TT Club, the leading international transport and logistics insurance provider, today announces its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2015, maintaining its A- (Excellent) rating by agency AM Best for the 10th consecutive year.
The IMO has issued a Circular to all Member States and the transport industry this week in order to assist the implementation of the VGM amendment to SOLAS, which comes into effect on 1 July. TT Club welcomes the move, noting that governments have also been urged to engage with the industry in their jurisdictions to assist with compliance and to share best practice with other national authorities.
Kimberlee Baxter and Markus McMillin from Thomas Miller's San Francisco office and Andrew Morgan from Chelsea Risk Management in San Francisco along with Robert Kempkens from Thomas Miller's London office went down to Panama 3 - 6 May 2016 for a Claims Review with long-time TT Club Member SSA.
When the requirement for verified gross mass (VGM) was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in November 2014, preparations should have started through the containerised supply chain to reach compliance. Now less than two months to enforcement, what final steps need to be in place?
The impending mandatory enforcement of verified gross mass (VGM) for all packed containers as a pre-condition to loading on board a ship is - at last - concentrating minds and energy towards implementation. The concern must be that too little time has been left to preclude trade problems in the immediate aftermath of 1 July 2016.
The 19th Robin Travis scholarship will be awarded in 2016 and will provide a three-month internship for a motivated individual working in Germany, who wishes to progress their career and broaden their experience of the shipping, transport and insurance sectors.
With the effective date of 1st July getting ever closer, the need for all involved in the international transport of containers to be prepared for the revised SOLAS Convention regulations on container weighing has recently been once more emphasised by freight transport insurance specialist TT Club.
The ICHCA International Conference 2016 took place in Barcelona, Spain, using the theme 'Bigger Ships, Greater Challenges". The conference attracted over 200 delegates and a number of prominent speakers, including a keynote address from Mr Kitack Lim, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Two recent groundings of mega container ships act possibly as gentle reminders that persistent shipping risks face stakeholders. Similarly, risks of cargo management for every size of container ship have not receded - specifically that of 'adjacency', the potential for the actions of one shipper, having mis-declared or incorrectly packed cargo in one container, to have an impact on the entire maritime adventure.
Many organisations in the supply chain industry need to meet growing expectations to provide access to a 24/7/365 service. This commercial reality usually necessitates shift work, leading to workforce operating during what could be considered unnatural hours. This can be accentuated in a 'global village' with expectations to operate across time zones.
It is estimated that 150 quayside container cranes develop a fatigue crack annually, with the potential for a catastrophic failure of a critical structural member. This is revealed in the Port Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) in their latest publication, entitled 'Practical Structural Examination of Container Handling Cranes in Ports and Terminals'.
