Total losses continue to fall, says International Union of Marine Insurance
London: Hull losses have more than halved in frequency since 1997 and continue to fall, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) says.
The total losses have fallen both in terms of the number of vessels and tonnage lost.
“However, an overall increase in percentage of the frequency of heavy weather and grounding-related total losses is reported,” the union notes in its Spring Statistics 2015, adding that the cost of salvage and wreck removal is increasing dramatically.
Groundings were a major contributor to personal accident (PA) casualties, but these incidents have also decreased year-on-year since 2007.
Where cargo claims are concerned, the mysterious disappearance, theft, and misappropriation of cargo are growing in severity.
“In general, exposures and risks are growing in size and complexity and these will require stable solutions in the future,” IUMI notes.
In the offshore sector, IUMI says the control of well figures stabilised in 2014, when the average control of well cost was approximately $14m, compared with $20m in 2013.
“For platforms and pipelines, attritional loss activity continues to remain flat, which follows the long-term trend,” IUMI says. “Significant changes in commodity prices over recent months are likely to lead to operators accelerating the decommissioning of these assets.”
The union expects the oil price reduction to lead to less drilling this year.
