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Press Release 2022


Press release

Annual Members' Meeting of the

German Shipowners' Defence Association

held at the Hotel Empire Riverside, Hamburg on 27 October 2022

The Association's annual report, as presented by the Chairman of the Board Dr. Kurt Klemme (Reederei Nord GmbH) at the Members' Meeting, shows a balanced result for the 2021 business year. A surplus of EUR 38,722.61 (2020: EUR 140,013.20) was achieved and added to the free reserves. As a result, the free reserves of the Association increased to EUR 6.15 million which is a new peak.

In the reporting period (2021) claims totalling EUR 17.8 million (previous year: EUR 9.9 million) were either recovered or resisted on behalf of Members.

In accordance with the general trend in the German fleet the number of vessels insured has reduced further in the current business year (2022). According to the report of the Managing Director Michael Wester 823 ships (October 2021: 882 ships) with a total tonnage of 15 million GT (2021: about 16 million GT) are currently entered with the Association. For the current business year, a reduced premium income is therefore expected.

The number of new disputes is likely to increase in the business year 2022. While 175 cases had been reported by October of the previous year, 248 new cases have already been submitted to the association in 2022. Accordingly, costs are expected to be higher than in 2021.

The result for the current business year will be negatively impacted by a number of factors. Apart from the rising cost for claims and inflation-related additional costs, these are mainly book value losses resulting in particular from write-downs on the values of long-term investments. Added to this are greater expenses for the IT and increased administrative expenses in the context of rising bureaucratic requirements.

In the light of these developments a loss is expected for the business year 2022.

As in previous years, most of the cases in which members turn to the Schutzverein in the current business year relate to disputes arising from time charter parties. One focus is on contractual obligations and consequences in connection with the war in Ukraine. In this context, it is often relevant whether Russian ports have to be called at, or the requirements which have to be fulfilled for such calls. Often additional complicated sanction issues arise in this respect. For shipowners, one of the major challenges is to make the right decisions in an overall situation that is constantly changing due to a multitude of new legal requirements.

In 2022, the focus has continued to shift on environmental issues and efforts to achieve sustainable shipping. Since the IMO resolutions on the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) will come into force at the beginning of 2023 and are therefore imminent, interest in contractual provisions governing the respective responsibilities has risen sharply in recent months. It is to be expected that the related questions and resulting disputes will play an even bigger role in the future.

The positive economic development of the last two years in most shipping segments has significantly improved the financial basis of many shipping companies. Against this background there is increased investment in new tonnage. This should have a positive effect on the membership in the medium term and lead to an increase in the number of insured ships. Furthermore, it can be assumed that the decision of the general meeting, by which ship managers can also become members of the association in the future, will favourably influence the membership development.

The membership premiums have remained at a constant level for 16 years. In view of the current developments on the financial markets as well as the general cost increases affecting all areas, it was decided at the Members' Meeting to increase the premiums and the deductible for 2023. Notwithstanding this increase, the membership fees, which now range between EUR 506.00 and EUR 2,070.00 per annum and vessel, remain at a moderate level.

Re-elected to the Board of Directors was Dr. Michael Silies, management board of Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management GmbH & Co. KG. Newly elected to the Board was Jan Döhle, managing partner of Döhle Bulk GmbH & Co. KG. Jochen Döhle, Managing Partner of Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG, will leave the Board at his own request at the end of the year. Mr Döhle has been a member of the Board of the Schutzverein since 2002 and took over the office of Deputy Chairman in 2008. We thank Mr Döhle for his many years of commitment to the interests of the Association. Nicolaus Bunnemann was elected as the new Deputy Chairman of the Board.

The Members’ Meeting was followed by the traditional Annual Dinner of the Association. At the Dinner Leonard Wessendorff, Director of the Agora Strategy Group AG, gave a speech in which he addressed the current events in Ukraine and China and their impact on world trade.

Schutzverein
Deutscher Rheder V.a.G

You will find us in the Hafencity district of Hamburg, near Magellan-Terrassen and Sandtorhafen with its historical vessels.

Address

Am Kaiserkai 6

20457 Hamburg

Contact

Phone: +49 (0)40 300 666-0

Fax: +49 (0)40 300 666-99

info@shipdefence.de