Ships calling at various ports in India pose a threat if they do not have P & I and other relevant insurance cover
Although there are various checks in place there are many instances of ships without proper insurance cover that continue to call at various ports and pose a danger. Because port authorities do not have any means of ascertaining the veracity of the documents presented by the ship agent / owners in advance they are unable to prevent such vessels from coming in.
At the conference held at the Shipping, Marine & Ports World Expo 2010 in Mumbai last week there were deliberations regarding the ship that ran aground in the Paradip port, on the East coast of India last month. The stricken vessel had emitted over 800 tons of oil causing extensive damage to the port facilities and the marine life. It was later found out that the documents presented during the entry of the vessel in the port were forged and the ship did not have any cargo insurance or P & I cover. As a result the port had no way of making good the losses suffered.
Capt M. M. Saggi, Chief Nautical Advisor to the Government of India who intervened in the discussions stated, “There is no way of finding out if whether the certificates of ships coming into Indian ports are genuine or not. Even if there is a P & I cover there is no way of knowing whether they will come forward to pay for the damages in the event of an accident. In fact there is no way of finding out if the ship is genuinely covered by the insurer or not.”
He explained that there have been instances wherein having checked the insurance details of a ship on the website there have been many issues that crept up later on making the insurance cover invalid. He pointed out various hidden clauses which make the cover inapplicable. “For example if the class of the ship has been withdrawn then the insurance become invalid,” he explained. “Or if the ship has sustained damage and the ship owner or the master of the ship has not disclosed the matter to the insurance company. This too impairs the insurance cover. Hence these are issues that put ports in a difficult situation.”
He wondered whether it was time to start classifying the P & I Clubs to identify the good and the bad guys.
One way to overcome the problem was suggested by Fereshte D. Sethna, a leading maritime advocate. She stated that the Directorate General of Shipping and the ports could effectively enforce the electronic regime which would permit electronic certification. Thus ports could then effectively monitor any vessel coming into Indian waters to ascertain whether they are properly insured.