Gard Rio Seminar 2018

Gard, the largest of the thirteen members of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I), hosted an afternoon seminar in Rio de Janeiro on 11 April 2018.

The function was held at the prestigious Copacabana Palace Hotel, and the presentations were delivered by executives of some of the thirteen Gard’s global offices. Among the audience were club members, clients, brokers and correspondents from South America, including our Jorge Tavares, Derossi Lomba and Ricardo Martins and some of our SAPIC fellow-members.

Underwriter specialist Tore Furnes, headquartered at the company’s birthplace in Arendal, Norway, opened the seminar with an introduction to Gard’s extensive range of P&I, marine and energy insurance products and solutions. He also delivered a message from the company’s CEO, Rolf Thore Roppestad, and was joined by underwriter Claudia Santander to explain the downward trend in the severity and frequency of claims and to underline Gard’s commitment to helping its members avoid accidents and manage these accidents when they occur.

Gard’s vice president of claims Nick Platt, from the London office, presented “Loaded risk: cargo safety and quality issues”, focusing on the carriage of dangerous goods, the risks of cargo shifting and liquefaction, shipper’s misdeclaration and the quality of the soya beans exported to China. Nick highlighted the key contributions made by the P&I clubs through the IGP&I to learn more about the origin and behaviour of individual liquefaction-prone cargoes, such as iron ore fines and bauxite, and the Group’s fruitful cooperation with the Brazilian mining and shipping interests in identifying and tackling the risks involved in the carriage of these types of cargoes.

Senior lawyers Frank Gonynor and Claudia Botero-Gotz from the New York office, which primarily oversees Gard’s membership in Latin America, closed the seminar with an interactive session featuring two casualty scenarios with multifaceted incidents to identify which covers come to play and how the claims should be handled.

Participants presented with copies of “Gard Guidance on Maritime Claims and Insurance” and “Gard Guidance on Freight Containers”

Flavia Maia, managing director at Gard’s Rio de Janeiro office, presented participants who engaged in the interactive session with some of the excellent books published by Gard, and the event was concluded with a cocktail party where participants could enjoy the delightful view of Copacabana Beach.