Tom Rutter Chief executive officer of Sunderland Marine
Sunderland Marine, the world’s leading international insurer of fishing vessels and aquaculture risks, is putting safety at the top of its agenda during the Skipper Expo International show at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on 26-27 May 2017.
‘Commercial fishing remains one of the most hazardous occupations and those who work in the industry face the risk of serious injury or loss of life on a daily basis,’ says Sunderland Marine chief executive officer Tom Rutter. ‘Following our successful merger with North P&I Club, we are now investing significantly to promote loss prevention and safer working environments on all fishing vessels – and see Skipper Expo as an ideal opportunity to support this.
‘On the eve of the show, we are sponsoring the Contribution to Safety prize of the 2017 Fishing News Awards at the Hilton Treetops Hotel, while during the show we will be presenting an animated version of our unique graphic-novel-style guide called Safe Out, Safe Home: A Safety Guide for New Fishing Crew.’
The Fishing News award is for a UK- or Ireland-based skipper or owner who has shown exemplary safety practices during 2016, or for an initiative launched during the year that has significantly improved the safety of UK or Irish fishermen in their day-to-day business.
‘We are delighted to sponsor this very worthwhile award,’ says Rutter. ‘The four shortlisted organisations are the NAFC Marine Centre, the RNLI Fishing Safety Team, the Scottish Marine Academy and the Whitby and District Fishing Industry Training School. The quality of their entries is excellent and we wish them all success.’
Sunderland Marine’s popular Safe Out, Safe Home guide, published last October, has already been distributed to fishing vessels worldwide. Aimed primarily at young people joining fishing vessels for the first time, the unique graphic-novel-style guide is designed to give them a quick introduction to the safety training and familiarisation they should receive on board – as well as to prompt skippers to provide this.
‘By animating the guide and showing it on our stand, we hope to capture visitors’ attention and convince them of the importance of making fishing boats safer places to work,’ says Rutter. ‘As the leading international insurer of fishing vessels, with over 8,000 policyholders worldwide, we are acutely aware of the many, sometimes avoidable, accidents that occur at sea. All of us connected with the maritime industry share a responsibility to ensure safe working conditions. As well as reducing unnecessary pain and suffering, fewer accidents mean more profitable fishing and lower insurance premiums, so everyone benefits.’
Sunderland Marine will be on Skipper Expo stand 36-37 near the main entrance. Rutter and the Sunderland Marine team of Craig McBurnie, Michael Thomson, John Lamb, Paul Sowerby and Alan Ure look forward to meeting visitors. The company is also jointly sponsoring a seafood buffet for exhibitors on the first evening of the show.
Sunderland Marine is the leading international insurer of fishing vessels and aquaculture risks with over 8,000 policyholders worldwide. Established in 1882, the Standard and Poor’s A-rated company is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK with regional offices in Australia and New Zealand and, trading as Harlock Murray Underwriting, in Canada. The company became part of North Group in 2014 following a merger with global marine mutual North P&I Club, which also has offices and subsidiaries in China, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Sunderland Marine’s qualified and knowledgeable teams of underwriters, surveyors and claims staff ensure clients are provided with high levels of service and comprehensive insurance policies. The company is also at the forefront of promoting safety at sea and regularly contributes to and sponsors training programmes in the UK and overseas. For more information, please visit Sunderland Marine’s website atwww.sunderlandmarine.com.
