REPORT ON THE PAST YEAR OF THE ASSOCIATION

2. Report by the Chairman, Michiel Starmans on the past year of the Association

Since taking office in May 2020, it has of course been a most extraordinary year with the Pandemic putting nearly all Association events on hold. Nevertheless, the Committee of Management has continued to undertake the day-to-day business via virtual meetings hosted on Zoom. Although not as pleasant as actually meeting up in person, it has at least allowed us all to see each other and discuss ongoing matters. I very much hope we can all meet in person in the forthcoming twelve months; and indeed, that I may be able to meet with many Members also. Before summarising the various topics that are on-going, I would like to thank Richard Cornah for producing the special annual report commemorating the Association’s 150 years. You will all have received a link to this report, and I am sure join me in congratulating Richard for such a celebratory report, which in his words he described as a Bumper Beano Edition. There were 52 kind messages of congratulation from Honorary Fellows, Adjusters’ Associations, Lloyd’s, Insurers, Salvors, Shipowners, Arbitrators, Solicitors, Brokers and many more from all over the world, and my thanks go to Ann Waite for co-ordinating that aspect. Sadly, I have to report the death of Jeff Allen in late 2020. Many of you will remember Jeff who spent his whole adjusting career with ER Lindley/Richards Hogg Lindley, having joined Lindleys 50 years or so ago. He qualified as a Fellow in 1979 and was Chairman of the Association in 1993; the title of his annual address being ‘A Touch of Class’. In his address, Jeff highlighted the draconian nature of warranties included in the new Classification Clauses in hull policies. As a final note, he referred to the crazy boom days in the financial markets of the 1980’s, when qualifications counted for little, and the quick dollar was all that seemed to matter. He continued by stating that if there is one clear lesson to be learned from the mistakes made in the last decade it is that insurance is a serious, technical business and the industry has got to get back to high standards and an important part of this process will be the allocation of resources to training and qualifications. I am confident that Jeff would have been pleased to note that the Association with its qualified membership has done just that in line with his warning remarks expressed in 1993. The 9th April 2021 was a sad day, when Britain lost HRH Prince Philip at the age of 99. The Duke of Edinburgh was married to Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years and will be remembered for his charitable work, his dedication to public service and his controversial sense of humour. Now to report on what has, and has not, happened during the last year. Events Well, as you will all know, just about everything in the last twelve months has been affected by the Pandemic so I have extraordinarily little to report. The following were all cancelled: • 32nd General Assembly of the Association Mondiale de Dispacheurs at Oslo in September • US & Canadian Association annual meeting and dinner in October • BMLA dinner in November • UK Chamber of Shipping dinner in February • ISU dinner in March • AAA Annual Conference and dinner

On the bright side we can conclude from the above list of cancelled dinners that I did not gain any weight during my chairmanship in the past year. The ISU held a somewhat truncated Associates meeting on-line on 25th March. It happened to coincide with the refloating operations by Dutch salvors Smit (part of Boskalis) of the m.v. Ever Given, which had run aground in the Suez Canal during a sandstorm on 23rd March. The 400 meters long vessel blocked the Suez Canal for nearly 1 week, which gained massive international attention as it disrupted international trade. My Address, which follows, is based on this incident and the immense task for the appointed average adjuster to unravel the confidential settlement agreement and test whether the claimed salvage bonus can stand the test of the Rule Paramount of the York-Antwerp Rules. It seems appropriate here to thank Richard Cornah for all his work on the Lloyd’s Salvage Group over many years - in his words, since the last century! I believe the role started with Roy Smith, followed by Richard who both initially participated on a personal basis in their capacity as adjusters. However, the Association and other organisations are now formally represented, allowing the adjusting perspective to be taken into account on issues such as collection of security and other salvage-related matters. During his time, Richard has overseen the successful launching of three versions of LOF, which is no mean feat. Understandably he now feels that the time has come to step down and we thank him for his decades of support. I am pleased to say that Amy O’Neill has agreed to take over the role from Richard and has already had to come into action. The Lloyd’s Salvage Group (LSG) filed a complaint letter to the announced plans by Lloyd’s to discontinue the services of the Lloyd’s Salvage Arbitration Branch (LSAB). This letter has been signed by Amy on behalf of the AAA. The LSG pointed out that the role of the LSAB is crucial to the independence and integrity of the LOF Salvage contract, in particular to ensure prompt and suitable provision of securities, appointment of arbitrators, enforcement of awards and distribution of reports. We are pleased to note that following representations from many market bodies that Lloyd’s has agreed to continue the role of the LSAB. Seminars/webinars In terms of AAA seminars, the two usual seminars each year that the Association holds in conjunction with the IUA are on hold until the world returns to some semblance of normality. I am pleased to report that the first joint-webinar between the AAA and Young CMI was held on 29th April 2021 for Associates of the AAA and Young CMI lawyers. In my role as co-chairman of the webinar, I pointed out that both maritime associations have a joint history in the drafting of the York-Antwerp Rules and more recently the General Average security documentation. The Speakers on behalf of the AAA were Amy O’Neill who lectured the attendees about the adjuster’s role in collision cases and John Thomson who highlighted bunker related claims arising from off-spec bunkers and IMO 2020 low sulphur fuel issues. I would like to thank both Amy and John for their time and effort in making this first joint webinar organised by the AAA a big success. Another attempt for a joint seminar had to be postponed due to the continued Corona restraints worldwide. Both Stelios Magkanaris and myself have been discussing various adjusters/P&I claims handlers’ topics for a joint seminar with the International Group of P&I Clubs, which can hopefully take place later this year or in 2022. Annual Dinner This time last year, Richard reported that we had hoped to have our rearranged 150-year celebrations in October 2020. That did not happen and of course neither did the dinner take place in May this year. We now know that our usual Annual Dinner for 2021 has again had to be cancelled.

