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Hamburg Seminar 2012

Thu, 03 May 2012 17:19:18 +0200

We will be joined by some of the leading figures in the industry to consider such topics as the ongoing issues surrounding Operational Performance and Risk; Safety Climate vs Safety Culture; Crew fatigue; Improving Business Performance and Management Capabilities.
We look forward to welcoming you all to the "Hauptzollamt Hafen Hamburg", to debate these and other subjects and to provide an environment for you to network with other marine professionals.

The target audience is primarily ship managers, insurance staff, HR / Crew managers, chartering staff and operational staff, as well as general management. However, all interested participants are most welcome!

Please note that places are limited and we urge you to register in advance in order to guarantee attendance.

Click here to registrer
You can download the pdf with more information about the seminar on top of the page to the right.

Registration by Thursday 31.05.2012

NHC Annual Report 2011

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:53:05 +0200

2011 will be remembered for a number of issues that are political, economic or related to natural events. Among the most significant are the Arab spring, uncertainty regarding the solvency of some EMU member countries, uncertainty regarding budgets in the US and a number of natural catastrophes such as earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and flooding in Australia and Thailand. (Directors' Report 2011)

Go to digital Annual Report 2011 here

Honouring Officers for taking action

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:17:40 +0200

11th March 2011 the devastating eartquake hit Japan, measuring 9.0 on Richter's scale. At Port of Onahama Captain Zhu Qianchun served on board the "Port Pegasus" when the vessel was hit by the tsunami while moored alongside discharging berth. The Master and his crew managed to keep the vessel alongside by using the rudder and engine in a way that there was no personal and very limited damages to the vessel. Compared with other casualties in the area ranging from total loss to severe damages and tragedies, the "Port Pegasus" came successfully through this nightmare thanks to Captain Zho Quianchun who demonstrated ability to act and stayed cool in a critical situation.

The Captain was honored with Ole Wikborg's award 30th November 2011 at Pasific Basin's Officers' Conference in Dalian. He has also erned awards from Lloyds Syndicate and was named "Seafarer of the Year" in Lloyds List Awards, Global 2011 at London, Lloyds List Awards Asia 2011, Hong Kong and was named by Lloyds List as one of the 100 most influential people in the shipping industry in 2011

27th February 2010 Chile experienced earthquake, measuring over 8 on Richter's scale. Alongside in San Antonio was the "Star Juventas" with Mr. Silvestre Notorio as captain. The vessel had just started discharging her cargo of wheat when nature took command. By excellent leadership onboard he managed to keep all officers and crew calm and safe. Furthermore, he managed to keep the crew focused on the tasks that had to be done, and at the same time submitting thorough information to the Contingency Group and updating relevant parties.

Captain Notorio was naturally very proud and held an emotional speech in front of officers and top management at Grieg Shipping's officers' conference in Cebu PH 24th March. The captain was honored with a gold wrist watch from Ole Wikborg's fund for his excellent seamanship, leadership and decision making in an unknown, uncertain and extremely challenging situation. The Captain dedicated the award to the entire crew and company.

Norwegian Hull Club are proud to honor the two captains for their outstanding achievements under extreme conditons. Congratulations!

Norwegian Hull Club NAIC-Listed

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:44:57 +0200

Placement on the listing provides U.S. surplus lines brokers with a level of assurance in respect of the acceptability of policies quoted or written with alien (non-U.S.) insurers.

This level of assurance was solidified when the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2010 (NRRA), a part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, took effect on 21 July 2011. Prior to the NRRA, placement criteria on the individually-maintained, state-specific alien insurer eligibility lists varied widely from state to state. Under the NRRA, however, all states and US territories must now permit NAIC-listed alien insurers to provide surplus lines coverage and cannot refuse to allow placement with NAIC-listed alien insurers.

Therefore, as a matter of U.S. federal law, Norwegian Hull Club is now permitted to provide surplus lines coverage in all U.S. states and US territories, without regard to any previously-existing, state-specific limitations on the conducting of surplus lines business within that state. Where an individual state still maintains its own eligibility list, placement on the NAIC IID listing in most cases implicates a similar listing on the state list. For example, Florida and Texas are two key states which has noted Norwegian Hull Club on their own eligibility lists as federally authorized or added by IID listing.

