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North P&I tonnage drops 4m gt on a year earlier at annual renewal

North P&I tonnage drops 4m gt on a year earlier at annual renewal
North P&I Club has seen its insured fleet drop by 4m gt at its annual renewal losing "a few high-profile companies" as it prioritsies financial strength.

According to North chairman Pratap Shirke, "We stated in November that maintaining the financial health of the club was imperative and would be the fundamental objective of the 2015 renewal. We set a target increase in mutual premiums of 4.75%, and I am delighted to report that - thanks to the overwhelming support of our members - we have successfully achieved this."
 
In order to achieve its targets, the group decided not either not to offer renewal from members with poor claims performance or inadequate premium levels, or in some other cases was unable to reach agreement. This resulted in a fall in owned tonnage to 127m gt, from 131m gt as of the first quarter last year, and chartered tonnage to 40m gt. "We may have parted company with a few high-profile companies, but this has been more than offset by the overall support of the club’s members," stated joint md Paul Jennings.

Shirke said, "But importantly our financial position is significantly healthier without the adverse impact of a number of poorly performing former members, and we remain a major force in the International Group with 12% of total owned tonnage," said Shirke.
 
North joint md Alan Wilson said, "We are always prepared to make strong financial decisions to protect the majority of our members’ interests. We stated at the outset of this renewal that we would be adopting a robust approach, ensuring that members with poor claims performance or inadequate premium levels would have to make an equitable financial contribution if they wished to remain with the club. We are very satisfied with the outcome."

The club has maintained its Standard & Poor's 'A' Credit Rating for the 11th year running.