TT Club

Freight transport insurance specialist TT Club was pleased to collaborate with the Japan International Freight Forwarders Association (JIFFA) in the revision of its Forwarder’s Cargo Receipt (FCR) form, marrying the Club’s expertise with practical freight forwarding experience.

London, 3^rd September, 2012

TT Club has an established reputation for seeking to clarify the risks and liabilities involved in transportation and supply chain services for cargo owners. Recent industry feedback has confirmed that many forwarders continue to be unclear of the extent of their exposure to losses and other liabilities during the course of international trade.

As a result, the Japan International Freight Forwarders Association’s (JIFFA) initiative to introduce a new Forwarder’s Cargo Receipt (FCR) Form proved an ideal opportunity for TT Club to work with forwarders and share its own expertise and global experience on the topic.

JIFFA needed to revise its FCR to meet a demand from its members following the deregulation of freight forwarding.  Ian Hyslop, Legal Consultant to the TT Club and Suki Kwan, Claims Executive in TT Club’s Hong Kong office, were invited to input into this revision process. The revised FCR, and an accompanying publication entitled, ‘Guide to Understanding JIFFA FCR’ (in Japanese and English)*, were launched at seminars in Tokyo and Osaka in July 2012, in which the TT Club was delighted to participate.

The FCR is a document designed for a specific, but pivotal, use in contemporary freight forwarding. Essentially, it is a confirmation by a forwarder that it has received goods into its possession or control with irrevocable instructions to forward them to a consignee. The FCR can be a more flexible and cost effective solution to modern trade problems than a letter of credit or bill of lading – although it is designed to be used in conjunction with both of these as required. Astute use of the FCR can allow cargoes to be consolidated, for example to meet ‘just in time’ requirements, or to be re-shipped en route while protecting the identity of the seller.

If the FCR is to be used safely and effectively, its limited characteristics need to be understood. It is not a transport document, a contract of carriage, a negotiable document, a document of title or a document entitling the holder to delivery. But it does create certain contractual obligations between the forwarder and its customer. It is essential that these are understood and respected by all the parties involved (and by courts in jurisdictions where disputes are likely to arise). These obligations should if possible be reinforced by a separate agreement directly between the forwarder and the seller or buyer. It is also common to print the forwarder’s standard trading terms on the reverse of the FCR. JIFFA itself extensively reviewed its standard terms in 2010 to help member companies perform business activities with minimum risk, and these highlight the relationship between the forwarder’s obligations in issuing the FCR and the carrier’s obligations in carrying the goods to destination.

As with all documentation, there is a need for absolute accuracy and consistency. Further, the forwarder must be satisfied of the financial standing of the parties, and be alert to the possibility of fraud.

Papers were presented at the seminars by Hiroki Okabe, a corporate lawyer for JIFFA and Chairman of the association’s Judicial Affairs Committee, and Ian Hyslop. Okabe made a technical analysis of the FCR, including many practical hints, while Hyslop put this in the international context and offered examples from reported court cases and the TT Club’s own experience.

Hyslop commended JIFFA for its valuable and painstaking work on the FCR and undertook that the TT Club would share the increased understanding it had gained from this work with its Members worldwide. Okabe drew attention to the following quote from the JIFFA FCR Guide: “We wish to acknowledge our deep appreciation for the contribution of TT Club, a provider of liability insurance for international transport and logistics industry. Their expert knowledge on risks, recent accidents and legal issues associated with the FCR has been so valuable to us”.

*The Guide is available at www.jiffa.or.jp/en/publication/index.html

ENDS

Note to Editors:

16^th July 2012

International transport insurance provider, TT Club has sponsored the FIATA Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award since its inception in 1999 and believes the programme provides suitable recognition of the young talent that exists in the industry.

