Marine insurance losses down
A dramatic reduction in the number of total losses of merchant ships since the year 2000 has been recorded, according to new statistics from the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).
The IUMI results, which represent global marine underwriters, indicate that 67 ships of more than 500 gross tonnes were total losses in 2006, compared to 140 in 2000 and a peak of 182 during the 1990s.
It says improved design and enhanced safety regulations have helped the reduction. However, while total losses were down, there was a dramatic increase in serious partial losses, up by 200% since 1998.
IUMI stresses these are preliminary figures for 2006 as both total and partial losses or constructive total losses can rise in the early months of this year.
Deirdre Littlefield, the New York-based President of IUMI, says the downward trend in ship total losses is explained by a number of factors.
“Lessons learned in the past have led to better designed and more robust ships being built,” she said. “More stringent inspections and surveys demanded by insurers, classification societies, flag states and the port state control regime, enhanced safety and maintenance regulations introduced by the International Maritime Organisation and other bodies, and the huge advances in technology and communications which have ushered in the new shipboard electronic age – these are the main drivers of greater safety at sea.”
The IUMI results, which represent global marine underwriters, indicate that 67 ships of more than 500 gross tonnes were total losses in 2006, compared to 140 in 2000 and a peak of 182 during the 1990s.
It says improved design and enhanced safety regulations have helped the reduction. However, while total losses were down, there was a dramatic increase in serious partial losses, up by 200% since 1998.
IUMI stresses these are preliminary figures for 2006 as both total and partial losses or constructive total losses can rise in the early months of this year.
Deirdre Littlefield, the New York-based President of IUMI, says the downward trend in ship total losses is explained by a number of factors.
“Lessons learned in the past have led to better designed and more robust ships being built,” she said. “More stringent inspections and surveys demanded by insurers, classification societies, flag states and the port state control regime, enhanced safety and maintenance regulations introduced by the International Maritime Organisation and other bodies, and the huge advances in technology and communications which have ushered in the new shipboard electronic age – these are the main drivers of greater safety at sea.”