In this episode we speak to a company at the heart of a major operation to transfer more than a million barrels of oil from a decaying floating storage and offloading unit (FSO) off the coast of Yemen.The operation to remove the oil from the FSO Safer was sanctioned by the United Nations and took place to prevent a major environmental disaster. It meant months of planning, as well as negotiations with the local Houthi leaders, to ensure the transfer could take place safely.A team from SMIT Salvage, part of Boskalis, led the operation. We hear from Operations Manager Paul Van ‘t Hof and Robert Meijer, who is Manager of Projects, who were both in Yemen as the transfer took place. We are also joined by Joseph Divis, Underwriting Director, Offshore & Renewables at NorthStandard, to look at how NorthStandard helped ensure this operation could take place.

‘Taking on tomorrow, together’ is a special mini-series within NorthStandard’s ‘Alongside’ podcast. In this episode, NorthStandard Managing Directors Jeremy Grose and Paul Jennings talk about the recent merger, review some of the achievements from NorthStandard’s first year (including recent renewal results) and look ahead to the next year and beyond. Please note: this episode was recorded just a few days before the P&I renewal date of 20 February 2024.

In this episode of the Alongside: Future Thinking mini-series from NorthStandard, Mike Salthouse is joined by Brendan Moore, CEO of SynMax. SynMax is a Houston-based satellite analytics and intelligence company which uses its latest technology to track vessels that turn off the Automatic Identification System (AIS). Mike and Brendan discuss the challenges facing authorities in tracking and countering efforts by vessels to avoid detection. 

In this episode of Future Thinking, Mike Salthouse is joined by Olga Dimitrescu, Head of Engagement, Oil Price Cap, at the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, HM Treasury. They discuss the objectives of the Oil Price Cap, its achievements so far and implications for the shipping industry. They also talk about changes to the attestation process planned to take effect on February 19th 2024.

In this episode of the Alongside: Future Thinking mini-series from NorthStandard, Mike Salthouse is joined by David Peyman, who serves as counsel to the world's largest maritime, financial, energy, and pharmaceutical sector actors. David served in the White House under Donald Trump as the State Department's sanctions chief between 2018 and 2020, and was responsible for managing 25 sanctions programs including Iran, Russia, China and Venezuela. Mike and David discuss what a second Trump term might look like for the shipping industry.

In this episode of the Alongside: Future Thinking mini-series from NorthStandard, we look at the crisis in the Red Sea and what the impact will be on shipping in the medium and long term. Mike Salthouse is joined by John Thompson, a former British Army officer who led Security Planning for the Olympic Delivery Authority in the run up to the London Olympics. He is also the co-founder of Ambrey, the largest provider of maritime security services globally. 

In this episode of the Alongside: Future Thinking mini-series we look at the state of the world at the start of 2024 and look ahead to some of the key geopolitical events of the next 12 months.Mike Salthouse is joined by Dr Dominick Donald, a geopolitical advisor and analyst with 25 years' experience in business intelligence, diplomacy, media and academia. As well as looking at the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza and the Red Sea attacks, Dominick also shares his thoughts on what the impact might be of Donald Trump winning a second term as US president.

In this episode we look at how the industry calculates risk with regards unexpected disruptions, both in port and at sea.The Strike and Delay Class at NorthStandard insures shipowners and charterers against lost income or profit caused by delays arising from 30 different risks.These include typical P&I and H&M risks, but more relevant for today, the class specialises in force majeure risks - in other words those that are outside the control of companies.That means things such as disease, extreme weather, war, terrorism, labour unrest, strikes, civil disturbance, protest, revolution and supply chain disruption.We talk to Columb Strack, who works with a team looking at some of these risks.He is Head of Global Cargo Risk at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which provides forward-looking actionable intelligence and risk quantification on political and security risks affecting marine and other sectors.Also on the show is Nick Rowe, Head of the Strike & Delay Class of NorthStandard to explain how the company supports its members with regards these areas of risk.

This episode looks at environmental, social and governance (ESG) during complex shipping disasters. What are the risks and opportunities when managing these large-scale incidents? We explore whether that can be done in a way that balances the interests of those directly affected and the insurers who pay for the clean-up.To discuss this, Kait Borsay is joined by Nicky Cariglia, who has a background in marine biology and has spent the last ten years focussed on environmental emergency response, attending more than 30 oil spills and vessel groundings, where she has offered technical guidance.Also on this episode is Sam Kendall-Marsden, the global head of claims for The Standard Club, who has spearheaded the club’s response to several major marine casualties, including the sinking of the cruise ship Concordia off the Italian coast in 2012.This podcast coincides with the publication of Standard Club’s first Sustainability Impact Paper, entitled ‘Planet | People | Performance’. The report breaks down Standard Club’s strategy into two key impact indicators. The first focuses on how the club will work with its members to help create more sustainable services and practices, while the second indicator details how it plans to make its own operation more sustainable.You can read the full report here: https://www.standard-club.com/knowledge-news/sustainability-impact-paper-people-planet-performance-4674/

In this episode we take a look at how the maritime industry is navigating the journey to decarbonisation, with a focus on alternative fuels and decarbonisation.