U.S. brokers and assureds will now have more access to the quality services, insurance products, and expertise provided by Norwegian Hull Club than ever before. Norwegian Hull Club is excited to now be NAIC-listed and we look forward to strengthening relationships with our new and existing U.S. clients and broker contacts.

Emergency towing procedures

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:46:50 +0100

With effect from January 1st 2012, SOLAS regulation (II-1/3-4) requires that all vessels should have a ship-specific emergency towing procedure. You may have already received information and guidance from your owners and classification society but we would also like to outline the main requirements of the regulation.

To view the whole Casualty Information letter, please click on the link up to the right. You will find the SOLAS Chap II-1 Regulation 3-4 and the IMO circular, MSC.1/Circ.1255, "Guidelines for Owners/Operators on preparing Emergency Towing Procedures" in the same PDF file.

Gives Grieg the space he deserves

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:46:06 +0100

Troldhaugen is a popular tourist destination in Bergen, Norway, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors from around 50 different countries every year. Troldsalen Concert Hall, which was built in 1985, is located at the heart of the museum, between Edvard Grieg's home and the newer museum/café building. As part of the celebrations to mark its 175th anniversary next year, Norwegian Hull Club has decided to make a financial contribution towards a comprehensive revitalisation of the concert hall.

"Edvard Grieg is far and away the most important composer Norway has ever produced, and he enjoyed a significant international career. Culture is an area that we at NHC have chosen to sponsor previously, and we are delighted to have this opportunity to make Troldsalen one of the best and most important arenas for chamber music in Norway," says John Wiik, Managing Director.
For Ingrid Røynesdal, Curator of the Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugen, the contribution from Norwegian Hull Club is both extremely generous and extremely important.

"It is magnificent to experience the enthusiasm that NHC has poured into this project, and it is nothing short of exemplary to see such an important company placing culture and quality so high on its agenda," she says.

The plans for the building are well underway, and the new, revitalised hall is scheduled for completion in summer 2012.

One of the artists who knows the Troldsalen Concert Hall well is Leif Ove Andsnes, the world-famous Norwegian piano virtuoso.
"It is absolutely fantastic," he says on being informed of the improvement plans. Andsnes will be one of the performers participating in the celebrations to mark the company's anniversary next year. "It was in Troldsalen that I first realised what it means to fill an entire evening with music. It is also the hall where I debuted at the age of 17. It was a huge experience and one that I would actually term ‘life-changing'", he says.

"From a purely musical perspective, the hall has a very special acoustic. You are closed in architecturally and have to work to find the sound and the acoustic image. Best of all, however, it is a beautiful place to play, with the windows providing a view of the composer's cabin. The surroundings themselves add a historical dimension," he adds.

Read the whole interview with Ingrid Røynesdal and Leif Ove Andsnes in our latest issue of Network.

Singapore seminar 9th March

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:02:10 +0100

The former colonial post office, now the Fullerton Hotel, in the heart of the downtown business district of Singapore, was the venue for the NHC / SSA (Singapore Shipowners' Association) collaboration on Friday 9th March. The three hour seminar followed by refreshments and networking was well attended as 80+ guests were taken on a journey through a rudderless world starting with global macroeconomic and geopolitical; to industry; then company and ultimately crew member challenges and issues facing the maritime cluster both today and tomorrow.

Three paradoxes

Nick Sansom of the Standard Club kindly opened the seminar on behalf of the SSA contemplating the evolvement of the shipping industry; it's technical and regulatory developments to today's turbulent times. The podium was then taken by key note speaker Kishore Mahbubani, Dean and Professor in the Practice of Public Policy of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He presented first three paradoxes and finally three rays of hope to an engaged audience as he considered the fate of the good ship mother earth and her 7 billion passengers, currently navigating without a captain at the helm, lurching and rolling from swell to swell in stormy seas. Indeed the entire afternoon could have been dedicated to a question and answer session with this world renowned diplomat and guru. He contemplated the rise of Asia and the Far East as successors to 200 years of western development and wealth creation and left us pondering the outcome of a predicted three and a half fold increase (500m to 1,75bn) in Asian middle classes over the next few years. This against a back drop of political and economic uncertainty amongst both established and emerging wealthy nations, more concerned with their national interests rather than collaborating on common efforts and solutions required to take care of global issues.

