Major North Sea shipping incident triggers P&I claim concerns

By Michael Jones

March 10 - (The Insurer) - A major incident involving a tanker and a cargo ship off the coast of northeast England on Monday has sparked market concerns of another sizeable protection and indemnity claim, two senior marine sector sources said.

The alarm was raised at 0948 GMT after a crash involving the U.S.-flagged chemical tanker Stena Immaculate and Portuguese-flagged container ship Solong.

Three marine insurance sources said that the hull and machinery cover for Stena Immaculate was placed into the Norwegian market, with a smaller share placed into the London insurance market. The Insurer could not immediately confirm the details of the cover.

Stena Immaculate's P&I cover is registered with Steamship Mutual Insurance, while Solong is registered with Skuld, their respective websites show. Skuld confirmed that Solong is registered with it but declined to comment further. Steamship did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Two senior marine market sources said that while it remains too early to estimate specific impacts, the incident has raised concerns about a potentially sizeable P&I event.

They highlighted continuing fires on the vessels, the location in a busy shipping lane and the potential for environmental pollution as three potential loss drivers.

U.S. logistics firm Crowley, the operator of the Stena Immaculate, said the vessel was carrying jet fuel. The BBC reported that this was spilling into the North Sea.

One senior marine market source said that because Stena Immaculate is a products rather than crude oil tanker, this could mitigate the potential P&I impact. They said that refined oils often evaporate or burn faster, which means the impact on the marine environment can be less severe.

This was echoed by a senior marine reinsurance source, who said the liability reinsurance market does not expect a claim as much of the cargo on board was burning off rather than polluting the sea.

However, two separate marine sources said it was too soon to give a certain view on whether the cargo will be contained and that the potential for a more significant incident remains.

The P&I (re)insurance market shouldered around $750 million of pool claims in the 2024/2025 underwriting year. This included the impact of the Baltimore bridge claim, which could be the marine market's largest ever loss.