TT Club, in which the insurer found a major fire breaks out on a boxship every 60 days.
Four such incidents have already happened in 2019, including a Griamldi Group ro-ro, the 56,642-gt Grande America (built 1997), catching fire and sinking off the coast of France.
That casualty is expected to cost the Norwegian Hull Club $50m in claims.
For a public company like International Seaways, Small drew a parallel between shipping casualties and the two Boeing's 737 Max 8 crashes causing upheaval in the aviation industry.
Since the second Boeing crash 10 March, the New York-traded company's stock has cratered by more than 12%, from $422 to $370.
“Shareholders are interested, first it’s their investment, second the stock price," he said, making communication with investors and the public that much more important.
He said International Seaways has authorized only a few of its executives to speak to the public and the press in case of a casualty and is committed to only passing along what can be verified.
“You have to be flexible. You have to adapt," Small said.