Four regional finalists representing the future of freight forwarding will travel to Los Angeles in October for the FIATA World Congress, where one of the four from Germany, Australia, Canada and South Africa, will be selected to receive the overall International Award.  Part of the winner’s prize will include a weeks training at one of TT Club’s regional centres in London, Hong Kong or New Jersey.

This year, the Steering Group of the Award was very pleased to receive fourteen outstanding papers from candidates across the four regions.  The subject matter covered key import and export issues pertaining to various major cargo commodities.  Members of the Group commented on the high standard of the entries, which made selection of the regional winners a very challenging task.

As Chairman of the Steering Committee, Andrew Kemp, TT Club’s European Regional Director commented, “TT Club is firmly committed to encouraging best practice in all aspects of freight transport.  Our risk management and loss prevention resources are continually aimed at informing forwarders, carriers, cargo handlers and transport operators of best practise in stowage, documentation, safety, security and many other aspects of the business.  In the same vein the Club promotes professional training at every opportunity.  We are proud to support FIATA’s initiative in this respect.”

In addition to the week’s training the overall winner will attend the Thomas Miller “Insight into Transport Law and Insurance” course in London, of which TT Club are part of, and also receive a subscription to two of the industry’s leading media information sources, International Transport Journal (ITJ/ITZ) and Lloyd’s Loading List.

The 2012 Regional Winners are:

Africa/Middle East: Mr  Daniel Terbille, South Africa

Americas: Mr  Salman Ali, Canada

Asia/Pacific: Mr  Christopher Yabsley, Australia

Europe: Ms Nadine Baumgartner, Germany

Documentation for the 2013 Award will be distributed to FIATA Association members towards the end of August 2012 with the usual deadline for nominating candidates of 15 January 2013.
ENDS

Note to Editors:

For further information please contact:

Emma Chalmers, Marketing Director, TT Club
Tel: +44 (0)20 7204 2635
E-mail: emma.chalmers@thomasmiller.com www.ttclub.com

London 16^th April 2012: The TT Club, a leading provider of insurance and related risk management services for the international transport and logistics industry, today announces an 8.5% growth in premium income, resulting from new business, increase in volumes and a continued high level of member retention, in its financial results for 2011.

The Club has maintained a stable financial platform and good underwriting results, despite challenging market conditions for the transport and insurance industries, reinforcing its very strong capital position equivalent at A++, the highest rating on the AM Best capital adequacy model.

Knud Pontoppidan, Chairman, TT Club

In his statement, Knud Pontoppidan, Chairman,  TT Club, highlighted the challenging trading environment the insurance industry faced during 2011 that saw heavy losses in the first part of the year, comprising  the second of the Christchurch earthquakes, flooding in Queensland, Australia, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the flooding in Thailand:

“In difficult insurance market conditions the Club performed well. The overall combined ratio continues to be below 100% (98.6%) meaning that the Club’s outgoings in claims payments and administrative expenses are more than offset by premium income – which is a very important and healthy position to be in with market conditions as they are,” Pontoppidan said.

The TT Club’s net result was a surplus US$1.2m (lower than the 2010 net result which was enhanced by higher prior year release) whilst surplus and reserves reached a record level of US$145.4m.

Charles Fenton, CEO, TT Club, drew attention to the fierce competition the TT Club faced during the past 12 months, that was almost exclusively on price, rather than on product where very few of the TT Club’s competitors can replicate its value added product and service offering:

“There were signs, however, in the latter part of the year that the rating environment was improving and, at the renewals on 1st January 2012, the Club achieved increases on most renewing accounts.  Whether this is the start of a change in market conditions will become clearer through 2012, but it is the case that insurers in the Club’s market sector are suffering reduced profitability as a result of real rate erosion in recent years,” Fenton commented.

Charles Fenton, Chief Executive, TT Club

The TT Club has maintained one of its significant key differentiators, the embedded loss prevention approach in its underwriting and claims activities to reduce exposure to unnecessary risk and claims incidence, and its loss prevention team were involved in three important international initiatives during the past year:  weighing containers, packing containers and cargo transport units and incident information sharing.

