In continuation of the Lecture series launched in July 2021, the Indian Maritime Foundation conducted a half-day Webinar on ‘MARINE INSURANCE AND BEYOND – Theory, Practice and Case Studies.’ The objective was to demystify ‘Marine Insurance’ for those who may not be familiar with merchant shipping practices and give new insight into the subject to those who are in the maritime profession. Marine Insurance is a system devised to mitigate and compensate shipowners and merchants for the loss, damages and liabilities they may incur in the course of a marine adventure. Marine insurance in some form has existed from ancient times when man first ventured into canals, rivers, and the sea, knowing the risks that he would have to face. India is a maritime nation with a vast coastline and a history of maritime trade from ancient times and our mariners must, therefore be fully conversant with this subject.
The Webinar hopefully created awareness amongst a discerning audience on the various aspects and nuances of marine insurance of ships and cargo; as well as cover compensation for prevention and mitigation of oil pollution. The role of P&I Clubs and the Indian Coast Guard was also discussed.
The programme was conducted as follows:-
- Welcome Address by Capt Anand Dixit,, President IMF
- Opening Remarks by Capt Sudhir Subhedar, Moderator
- Lectures
- Marine Insurance Theory and Practice post MV Evergreen incident by Dr BK Saxena
- IOPC fund and challenges to claim over and above insurance cover by ADG Vijay Chafekar, PTM,TM, ICG (Retd)
- Marine Insurance in India – H&M, Domestic Shipping, Way Forward by Mr Anthony ‘Tony’ Fernandez
- ‘Both-to-blame’ Collision Clause in Marine Insurance by Capt Subhash Deshpande
- Cargo Insurance Claims; Case Study by Mr R Balasundaram
- Q&A Session moderated by Capt SV Subhedar
- Concluding Remarks / Takeaways by Capt (Dr) Pankaj Kapoor
The Webinar was open to IMF Members, stakeholders in the maritime / shipping domain – past and present, as well as students from maritime, insurance and law colleges. No fee was charged for participation. The entire event was hosted virtually on the Zoom platform and livestreamed on YouTube. A recording of the event can be viewed on YouTube at this link.