On 5 August 2019 President Trump issued Executive Order 13884 which further expands the scope of US Sanctions against the regime in Venezuela. This has a direct impact on US Companies and Citizens but assets of companies trading with the Venezuelan government are potentially at risk from sanctions; considerable care is recommended if you are contemplating trading with Venezuelan companies…

Effective 1 May 2019 the High Risk Area (HRA) as defined by the Round Table of international shipping organisations (which includes BIMCO, International Chamber of Shipping and others) have reduced the HRA to reflect the changing position regarding piracy in the region. The map below shows an approximate view of the new co-ordinates. The new co-ordinates are: In the Southern…

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Deepa Nathvani to the Transmarine Underwriting team with effect from 4 April 2019. Deepa brings experience from the Hull and Loss of Hire market, having worked in the Lloyds Market for over a decade; Deepa will help the existing team in a market full of exciting opportunities. Contact Deepa

In late January 2019 the US Government strengthened sanctions against Venezuela; this followed disputed elections in the country where the opposition party was thought to have won a majority, but the incumbent party did not relinquish power. The following outlines the position, as we understand it as at 18 February 2019.   The US Position The US has strengthened sanctions…

The Joint War Committee (JWC) of the IUA and the LMA have reviewed the summary of Listed Areas and an amendment has been made effective 14 June 2018.   The Port of Jakarta was deleted effective 14 June 2018, this was the only change.   The full text of the current JWC Listed Areas Summary as at 14 June 2018…

On 8 May 2018 the American President announced that the US would cease its participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that the US, EU and other world powers agreed in 2015 (implemented 2016) that eased Sanctions against Iran in return for Iran stopping its Nuclear Weapons programme. Since the implementation date in January 2016, Transmarine has been…

Our Deputy Class Underwriter, Kim Whalley, has been spending some time in Lloyd’s shadowing members of the Aegis hull team. Aegis provide 100% of the Transmarine security and, as managing agents writing business on their behalf, it is important for both parties to be in sync in terms of risk appetite and underwriting principles.

The British do love to complain about the weather and talk of weather related problems bring us naturally on to the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean and America. Hurricanes occurring in hurricane season cannot be described as extraordinary in terms of timing and location - no matter how extraordinary and devastating the impact may be - but we cannot escape…

The cover provided under a Loss of Hire policy responds to claims arising out of the standard H&M perils such as groundings, allisions and collisions, engine breakdown and other incidents where there is damage to the vessel; our largest claims relate to the lost revenue from these events. An off the shelf loss of hire policy however doesn’t cover the…

In accordance with Ukrainian law the removal of isolated ballast in the territorial sea, inland waterways of Ukraine is allowed without restrictions and control by the state authorities, provided that such a ballast is taken in the Black or Azov Sea prior to entering the territorial waters of Ukraine (paragraph 5-1 of Regulation of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No…

There has been speculation that the Yangzi River ports in China will be closed during the 19th National Congress meeting. Based on the information available, there is no formal government regulations regarding this; our local correspondence’s have commented  that port authorities advise that the ports will not be closed. It is worth noting that Jiangsu MSA has issued a notice…

An interesting article from Willum Richards, Chairman of the Association of Average Adjusters and an old friend of MECO, on the perpetual battle between Assured and Insurer on what is reasonable in terms of costs following a casualty and a claim for damage under a hull policy. Add to this the requirement to repair the vessel well but also quickly…