Following feedback received from Members, a cargo product has been added to the TT Club’s range of products, and during 2011 there was positive growth in the take up of this product, contributing to the TT Club’s financial health and adding a valuable insurance component for Members.

In summarising the financial results at today’s briefing, Knud Pontoppidan, Chairman, TT Club, said:

“With the ever increasing complexity and fragility of the global supply chain, combined with a continuing difficult trading environment during this global economic downturn, we are ever keen to position the Club as a provider of service and product focussed for Members at what might be termed their working layer of insurance.”

“It is pleasing that the number of Members in the Club is growing year on year and that the average premium per Member is reducing.  This can only be a positive reflection on our specialist underwriting expertise and our world-wide network providing claims management services, risk management and loss prevention,” he added.

The TT Club has four underwriting centres in London, New Jersey, Hong Kong and Sydney and a network of claims offices in 16 countries.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Financial Highlights

Year on year:

2011 2010

Gross written premium (US$m)                181.7    167.4

Combined ratio, %                                           98.6%    83.3%

Investment return, %                                    0.8%      0.9%

Net result (US$m)                                           1.2          12.8

Surplus and reserves (US$m)                     145.4     144.2

Capital resources (US$m)                             174.5     173.2

Member retention, %                                    96%        96%

Key points:

• 8.5% growth in premium income due to new business, members’ volume increases and a continued high level of member retention.
• Good underwriting performance despite challenging market conditions.
• Investment return 0.8%, reflecting low risk policy focussed on capital preservation – 93% cash and fixed income with benchmark duration less than 1 year            .
• Small equity allocation (7%) with the aim of enhancing the return over the longer term as well as giving the benefits of diversification; the Club has purchased put options protecting some of the downside risk.
• Net result was a surplus US$1.2m (2010 net result enhanced by higher prior year release).
• Surplus and reserves at a record level of US$145.4m.
• Very strong capital position equivalent at A++, the highest rating on the AM Best capital adequacy model.

About the TT Club

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services.  As a mutual insurer, the TT Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.  Customers include some of the world’s largest shipping lines, busiest ports, biggest freight forwarders and cargo handling terminals, to companies operating a handful of vehicles.  It specialises in the insurance of Intermodal Operators, NVOCs, Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators, Marine Terminals, Stevedores, Port Authorities and Ship Operator.  Established in 1968, the TT Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors.

Chairman’s Review

The full statement from the Chairman is available from TT Club’s website

http://www.ttclub.com/

Speaking at the freight industry forum, TOC Container Supply Chain Asia in Hong Kong today, TT Club’s Director of Global Risk Assessment, Laurence Jones highlighted the key factors that cause disruption throughout the global supply chain and spoke of opportunities for operators to save costs by  tightening  procedures to minimise accidents, breakdowns, delays and other risks.

London and Hong Kong, 14^th March 2012

Laurence Jones, TT Club’s Director of Global Risk Assessment

Based on an extensive analysis of TT Club’s claims, valued in excess of $120 million, Jones revealed that nearly 80% of incidents resulting in a claim were avoidable and the vast majority involved some form of human error.  In urging operators to pay heed to the lessons of TT’s analysis, Jones said, “We found that the adoption of proven operational procedures and available safety technology could prevent many of the incidents.  Relatively small investments in training, and maintenance could bring significant commercial benefits through less disruption to operations, lower insurance premiums and more satisfied customers.”

In terms of causal effect the analysis showed that 63% of the total cost (as opposed to the number) of claims were due to operational factors, with maintenance (or lack of it) accounting for a further third; leaving those lacking human intervention, mainly weather related incidents contributing only 4% of the cost.

When it comes to the movement of freight around the world, TT Club’s experience concludes that the prevention of many claims lies in efficient and well constructed processes and the analysis presented by Jones reinforced this belief.  43% of the cost of claims resulting from operational factors was as a consequence of errors or faults in an operator’s systems or processes.

