With new technologies expected to give rise to new risks that will need to be understood and insured, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) has highlighted the ‘pivotal role’ that marine underwriters will play in the maritime energy transition.
Shipping’s move to net-zero is welcome but new risks must be understood
Speaking at the IUMI annual conference in Edinburgh this week, Helle Hammer, Chair or IUMI’s Policy Forum, said while compliance with the revised greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategy that was adopted by the IMO in July ‘will fall mainly on the shoulders of the shipowners’, she assured them that they will be ‘fully supported’ by the marine insurance community who she noted ‘will underwrite much of the risk.’
Hammer said: ‘Therefore, there needs to be comprehensive cooperation and knowledge sharing between owners, class, flag states, underwriters and others. This will be particularly important as the first movers begin implementing new technologies which will then, inevitably, be taken up by the remainder of the industry. It will be essential for a comprehensive regulatory regime to be in place before the bulk of the fleet starts to comply.’
Hammer also highlighted the importance of having holistic regulations in place which place a heavy emphasis on crew safety.
‘Protecting the environment is essential but so is protecting the welfare and safety of our seafarers,’ said Hammer. ‘We should ensure that environmental and crew safety initiatives are progressed simultaneously to ensure those at sea are not compromised in any way. At the same time, we need to recognise that significant and new training programmes will need to be implemented to ensure our seafarers are fully trained and compliant with the new technologies and can operate them safely.’
Hammer also stressed the importance of ensuring that marine underwriters are aware of and engaged with the evolution of the shipping industry.
‘We will face many challenges and unknowns as we move to net-zero and, as an industry, we must work together to ensure people are kept safe and the environment is protected,’ said Hammer. ‘New risks must be understood, insured and mitigated; and underwriters are likely to seek more information outside their loss records as a result.’
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: IUMI
