U.K. P&I CLUB PUBLISHES SURVEY ON CARGO CLAIMS
The U.K Protection and Indemnity Club, the world’s largest P&I club,
has published a major study that analyzes the causes and locations of major insurance
claims in the shipping industry over a 10-year period.
The survey, based on 3,719 large marine claims worth $1.8 billion that
occurred in the decade ended Jan. 1, 1997, covers shipping claims for cargo damage,
personal injury, property, collision and pollution.
The P&I club said that cargo claims represent 40 percent of the number of
large claims and 27 percent of their total value. During the 10-year period, the U.K.
P&I club recorded large cargo claims worth $469 million, with an average value for
each major claim of about $314,000.
There is a trend toward fewer major cargo claims of increasing severity, the
P&I club said.
The cargoes most commonly damaged are, in decreasing order: dry bulk,
containers, steel products, bagged bulk, reefer and general cargo.
The P&I club’s survey recorded fewer large claims concerning car
shipments, bulk chemical, crude oil, grain, machinery and oil products.