“While straight forward theft accounted for 29% of operational claims, poor processes and systems were the biggest culprit,” Jones demonstrated. “A whole range of substandard practices were in evidence, such as bad stowage and handling; customs fines due to incorrect or late paperwork; poor instruction on management of refrigeration equipment; and wrong release of cargo.  All such claims could have been avoided with tighter procedures.”  (See chart below)

The other major contributor to damage and cost was found to be fire destroying property, equipment and cargo.  Most building damage came from electrical faults; for lifting equipment, a lack of sufficient, regular maintenance checks was the main cause and fire in container cargo was mainly due to poor stowage or mis-declaration of the goods.  Each factor, argued Jones could be mitigated by adequate attention by either operators or shippers.

TT Club’s intention by presenting this analysis is to reduce loss and damage in freight movement by encouraging awareness among freight forwarders and logistics service providers of their ability to reduce inefficiencies of an increasingly complex, and often fragile global supply chain.  Such measures are varied and require a degree of planning, careful management and some financial investment but as customer expectations become ever more stringent the commercial necessity of risk mitigation is obvious. As Laurence Jones concludes, “In analysing the causes of disruption, we seek solutions through the development of good practice for our industry”. TT Club has a wealth of published material to support the reduction of risk.

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

A PDF copy of Laurence Jones’ presentation is available on request from ISIS Communications (contact details below) and will be posted on the TT Club website (www.ttclub.com) in due course.

About the TT Club

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

FIATA Conference sees Dublin-based Silvia Valles Barrera of Hawthorn Logistics pick-up the award, sponsored by freight transport insurer, TT Club for the thirteenth consecutive year

Andrew Kemp, Regional Director for Europe, TT Club with Silvia Valles Barrera, Winner of the Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award 2011

The thirteenth Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award, presented recently at the Annual FIATA Conference in Cairo, has been won by the European Regional Finalist, Silvia Valles Barrera of Ireland.  Ms Valles Barrera currently works for Hawthorn Logistics in Dublin as an Air & Sea Operations Executive.

The award is presented in recognition of forwarding excellence and was established by FIATA with the support of TT Club to encourage the development of quality training in the industry and to reward young talent with additional valuable training opportunities. The TT Club has been a sponsor of the award since its inception and is firmly committed to the importance of individual training and development within the global freight forwarding community.

Speaking at the award ceremony at FIATA’s Annual Conference in Cairo, TT Club’s Regional Director for Europe Andrew Kemp, said, “We are proud to have been able to continue our sponsorship of this prestigious award and it is with great pleasure that we are able to celebrate the four Regional winners and the thirteenth overall Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year, who together represent the quality that exists among young executives around the world in our industry”.

Ms Valles Barrera wrote her paper on an air freight import consignment of rabies-infected racoon brain tissue from the US to Ireland and the air freight export of a computed tomography (CT) scanner from Ireland to a hospital in Moshi, Tanzania.  On winning her award, she said, “This has definitely been a positive experience for me, most interesting and challenging and I hope this competition continues to attract promising talent for years to come.”

Ms Valles Barera’s prize will consist of practical and academic training, including a week based at one of the TT Club’s regional centres in London, Hong Kong or New Jersey and attendance at the TT Club’s “Insight into Transport Law and Insurance” course in London. Additionally, one year’s free subscription to the International Transport Journal (ITJ), Switzerland and International Freight Weekly (IFW) in the UK, is provided.

The regional finalists were Mr Niranjan Venkatesh of the United Arab Emirates, representing Africa and the Middle East Region; Ms Rosa Maria Gallardo Reyes of Mexico, representing the Americas Region; and Mr Lai Kin Wong of Hong Kong, representing the Asia Pacific Region.

