In 1971, oil spill response and clear up was a simple process. Not so anymore. Now, and forty years later, spillers are vilified and criminalized. That’s just one of these reasons  operators carry a myriad of insurance coverage products. In reality, industry is doing a remarkably good job these days. Dagmar Schmidr Erkin of Environmental Research Consulting, in her report entitled 40 year Analysis of US Oil Spillage Rates, claims, “…twenty years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, which spurred regulatory changes and industry initiatives to prevent oil spills, a comprehensive analysis of US spillage rates shows significant progress in reducing spills.” She adds, “Seventy seven percent less oil is being spilled since the 1970’s and 46% less since the decade previous to the last decade,” Nevertheless spills can and do happen…

This is an abstract from an article that originally appeared in www.digitalwavepublishing.com click the image below to read the article in full.

A 10-minute film has been made about the historic winter fuel delivery to Nome, Alaska, which required the cooperation of the American icebreaker Healy and the Russian tanker Renda. WQIS is proud to say that we insure this vessel, and we insured it for this voyage.

Watch the video on youtube.com.

WQIS is acting as both a participant and a sponsor in this year’s conference, which will be held January 24–28 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  For more information or to register for the event, please visit: www.eow2012.org.

January 3, 2012 (New York, NY)—On Dec 1, 2011, James Nawojchik became the 18th Chairman of the Board for the Water Quality Insurance Syndicate (WQIS), succeeding Robert Gallagher in that top post.

James began his career at Great American Insurance Company in New York in 1987, joining a three-year Underwriting Management training program that concluded with his appointment to Ocean Marine Underwriter.  In 1991, he accepted a position at Switzerland Marine Managers, division of Swiss Re, as Senior Marine Underwriter in New York, responsible for the cargo and hull underwriting of this MGA. James was then recruited by and joined the Home Insurance Company as Senior Marine Underwriter in 1992, where he was later appointed Assistant Branch Manager. In June of 1995, Zurich-American acquired the marine portfolio of the Home Insurance Company and James was named Branch Manager.

In 1999 James was named Eastern Regional Manager and Assistant Vice-President, responsible for managing the Atlanta and New York Ocean Marine books and the Chicago branch of Inland Marine consisting of Fine Art and Jewelers Block.  In January of 2001, he assumed the role of Vice President, Chief Operations Officer and in 2005, Nawojchik was named Senior Vice President and appointed to lead the marine practice nationally. Today, he leads marine branch underwriting operations in eight cities across the U.S. and Canada for all lines of marine.

Mr. Nawojchik earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation and Business Management from SUNY Maritime College, Fort Schuyler, New York. He has also completed post-graduate management programs with The College of Insurance, the Insurance Institute of America, Inc, and most recently, Northwestern University.

The team at WQIS welcomes this distinguished and capable leader in his new role and looks forward to much continued success under his tenure as Chairman.

To understand the present it is helpful to know the past, and Richard Hobbie is a treasure-trove of maritime history in regards to water quality and pollution matters. According to Hobbie, the history of WQIS far transcends its founding in 1971, and in fact dates back to the mid 1940s, the end of World War II and the return of soldiers to the United States. Read more

This article was originally published in Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, July 2011, page 32. Click here to download a PDF version of the article.

Since 1971, WQIS has continually evolved and adapted its policy form to make certain that assured’s needs and interests are protected in this ever-changing marine environment. One thing that hasn’t changed is WQIS’ unwavering focus on providing effective products to ensure the broadest coverage possible for its clients.

The new 2011 form was developed to better reflect the current state of the industry – enhancing coverage where gaps existed, improving organization, providing simplification and adjusting to recent legal decisions. Read more about the specific changes in the new policy.

Clients who wish to continue on with the 2007 Policy Form, subject to certain amended conditions, may do so by negotiating with your underwriter before August 31, 2011.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE NEW FORM

The anchor event was a cocktail party at The Public House in New York’s midtown. Attended by close to 300 industry professionals, it was a veritable who’s-who of the marine industry. “We wanted an event that was simple and elegant, but that really said ‘thank you’ to all of those in attendance as they’re the ones who have helped us reach this milestone,” said Richard Hobbie, President of WQIS.

“This is a big deal for us,” said Russ Brown, Executive Vice President of WQIS. “As a company we’ve been part of the industry since day-one and to this day our leadership role is something we take very seriously. This forty year history is something we take great pride in.”

Another key event of this anniversary year for WQIS has been the release of their policy form 2011. The purpose of this update, which has been in progress for nearly two years, is to enhance coverage where gaps existed, improve organization, provide simplification, enhance competitive position and adjust to recent legal decisions. The WQIS Worldwide Vessel Pollution Policy Form 2011 was first issued on June 1, 2011.

Photos: Taken at the WQIS 40th anniversary party at The Public House in New York, NY.

The VGP applies to more than 61,000 commercial vessels in the United States and to more than 8,000 foreign vessels operating in the navigable waters of the United States. Upon implementation in February 2009, the VGP established operation, reporting, and record keeping requirements for 26 types of discharges incidental to the normal operation of these vessels, such as deck run-off, ballast water, and gray water. The VGP also established inspection and monitoring requirements and requires corrective actions be taken to address compliance deficiencies.

The MOU is a signal that federal enforcement of the VGP program will be much more active and aggressive than in the past.

In 2009 WQIS reviewed the matter and concluded that insurance coverage can play a significant role in protecting vessel operators from portions of this new liability.

The WQIS Vessel General Permit Policy 2009 provides:

• Indemnity for certain civil, administrative and criminal penalties that may be assessed for violation of the Vessel General Permit for insured vessels;
• Reimbursement for certain corrective action required under thepermit; and
• Investigation and defense of insured liabilities.

In general the policy excludes:

• Corrective actions covered by any other insurance policy.
• Corrective actions arising from wear, tear and gradual deterioration.
• Knowing violations and false statements.
• Failure to file a Notice of Intent.
• Aquatic Invasive Species.
• Failure to establish self-monitoring, inspection, record keeping or reporting systems.
• Failure to comply with education and training requirements for maintenance, monitoring and reporting.

About WQIS

WQIS is the largest U.S.-based underwriter of pollution liability insurance for marine vessels. With 40 years in the industry, no one has more marine pollution insurance and spill response expertise, or offers more innovative coverage to the marine community. WQIS is dedicated to providing the broadest coverage and creating the most responsive organization to serve the needs of their clients.

For details concerning the Vessel General Permit requirements visit the EPA website at http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/vessels/vgpermit.cfm.

For the full article visit http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/article.asp?articleid=125286