Published by North of England P&I Association

North of England P& I Association Limited

NewcastleThe Quayside Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3DU UK

Telephone: +44 191 2325221 Telex: 53634 / 537316

Facsimile: +44 191 2610540 E-mail: general@nepia.com

Internet: www.nepia.com

Hong KongNorth of England P&I Association Ltd Room 3001

COSCO Tower 183 Queen's Road Central Hong Kong

Telephone: +852 25446813 Facsimile: +852 25424424

E-mail: HongKongOffice@nepia.com

GreeceAkti Miaouli & Iassonos Street 2 Gr 185 37 Piraeus Greece

Telephone: +30 210 4283038 Facsimile: +30 210 4280920

E-mail: Piraeus@nepia.com

NORTHNEWSNEWS AND VIEWS FROM NORTH OF ENGLAND P&I CLUB ISSUE THREE

AGM REPORT

2004 RENEWAL

SCANDINAVIAN VIEWPOINT

INTRODUCTION CORPORATE GOVERNANCE2 3

WELCOMEWelcome to issue three of North News from North ofEngland which aims to keep you updated with the latestdevelopments at the Club.

CONTENTS

PAGE 3Annual general meeting of30 September 2003 Report

PAGE 4Shipowner member Directors and committees. Directors' meetings

PAGE 5North Insurance Management Ltd

PAGE 6Substantial increases needed at renewal

PAGE 7Finance and investments

PAGE 8/9Focus on Scandinavia with profilesof Lauritzen Bulkers and Bergshav

PAGE 10New Hong Kong OfficeStaff Developments

PAGE 11‘North Face’ - Julie Ives, MarkRobinson and Alistair Watson

Welcome to issue three of North News fromNorth of England which aims to keep youupdated with the latest developments at the Club.

As in previous issues, we start with a review of the activities of our shipowner Directors inrecent months, including the report on theAnnual General Meeting held in September2003. We also focus on the structure of theClub's wholly owned management company,North Insurance Management Limited (NIML)and its activities. This is followed by a financialupdate including a feature on the forthcomingP&I renewal in February 2004, following thedirectors' decision to set this year's general rate increase at 17.5% and increase alldeductibles below US$50,000 by 10%.

Although the Club remains financially secure,with a good investment performance to datethis year and a healthy free reserve position, a recent increase in P&I claims and the currentdeficits on all open policy years are importantfactors in the Directors' decision to declare ageneral increase of 17.5%.

The regional focus in this issue is onScandinavia, a region which has stronghistorical and personal links with the Club'sbase in the North East of England and onewhich accounts for around 10% of the Club'stotal entered tonnage.

Scandinavia is home to North of EnglandDirectors Jens Lauritzen of Lauritzen Bulkers ASand Atle Bergshaven of Bergshav AS, who tellus how they have both been enjoyingsignificantly increased freight rates toprofitable effect.

Finally, we conclude with an update of what I believe to be the Club's strongest asset, its staff. We welcome new joiners andcongratulate those who have been promoted or achieved new qualifications. I believe this is all evidence of a successful, well managedand forward looking Club, of which I am proudto be chairman.

George ProcopiouDynacom LtdChairman

North of England held its annual general meetingon 30 September 2003 at Linden Hall near Morpethin the North East of England to conduct thefollowing business:

• Approve and adopt the financial statements for the year ended 20 February, 2003.

• Re-elect rotating Directors

• Agree the Directors' remuneration.

• Appoint Deloitte & Touche LLP as auditors

• Agree auditors’ remuneration

At the following Directors' Board Meeting, thefollowing Policy Year decisions were taken:

2000/2001 policy year No additional calls necessary and the year was closed.

2001/2002 policy year No additional calls anticipated and the position will be reviewed in 2004. Release fees set at 5% of advance call.

2002/2003 policy year No additional calls anticipated and the position will be reviewed in 2004. Release fees set at 10% of total call.

2003/2004 policy yearPosition will be reviewed in October 2004. Release fees set at 20% of total call.

Despite historically accurate premiums, theDirectors noted that each of the open policy yearshad account deficits resulting from insufficientpremium income, rising claims and disappointinginvestment returns. The board recognised that afurther significant general rate increase would beneeded in premium levels for 2004/2005 and that a final decision would be taken in November 2003.The Directors agreed to change the basis on whichpremium is paid by invoicing the 2004/2005 PolicyYear in four equal instalments.