Commenting further on FIATA’s initiative Andrew Kemp said, “We were delighted that this year’s awards proved to be the most successful in terms of attracting candidates from across the globe – the highest number of candidates that we have had since the inception of the award.  In terms of the calibre of dissertations, this year’s candidates managed to raise the bar on expectations. It was clear that a lot of research, planning and hard work had gone into the production of these papers.  All of these dissertations were of an extremely high standard, making the task of judging the best, an arduous, if pleasant one.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:
The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Photo Note:

A high resolution digital image of the Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award Winner, Ms Silvia Valles Barrera is attached.

Caption:  (l) Andrew Kemp, Regional Director for Europe, TT Club with ( r) Silvia Valles Barrera, Winner of the Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award 2011.

12^th July 2011

Four regional finalists representing the future of the freight forwarding industry are preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt for the FIATA World Congress – 16 – 21 October 2011. The four, from the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Hong Kong and Ireland , will each be hoping for selection as the overall Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year 2011 and a prize that includes hands-on training experience at one of TT Club’s regional centres in London, Hong Kong or New Jersey.

The Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award is recognition by FIATA, and the participating sponsors, of the need to develop quality in the industry and to reward young talent with valuable training opportunities. TT Club has been a sponsor of the award since its inception and firmly believes in the importance of individual training and development within the industry.

2011 attracted the highest number of participants in the Awards’ thirteen year history.  Each participant had to select one key import commodity/cargo for their home country plus one key export commodity/cargo. They were asked in their dissertation to consider the complexity of the issues of importing and exporting i.e.  bulk cargo, time sensitive delivery, hazardous goods, multi modal moves as well as cross-border issues, regulatory issues and risk management.

The award will consist of practical and academic training, including a week based at one of the TT Club’s regional centres in London, Hong Kong or New Jersey and attendance at the TT Club’s “Insight into Transport Law and Insurance” course in London. Additionally, one year’s free subscription to the International Transport Journal (ITJ), Switzerland and International Freighting Weekly in the UK, is provided.

TT Club’s European Regional Director, Andrew Kemp commented: “We were delighted that this year’s awards proved to be the most successful in terms of attracting candidates from across the globe – the highest number of candidates that we have had since the inception of the award. The topic that we had picked this year was intended to attract more candidates – so the Steering Committee are encouraged that this aim was met. In terms of the calibre of dissertations, this year’s candidates managed to raise the bar on expectations. It was clear that a lot of research, planning and hard work had gone into the production of these papers. The dissertations were of a consistently high standard.

It meant that the judging of the papers was significantly harder than in recent years – but, we are delighted to announce the Regional winners are:”
Region Africa/Middle East :  Mr  Niranjan Venkatesh, United Arab Emirates

Region Americas :   Ms  Rosa Maria Gallardo Reyes, Mexico

Region Asia/Pacific :    Mr  Lai Kin Wong, Hong Kong

Region Europe  :    Ms Silvia Valles Barrera, Ireland 

Documentation for the 2012 Award will be distributed to FIATA Association members towards the end of August 2011 with the usual deadline for nominating candidates of 15 January 2012.
 

Note to Editors:

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

London, 20^th June, 2011

TT Club, the leading mutual insurer in the international freight and logistics arena has had its financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) re-affirmed once again by the US rating agency, A. M. Best.  TT’s issuer credit rating was also maintained at ‘a -’ by the agency, which at the same time determined that the outlook for both ratings remains ‘stable’.

In its statement issued today announcing the Club’s ratings A. M. Best expressed its view of the insurer’s balance sheet strength, “TT Club is expected to maintain excellent consolidated, risk-adjusted capitalisation in 2011 following the good operating surplus achieved in 2010,” it said and also commented positively, “The Club continues to set reserves with a significant margin established above internal actuary’s best estimate”.

