U.K. P&I CLUB PUBLISHES SURVEY ON CARGO CLAIMS

   The U.K Protection and Indemnity Club, the world’s largest P&I club, has published a major study that analyzes the causes and locations of major insurance claims in the shipping industry over a 10-year period.
   The survey, based on 3,719 large marine claims worth $1.8 billion that occurred in the decade ended Jan. 1, 1997, covers shipping claims for cargo damage, personal injury, property, collision and pollution.
   The P&I club said that cargo claims represent 40 percent of the number of large claims and 27 percent of their total value. During the 10-year period, the U.K. P&I club recorded large cargo claims worth $469 million, with an average value for each major claim of about $314,000.
   There is a trend toward fewer major cargo claims of increasing severity, the P&I club said.
   The cargoes most commonly damaged are, in decreasing order: dry bulk, containers, steel products, bagged bulk, reefer and general cargo.
   The P&I club’s survey recorded fewer large claims concerning car shipments, bulk chemical, crude oil, grain, machinery and oil products.