Barbaruic business model

Ole Jørgen Eikanger, Deputy Director of Client Services at NHC, then guided us through an update of the practical and political state of the piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, examining this barbaric but effective business model and the traumatic results for officers and crew on those vessels unlucky enough to be captured, taken hostage and held ransom. Again common efforts are required to solve and eradicate the problem.
Per Åge Nygård, Head of Legal at NHC, highlighted developments in salvage with a pictorial backdrop of high profile casualties, tracking the evolvement of the history of laying claim to salved values to today's prioritizing of human life, the environment and then property, proclaiming the current version of the Lloyd's Open Form (LOF) to be more akin to a well-known Danish brand of beer as governments and authorities look to shipping companies and salvors to provide global salvage solutions that can react to even the most unthinkable maritime disasters.

Investing in crew

Following the coffee break, Captain Ravinder Gour of Singapore based shipping company Masterbulk, contemplated the challenges facing the modern shipowner, concluding by highlighting the importance of developing and implementing responsible policy and investing in crew. Casper Meland, Director of Yachts and Marine Benefits at NHC, continued further on the issue of people as he underlined the importance of investing in and managing human capital in a shipping industry demanding and requiring reliability in all aspects of its business model, from finance and insurance to construction, ship operation and commercial ventures. The MLC 06 (Maritime Labour Convention) considered as the 4th Pillar of the maritime regulatory framework, finally forcing the shipping industry to properly take care of its 1,3million seafarers and their families.

Art and conclusions

Managing Director and CEO, John Wiik, reflected on Chinese art, culture and architecture; background and perspective; concluding by contemplating the financing of especially high value newbuildings in a challenging banking and financial climate with in an ever increasingly stringent regulatory framework; ERM (Enterprise Risk Management) and handling market, financial and operational risk whilst being subject to and managing the pendulum effects of volatility. Our thanks to all those who attended and not least the assistance we received from the staff at the SSA in helping us host and sponsor this event.

See you next time in Singapore.

NHC photographer won first prize

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:02:04 +0100

With an unanimous jury decision, Skodvin won first prize in the category "business profile photograhpy" with photos taken from his jurney to Iceland last year, assigned by NHC. The annual commercial photo competition, called Gullsnitt (English; Golden view), is a highly recognized award for professional Norwegian photographers. Some of Skodvin´s prize-winning photos are presented on this page.

To view Annual Report 2010, click here.

Celebrating 175 years

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:37:23 +0100

It all began in 1837, when the first Norwegian mutual marine insurance company started its business in the town of Langesund, serving the local ship owners. NHC has grown to be a global player for many of the world's largest shipping companies with more than 8000 vessels in our portfolio. Our organization consists of 115 dedicated employees in Bergen, Oslo and Kristiansand. 2012 will be an important year for us at Norwegian Hull Club. We have been in business for 175 years and are indeed proud of our history. We intend to continue to serve our members and clients worldwide in the best way possible for many years to come!

This is our anniversary logo:

A rudderless world?

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:29:10 +0100

Professor Mahbubani's article, "A Rudderless World" (published in The New York Times 18th August 2011), has triggered many thoughts as to how the world is actually being run. The global maritime industry needs a rudder to survive. The seminar will discuss challenges to the maritime industry from a global to a seafarer's perspective with focus on operational challenges in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, in addition to high profile casualties

The event is hosted by SSA and sponsored by Norwegian Hull Club.

Casualty Information No. 87

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:38:40 +0100

A Member nearly suffered a total loss of one of his vessels after a severe fire in the engine room. The fire was caused by the failure of a fuel pipe in an auxiliary engine. The fuel pipe failed due to fatigue loading caused by vibrations created by a missing pipe clamp. When the pipe cracked, fuel was sprayed onto the hot surfaces of the engine exhaust piping and the turbocharger, which started the fire. The fire fighting conducted by the officers and crew was both quick and successful. It was carried out according to extensive training as required by the vessel's contingency plan.

Nevertheless, the extent of the damage was significant. The heat of the fire caused damage not only to the auxiliary engine, but also to the engine room bulkheads, the electrical cables for various systems such as the engine room alarm system and the navigational lights, and ironically, the fire detection system. Smoke and soot coated the entire engine room requiring extensive cleaning. The cost of repairs exceeded one million US Dollars. Owners' loss of income during the repair period amounted to another million US Dollars. The cost of the missing clamp was just five US Dollars!