Charles Fenton, TT Club’s Chief Executive Officer, in welcoming the rating announcement, said, “We are, of course pleased with the confidence the rating agency has expressed in the Club especially during the sustained soft market conditions the industry is experiencing at present.  The Club is strongly placed both in terms of its capital and operating positions to take advantage of an improvement in the world economy and in the premium rating environment when they occur”.

The agency expects The Club’s underwriting results, which were weakened in 2010 by losses arising from the earthquake in Chile, as well as two major maritime incidents, to improve as global trading conditions recuperate.  This belief is encouraged, say A. M. Best by TT Club’s strong specialist business profile covering both property and liability in the international maritime transport and logistics markets.

In further reaction to the A – (Excellent) rating and the accompanying observations made by A. M. Best, Fenton commented, “The statement draws attention to the Club’s strong positioning in its market place and its commitment to delivering to its members a superior service, quality loss prevention and risk management advice.  It is as a result of these factors that the Club maintains member retention rates of over 95% year after year. ”

TT Club’s detailed financial results for the year-end 31^st December 2010 are available on the TT Club website – www.ttclub.com

Notes to Editors

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

London, 9^th June, 2011

Three industry bodies have produced joint research and published safety specifications for container quay cranes.  Experts, working from TT Club insurance claims records and with combined operational experience, recommend minimum standard safety features to promote safety.

The ‘Recommended Minimum Safety Specifications for Quay Container Cranes’ document has been released during a safety workshop at TOC Europe 2011 in Antwerp. Published jointly by property, equipment and liability insurance provider TT Club, the Port Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) and ICHCA International, the recommendations are the first such publication by the three parties.  Born out of the Club’s claims experience, the research has drawn together a formidable group of operational engineering experience from around the globe, particularly through the ICHCA International Safety Panel, to identify solutions to common problems that jeopardise safety on the waterfront.

The parties launched the initiative on crane safety in late 2009 to establish a baseline standard of safety specifications. The publication profiled at TOC Europe this week calls for a new approach to the crane procurement process in order to recognise safety as an integral part of operational decisions that will minimise exposure to injury, damage and disruption costs over the life cycle of the equipment.

As John Strang, the Chairman of ICHCA International, noted at the outset of the project, “Inevitably, crane procurement is price sensitive and requires significant budget. However, buyers will not always be familiar with the most effective safety technologies,” he said. “Furthermore,” continued Strang, “The process of specification is complex; any quote needs to be carefully assessed against the invitation to tender, and subsequent change requests can be costly. For all these reasons, there should be a standard safe baseline provided in every tender to ensure the industry has the safest cranes possible.”

The recommended minimum safety features directly address the causes of accidents and failures identified by TT Club from its claims records. These include:

• Damage caused by high winds
  While the Club in 2009 published its handbook covering the general risks arising from high winds, ‘WindStorm II – Practical risk management guidance for marine & inland terminals’, it has been clear that design features play an important part in minimising exposure to this type of loss. Non-technical people would be surprised at the ‘sail effect’ inherent in the ‘Meccano-like’ structures. There are innumerable instances of cranes being blown along the rails, often colliding with neighbouring cranes, or being dislodged from the rails, generally leading to structural collapse.
• While extreme conditions cannot be entirely precluded, the recommended baseline functional requirement includes details for driven braking system and anemometer design, including practical operational controls to facilitate appropriate shutdown of the crane. Further losses can be prevented through the installation of storm pins on both waterside and landside, and crane tie-downs on each corner of the crane – with appropriately positioned and engineered anchor points in the terminal apron.
• Damage caused by collision
  Accident statistics clearly demonstrate that collisions are a surprisingly recurrent problem. Most commonly, it is the boom of the crane that impacts a ship’s superstructure, leading to damage to both the ship and the boom, resulting in substantial repair costs and consequent downtime. TT Club has for a number of years recommended the installation of radar or laser electronic sensors. This proven technology, integrated appropriately into the operational systems, allows the crane to come to a ‘normal’ stop prior to impact.
• Risk of fire
  The incidence of fires in quay gantry cranes is low, certainly compared with mobile terminal equipment. However, the position of control machinery high up on the crane structure presents a considerable challenge to most port fire response services. Thus, it is important to install temperature and smoke detection systems and provide appropriate alarms for all relevant operational staff. Fully automatic fire suppression is also recommended.
• Damage caused by snagged loads
  A constant operational concern, that from time to time leads to major accidents, relates to the potential damage to the crane structure or lifting system when a container or spreader is jammed during lifting operations. Apart from the potential to damage the ship’s cell guides or other structures, the risk to the crane itself is obvious as – in extremis – it attempts to lift the ship out of the water. Detection and safety protection is necessary to prevent the excess of designed load in the lifting system. Related to this is the emergence of load sensing technology that can accurately measure the actual weight and eccentricity of each container, as well as provide warning of snag loads.