Following the cancellation of the 2020 dinner, many members donated the dinner proportion of their subscription to charity and the Association was able to send £7,720 to Seafarers Covid-19 Emergency Appeal. Seafarers UK sent a thank you letter to the AAA and promised that the donation will be allocated to relieve the problems encountered by seafarers and their families due to the disrupted crew changes in many ports as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions. A joint press release was issued on 30th November to thank all members for their generous donation.

Examinations

As with previous Chairmen, I can only add my thanks to David Pannell and Keith Martin for all the work that they undertake in organising the AAA exams for future Associates, Senior Associates and Fellows. The same appreciation goes out to all members, who assist in drafting and preparing the exam questions, road testing them and marking the modules. The level and organisation of the AAA examinations remains one of the pillars of strength of our Association within the marine insurance market. That did not change during the Covid-19 crisis. Candidates of Modules A1 and A2 sat the exams via an on-line virtual platform through the facilities of TestReach in April 2021. I understand it is quite a challenge to cheat during this virtual examination, since the candidate first needs to scan with the webcam or mobile phone the walls, desk, area under the desk, laptop, wrists, and ears prior to commencement of the exam.

The other Modules and the Practical Paper were still taken through written examination in the usual way at exam centres worldwide, but subject to the Covid-19 restrictions applicable in those countries. As a result of the examinations taken during this Association year I am delighted to announce that we have two new Fellows.

Ryoko Shimura James Willan

Additionally we have three new Senior Associates.

Phillip McCabe Christian Freuling Julia Roumanou

It also gives me great pleasure to confirm that we have a further 20 Associates from around the world: Shamim Ahmed (Holbud Ship Management, London) Clare Birchenhough (Ince & Co, London) (Brian) Chen Si Yuan (Survey Association, Copenhagen/Singapore) Vasiliki Chiampas (Seascope Hellas, Piraeus) Stavriani Christea (Roxana Shipping SA, Athens) Alberto Comitardi (Thomas Miller, London) Phoichau Dang (Aon UK Ltd, London) Alice Duncan (RHL, Liverpool) Georgia Exadaktylou (Fassolis Law Firm, Piraeus) Donal Keaney (Ince & Co, London) Niamh McKeown (RHL, Liverpool) Swapnodeep Mondal (Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, Hong Kong) Anuradha Prasad More (United India Insurance Co, Haridwar, India) Muhammad Khairul Nizham (Edge Insurance Brokers, Singapore) Mark Revis (London International Average Adjusters, China) Yuno Sakai (Charles Taylor, Japan) Efi Saisana-Palyvou (The Swedish Club, Piraeus) William Smyth (AXA XL, London) Dimitrios Tsekos (VC Marine Claims Adjusters, Piraeus) Jonathan Warriner (RHL, Liverpool)

Membership The membership of the Association continues at a steady rate, but I am disappointed to note the number of Associates not renewing. There is a concern that many use the Association to obtain a qualification and it has been pointed out that without being a paid up member, no person should be using such designation. The AAA membership May 2021 is as follows:

Membership

No Fellows 42 Honorary Life Fellows 4 Honorary Fellows 15 Non-Practising Fellows 2 Senior Associates 11 UK Associates 84 Overseas Associates 48 Affiliates 3 Representatives 8 UK Subscribers 68 Overseas Subscribers 185 Total 470

General Average Sub-Committee The GA Sub-Committee chaired by Burkhard Fischer continue to work on producing some guidance notes following the Longchamp Supreme Court decision involving an adjustment drawn up according to the YorkAntwerp Rules 1974. An opinion has been requested and obtained from a QC on the interaction between Rule F and Rule Paramount in the York-Antwerp Rules as from 1994. The Sub-Committee will report its findings during the upcoming year. Website

We have recently undertaken a review of the website with a view to remove outdated materials and freshen up the content. My thanks go to Ann Waite who assisted with this task and to Robert Tomlinson who is currently reviewing and updating the legal cases list as from the year 2000, since there have been several material court cases over the last few years, which had not been added to the list. It only remains for me to now thank all those that have made my job easier and contributed to the smooth running of the Association: • Officers and Committee members of the Association • Fellows that have contributed to particular projects • The Secretariat, Charles Taylor Insurance Services, in particular to Sue Green and her team in Newcastle

Annual Report 2021

• Ann Waite, who knows better than anyone what is required to keep the AAA diary at the top of the

Chairman and other Committee members’ mind and chase if needed. She does this in such a professional and pleasant manner, that it makes this job rather easy. I was particular impressed how Ann managed to acquaint herself so quickly in setting up the Zoom meetings, which made it possible for the AAA to continue the day-to-day business via virtual meetings, as if Covid-19 did not exist. I very much appreciate all their work and support. I am delighted to have been elected as Chairman for a further year. Burkhard Fisher has again agreed to continue as Vice-Chairman and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his support during the year. As a final note, I like to thank all of you for the AAA’s generous donation to a charity which my wife and I supported after the sudden death of our son Nathan Starmans, who passed away at the age of only 19 years old in November 2020. The Hummingbird Fund, which is monitored at the Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University, gives students the possibility to apply for a grant to projects for a sustainable world. A big thank you goes out to Burkhard Fisher and Ann Waite for taking over my tasks in a very professional manner in the weeks/months following this tragedy, when my attendance was naturally focused on my family and our personal loss. Thank you very much Burkhard and Ann.