P&I CLUB (PROTECTION AND INDEMNITY CLUB)
Protection and Indemnity Club ("P & I Club" and / or Club Insurance) was formed by combining of protection and compensation clauses. The expression of "Protection and Indemnity" means the responsibility of Shipowner and Operator to third parties. Club Insurance is maritime insurance of financial responsibility.
The Club Insurance covered responsibility of Freighter, lessee or Operator to third parties and exempted or non-exempted protection and compensation insurance for incurred expenses or other applicable forms of insurance and similar protection terms.
Club Insurance is a private insurance on demand. However, in practice it is possible to say that almost every vessel has Club Insurance. The reason is that sometimes unexplainable losses can occur in sea accidents. And also, the cargo owners are looking for the Club Insured vessels for carrying their goods.
The member of the Club may claim the decrease in his assets against Club after compensate the damages of third parties. Because the Club guarantee loss of assets of the member through compensate third parties' damages. This distinctive principle of Club Insurances is called a "pay to be paid" rule. In addition, the member may apply to the Club by direct litigation for compensate the third party's loss.
Seafarers are covered by the guarantees below within the scope of Club Insurance: In the event of the seafarers' illness, injury or death on board or out of board, the costs of treatment, wages and costs of sickness, hospital transportation cost, return costs and deprivation of support and non-pecuniary damages.
As a result of the defective behavior of the member in the operation of the ship, the liability to the seafarers is also covered by the Club Insurance. Club Insurance is limited to illness, injury and death for the Cargo guard, cargo employee, mechanic, fueling persons, port officers, guides, surveyors.
HULL & MACHİNERY INSURANCE ("H&M")
The Hull & Machinery Insurance covers the decrease in the assets of the Shipowner due to the damage of the vessel or get out of the dominance of the Shipowner as a result of risk placed under the "goods insurance" title.
H&M Insurance covers ships or other sea and lake vehicles (including freight and passenger ships).
According to Turkish Commercial Law, if the insurance indemnity or the fixed sum to be paid increased as a result of the failure or delay in giving notice of the materialization of the risk, the insurance indemnity or the fixed sum shall be reduced by taking into consideration the degree of the negligence.
In the scope of liability arising from collateral damages, since the benefit value of interest is not initially determinable, collateral should be limited with the insurance amount as well as with other types of passive insurance. The insurer has to pay damages in case of filing lawsuit regarding limiting the liability or objecting to liability arising from damages. Defense and litigation costs are also covered. It is required prior written approval of the insurer. The guarantee for these costs is limited to 3/4 of total costs.
CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES
A classification society is a non-governmental organization in the shipping industry, often referred to as 'Class'. It establishes and maintains standards for the construction and classification of vessels and offshore structures, supervises that construction is according to these standards and carries out regular surveys of ships in service to ensure the compliance with these standards. The Classification Societies regulate the inspection of the vessels and issue mandatory documents (Statutory Certificates) on behalf of the authorized flag state in the frame of international maritime and ship safety agreements and the provision of the mandatory regulations of domestic law.
A Classification Certificate (or "Certificate of Class") will be issued after the successful classification activity. Certificate of Class provides commercial and legal advantages to the Shipowners. For the seaworthiness status of the ship, the documents issued by the ship classification agencies, in particular the classification documents, are required.
Class vessels are subject to 5-year inspection at certain intervals. The inspections are annual survey, intermediate survey and special survey.
Special Survey is the most extensive survey applied to ships, thus there is a possibility that the ship may be out of class due to the actions to be taken
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