The intention is for suppliers to include as standard, not optional, the baseline of safety features on this list in all their quotations for container quay cranes. Terminals and buyers are also recommended to incorporate such requirements in their tender specifications. In many instances the safety features identified can be retrofitted to existing equipment. This publication aims to contribute to protecting the substantial asset investment and minimising the costs associated with any type of accident.

Having brought together manufacturers, insurance interests and operational users, the tripartite collaboration has reaffirmed the longer term aim to establish similar international baseline safety standards for all types of port and terminal equipment.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Emma Chalmers, Marketing Manager

TT Club

Tel:  +44 (0)20 7204 2635

Email: emma.chalmers@thomasmiller.com

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

Specialist freight transport and logistics insurer TT Club has launched an online service providing swift, extensive cargo cover for freight forwarders and logistics operators globally. 

5^th April, 2011

After extensive trialling of the system over the last twelve-months, TT Club has honed the process of application for, through to confirmed provision of, cargo cover specifically addressing the practical needs of the freight forwarder and logistics operator. The product, known as TT Club Forwarders, is one of few now available globally and will benefit from the insurance mutual’s extensive international underwriting and claims service.

Graham Hooper, TT Club’s Senior Underwriter leading the initiative emphasised the importance of crafting the new online service to ensure secure cover for a group of freight companies trading under very particular market conditions.  “Freight forwarders and other intermediaries must often react quickly to the demands of their customers.  These involve moves of diverse commodities in differing volumes via varied modes across all geographies.  The complex and unpredictable nature of these demands has in the past often made securing comprehensive insurance cover difficult,” explained Hooper. “In designing TT Club Forwarders we have been very much aware of the need to simplify the process of accepting a given risk in these circumstances.”

TT Club Forwarders allows brokers to apply on behalf of their client for access to the system and once registration has been completed – this can be achieved in a matter of minutes – the forwarder will have the ability to request cover for a specific move online.   TT Club encourages those interested to apply for access to the system via their insurance broker.

The great advantage from the forwarders perspective is that following completion of the registration process they obtain access to instant cargo insurance quotes, attachment of cover & document production.  The system is also supported by an integrated accounts package and a worldwide claims service.  

TT Club has over forty years of experience dedicated to insuring the international freight transport sector.  It insures over 70% of the world’s cargo container fleet; has 800+ Members in 150 countries, many of them forwarders with liability insurance provided by the Club; insures over 2,000 cargo terminal and logistics operations and has offices in 20 worldwide locations.  This level of specialisation and experience has created a vast knowledge of the sector and an effective claims handling service, all of which will be available to customers of the TT Club Forwarders.

Hooper concludes by laying stress on the continuous enhancement to which TT Club is committed. “We have been most careful in testing this product and perfecting the online process.  The offer has already been taken-up on a significant scale and we are continually assessing feedback from our Members.  Our intention is to make improvements where necessary on an on-going basis.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Online demonstrations of the TT Club Forwarders system are available at Multimodal 2011 Stand #605 at the NEC Birmingham from 5^th to 7^th April.