- 2 -

Planned maintenance is important and the computer will assist you, giving you an early warning signal for required maintenance. But, a computer will not tell you about the development of a mechanical failure due to a missing clamp on a fuel oil pipeline. This can only be noticed by inspections and by being attentive to the conditions in your engine room. In a recent Casualty Information Letter (No. 85), we have focused on the threat of "Normalized Deviance." Engine room inspections should be carried out on a regular basis, but do not forget the importance of using your common sense! It requires an experienced eye to detect anomalies, whether they are abnormal temperatures, noises, smells or vibrations. It takes knowledge and competence to understand why anomalies occur, and, most of all, mental alertness and thinking to foresee what larger harms anomalous conditions may cause.

When your officers and crew do their routine inspections, make sure that they are focused and attentive to small, but important details. Make sure that they also consider all possible consequences when they detect a minor issue, such as a missing pipe clamp. And when they do find a minor issue, report it, or better yet, REPAIR IT!

Bon Voyage!

New Rule Changes for 2012

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:27:45 +0100

Underneath you will find the explanatory memo for the Rule changes. Top right you will find the complete Charterers' Rules for 2012 which includes list of correspondents.

NEW RULE 4 - REINSURANCE
"The Association shall have the right in its sole discretion to effect on behalf of the Association the reinsurance or ceding of any risks insured by the Association with such reinsurers and on such terms as the Association shall consider appropriate."

This is a similar Rule to other Clubs and is simply stating expressly what the underlying practice is.

NEW_RULE 34 SUB RULES - MISCELLANEOUS
"34.5
Subject to Rule 52.4, all monies recovered for an Assured with Defence Cover shall be paid over to the Assured except that the Association may deduct from such monies and retain any amount due to the Association from the Assured."
"34.6
Where an Assured settles or compromises a claim within his Defence Cover without making any provision as to costs without the agreement of the Association, the Association shall determine what part of that settlement agreement shall be Redeemed attributable to costs and for which the Assured is liable to reimburse the Association."

These Sub-Rules are similar to the provisions of other Clubs.

AMENDED RULE 37 - POLICY LIMIT OF REINSURANCE RECOVERIES
"37.1
The liability of the Association in respect of all claims arising out of one event including any costs, fees and expenses shall in no circumstances exceed the amount stated in the Certificate of Insurance. Without prejudice to the generality of Rule 4, the Association may reinsure in whole or in part the risk or risks insured by the Association, and where such reinsurance is arranged the Assured shall only be entitled to recover any amount in excess of USD10 million or 10% of the cover limit, whichever is lower, as and when such funds are received by the Association from the reinsurer(s). The policy limit shall apply to claims, costs, fees and expenses arising out of one event whether they are made by more than one Assured and Co-Assured."

The underlined words have been introduced to have a link to the new Rule 4 mentioned above.

NEW RULE 42 SUB RULES - MISCELLANEOUS EXCLUSIONS
"42.1.1
After "wilful misconduct of the Assured" insert " (as defined in Appendix 1). "
A standard definition of "wilful misconduct" has been introduced in Appendix 1.
"42.1.3
Delete in line 1:
"is...."
And replace with:
"which the Assured knew to be..."
This is a "softening" of the current Rule and under the new provision actual knowledge of an unlawful, imprudent etc. carriage or trade or voyage is required of an Assured before the exclusion will apply.
"42.1.14
"a default judgment or default award."

This new Sub-Rule is similar to the provisions of other Clubs.

NEW RULE 47 SUB_RULE - CLAIMS HANDLING
"47.5
The Assured shall obtain information, make calculations, attend meetings, and otherwise provide assistance, at the Assured's own expense, where such work can be performed by him or by persons employed by him or regularly engaged by him to perform such services."

This new Sub-Rule is similar to the provisions of other Clubs.

NEW RULE 50 - EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY
"1. The Association shall not be liable for errors or omissions in the handling of a case which may be committed by the Association's employees or by lawyers, advisers or other experts engaged by the Association on behalf of the Assured.
2. The Association shall not be liable for monies which are lost, having being collected by persons engaged by the Association on behalf of the Assured, or entrusted to such persons.
3. The Association shall not be liable to pay interest on any sums due from it to the Assured."

