June 12 - Insurance and risk management services provider for the transport and logistics industry, the TT Club, has called for port operators and cargo handlers to do more to minimise preventable accidents that result in injury, cargo and property damage
In a speech given yesterday at the ASEAN Ports & Shipping Conference in Jakarta, Phillip Emmanuel, regional director Asia-Pacific, pointed out that many port operators and cargo handling facilities are listed among its members, therefore putting the TT Club in a prime position to identify and advise on how these events can be minimised.
The TT Club's data shows that 68 percent of claims result from operational incidents within the port or terminal, with a further 14 percent from poor or insufficient maintenance. The remainder were weather related.
Emmanuel emphasised: "It is clear that many of these incidents are avoidable if operators were to pay greater attention to some key safety related processes, install more available technology to help prevent collisions and give a higher standard to training to their employees."
The analysis of a total of over 9,500 claims over a seven-year period totalled approximately USD400 million and covered bodily injury, property and equipment damage and liability.
Emmanuel explained that the TT Club is ready and able to help its members avoid incidents and minimise claims, and that prevention through careful risk management is the best way to operate safely and efficiently: "The reduction of claims assists the efficiency and profitability of many operators. It is not just the unforeseen costs of such accidents and the crucial eradication of injury to staff and third parties that results from good risk management," argued Emmanuel. "The reputation of the cargo handling organisation is enhanced through an improved safety record. Operational delays are lessened and customer service levels heightened," he emphasised.