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.

In an appeal aimed at worldwide operators of quay cranes of all types and dimensions, global transport and logistics insurer is calling for increased attention to structural surveying as part of its on-going drive towards loss prevention.

The Club’s analysis of port and terminal incidents reveals a disturbing number of major structural failures in port equipment in recent years. Not only can this type of equipment failure be very costly in terms of repairs and operational downtime but can result in serious accidents and injuries.

Laurence Jones, TT Club’s Global Risk Assessment Director, stresses how essential it is for operators of ports and cargo handling facilities to establish a regular sequence of maintenance and thorough examination of all the lifting appliances it utilises. “Provisions for such examinations are specified in ILO Convention 152 and its accompanying Code of Practice, and represent the international standard for the port industry. The purpose of a thorough examination is to make sure a crane can continue working safely and effectively, and a crucial element of this with regard to a quay crane is the safety of its structure,” Jones emphasised.

The Club recommends that independent examinations are always performed when procuring any type of crane. The ILO Convention requires that before being brought into commission for the first time, lifting appliances are tested and a thorough examination carried out. The Club also recommends that appropriate mechanical and electrical inspections are carried out during installation and commissioning to check for quality and conformance to standards and specification – beyond the ILO Convention requirement. Once commissioned, a crane should also be examined regularly during its operational life, regardless of how good its manufacture. Damage resulting from relatively minor impacts, regular heavy-lifts close or equal to the safe working load limits, intensive use or simply general wear and tear can affect the integrity of the crane’s structure. Often such operational issues can occur without anybody being aware, so regular examinations need to be conducted. Any known incident should clearly result in a check on the structural integrity of the crane at that time. This advice applies equally to fixed and mobile cranes of any type.

The ILO standard calls for a competent person to carry out the testing and thorough examinations. ‘Competent person’ is defined as ‘a person possessing the knowledge and experience required for the performance of a specific duty or duties and acceptable as such to the competent authority’ and it is common practice to utilise third party inspection companies to check for quality and design conformance during manufacture. Laurence Jones recommends that only specialist inspection companies should be used, such as Bureau Veritas, Lloyd’s Register, Liftech Consultants and World Crane Services. These companies provide examinations globally during and after manufacture, although it is clear that there are other equally competent and locally based service providers. Thorough examinations during the life of the crane should fall within a strict maintenance policy that is seeking to maximise its useful life and minimise unplanned downtime.

The standard also defines a thorough examination as ‘a detailed visual examination by a competent person, supplemented if necessary by other suitable means or measures, in order to arrive at a reliable conclusion as to the safety of the appliance examined’ and an integral element of the examination should involve the crane structure itself. The Club’s analysis indicates that the actual structure, because of its size and complexity, may not always be examined as often as it should. The standard calls for such examinations to be conducted at least once every twelve months. Generally, as a crane gets older the examination frequency should increase. But, warns Jones, some countries have less stringent or no regulatory requirements at all in their laws. “All regulatory requirements must be adhered to, but for those with no regulatory requirements a minimum examination period should be implemented based on the international standards,” he stated. Furthermore, the regularity of examinations should increase based on the degree of use and if this is at or close to the crane’s safe working load limits. Obviously, regular mechanical, electrical and painting maintenance should also be implemented to ensure safe and reliable operation.

“We need to ensure compliance with the standard to ensure safe and reliable operations”, said Jones. “Regular crane examinations will in the long term save downtime and money. It makes economic sense. But more importantly it will save lives.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:

The TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry’s leading provider of insurance and related risk management services. Established in 1968, the Club’s membership comprises ship operators, ports and terminals, road, rail and airfreight operators, logistics companies and container lessors. As a mutual insurer, the Club exists to provide its policyholders with benefits, which include specialist underwriting expertise, a world-wide office network providing claims management services, and first class risk management and loss prevention advice.