This new Rule is similar to the provisions of other Clubs.

NEW RULE 51 - ASSIGNMENT
" 1. The Assured shall not assign or otherwise transfer its rights under its contract of insurance with the Association or otherwise arising pursuant to these Rules, save as provided in Rule 51.2.
2. The Association may, in its absolute discretion, consent to an assignment or transfer by an Assured of its rights referred to in Rule 51.1, subject to such terms and conditions as the Association deems fit and subject to the Association's right to deduct from any sum due or to become due from the Association to any assignee or transferee of the Assured's rights such amount as the Association may estimate to be sufficient to discharge any existing or anticipated liability of the Assured to the Association. "

This new Rule is similar to the provisions of other Clubs.

NEW RULE 52 SUB RULES - WAIVER AND RECOVERY
"52.3
Where the Association makes any payment in respect of any liability, loss, expense or costs, the Association shall be subrogated to any rights of recourse which the Assured, co-Assured or affiliate may have against any third party in respect of the liability, loss, expense or costs."
"52.4
Where the Association has made a payment in respect of any liability, loss, expense or costs to or on behalf of the Assured, co-Assured or affiliate, the whole of the recovery from a third party in respect of that liability, loss, expense or costs shall be credited and paid to the Association up to an amount equivalent to the payment made by the Association to or on behalf of the Assured, co-Assured or affiliate plus any costs incurred by the Association in connection with the right of recourse."
"52.5
The balance (if any) of any recovery shall be credited and paid to the Assured up to any amount equivalent to any deductible."
"52.6
The remaining balance (if any) shall be apportioned between the Association and the Assured in proportion to the respective amounts credited to them under Rule 52.4 - Rule 52.5."

These new Sub Rules are similar to the provisions of other Clubs.

AMENDED RULE 56 SUB RULE - TERMINATION OF COVER BY THE ASSOCIATION
"56.1.5
Delete in line 2: "on such notice in writing as it may decide." and replace with: "in its sole discretion". Insert after "terminate" in line 2: " with immediate effect ".

These amendments are simply reflecting the underlying rights that the Association has and make the position more clear.

APPENDIX 1 DEFINITIONS
In P&I definition delete: "Rules 9 to 23" and replace with "Rules 12 to 26 ."
Insert the following new definition:
"WILFUL MISCONDUCT
An act intentionally done, or a deliberate omission by the Assured, with knowledge that the performance or omission will probably result in injury, loss or damage, or an act done or omitted in such a way as to allow an inference of a reckless disregard of the probable consequences."

Additional Rules necessitated a change of the Rules' numbering. As mentioned above under Rule 42.1.1 this definition of "wilful misconduct" is standard and used by other Clubs.

Casualty Information No 86

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:36:35 +0100

We write by way of an update in relation to the above captioned Clause. NAABSA is an abbreviation for; "Not always afloat but safely aground". This clause is sometimes incorporated into Charter parties in order to accept calling at ports where your vessel may rest at the bottom during loading / discharging, usually due to extreme tidal variations. As a result, NAABSA and "Safe port" discussions are often complicated. When things go awry, the result can also be quite expensive.

3rd Quarter Report 2011

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:32:15 +0100

KEY FIGURES

Read the new edition of Network Magazine

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:10:36 +0100

Network has interviewed the man behind the successful story X-BOW, Øyvind Kamsvåg, went on board the world's largest cruise ship "Allures of the Sea". Read the stories on page 14 and 20.

"Human cargo is the most challenging

type there is" (Jhonny Fævelen, Master)

Professor Stein Ove Erikstad, at Department of Marine Technology in Trondheim gives us some of the key drivers and corresponding effect for seaborne transport in the coming years. He believes an increasing focus on emission reducton, and safety as a key cost factor, this in a time when the risk picture becomes more complex.

"We believe that the industry will be forced to speed up the innovation to comply with the new set of developments", says CEO John Wiik in the Director's Column.

To show the broad variety within ship design, we have a feature on what might be considered the world's most charming cruise - on board the mini-passenger ferry "Beffen" in Bergen.

Download this issue in PDF format

Did you know ...

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:41:21 +0200

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