Other issues discussed at the meeting included thecomposition of the board of Directors, investmentperformance (see page 6), rule changes to berecommended to the membership, the InternationalGroup reinsurance programme, limit of cover forpassenger claims and members’ claims.

Meetings of the FD&D class committee and the war risks committee also took place. The FD&DDirectors (see page 4) discussed rule changes to be recommended to members, the policy yearposition, the Club’s reinsurance programme andmembers’ claims.

The date and venues of future Directors’ meetingsare listed overleaf.

ANNUAL GENERAL AND BOARD MEETING30 SEPTEMBER 2003

Linden Hall Hotel Morpeth, venue for the September AGM.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE4 5

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPAudit● Executive■ FD&D Class▲ Investment◆ P&I Class✛ Remuneration◗ War Risks❘❙❚

Abdullah Al-Mady, United Arab Shipping Co.

Hani Bakri, Bakri Group of Companies

Atle Bergshaven, Bergshav AS

James Cowderoy, Harrisons (Clyde) Limited

Albert Engelsman, Wagenborg Shipping BV

Barry Gilmour, International Maritime Group

Tan Sri Dato Halim Mohammad, Halim Mazmin Berhad

Peter Henderson, Denholm Ship Management Ltd

Christos Kanellakis, Alpha Tankers & Freighters

Jens Lauritzen, Lauritzen Bulkers A/S

Evan Lim, Ocean Tankers (PTE) Ltd

Alexandros Marinos, Seastar Group

Didier Marsac, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (SNC)

Mike Michael, Zodiac Maritime Agencies Ltd

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Mansour Mousavi, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines

Kenneth Novack, Lasco Shipping Company

Henry Pfeiff, Hamburg Sud Group

Adam Polemis, Polembros Shipping Limited

Spyros Polemis, Seacrest Shipping Company Limited and Fairsea Shipping Ltd

Marija Pospisil-Miler, Losinjska Plovidba

George Procopiou, Dynacom Ltd

Stephan Reith, Orion Schiffahrtsgesellschaft Reith & Co

Jan-Christian Severin, Mediterranean Shipping Company SA

Pratap Shirke, ASP Ship Management Ltd

Lawrie Sinclair, Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd

Robertus Sumantri, Andhika Transport PTE Ltd

Bill Thomson, Forth Tankers PLC

James Tyrrell, Arklow Shipping Ltd

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Meeting Venue Date

AGM, Board, FD&D Class Committee and War Risks Committee Newcastle, England 30 Sep 2003

North Insurance Management Limited Newcastle, England 11 Dec 2003

Audit Committee, Executive Committee London, England 19 Jan 2004

EGM, Board, FD&D Class Committee and War Risks Committee London, England 20 Jan 2004

Executive Committee Nice, France 17 Jun 2004

Board, FD&D Class Committee and War Risks Committee Nice, France 18 Jun 2004

Executive Committee Newcastle, England 27 Sep 2004

AGM, Board, FD&D Class Committee and War Risks Committee Newcastle, England 28 Sep 2004

Executive Committee London, England 17 Jan 2005

EGM, Board, FD&D Class Committee and War Risks Committee London, England 18 Jan 2005

Executive Committee TBA 16 June 2005

Board, FD&D Class Committee and War Risks Committee TBA 17 June 2005

Executive Committee Newcastle, England 26 Sep 2005

AGM, Board, FD&D Class Committee and War Risks Committee Newcastle, England 27 Sep 2005

Peter Crichton Joint Managing Director

Rodney Eccleston Joint Managing Director

Paul Jennings Underwriting Director

Stephen Purvis FD&D Director

Andrew Taylor Claims Director

Alan Wilson Finance Director

Phil Anderson Director

Ian Henderson Director

John Howe Director

Savraj Mehta Director

Jeremy Miles Director

Mike Salthouse Director

Katherine Birchall Associate Director

Thya Kathiravel Associate Director

Jeff O'Neill Associate Director

Colin Trappe Associate Director

Tony Allen Manager

Graham Anderson Manager

Richard Bracken Manager

Nigel Bradshaw Manager

Bill Douglas Manager

Adrian Durkin Manager

Alan Lo Manager

Mark Robinson Manager

Alistair Watson Manager

Simon Williams Manager

DIRECTORS, COMMITTEES AND MEETINGS

Effective corporate governance continues to be a critical part of North of England’s success in recentyears. There is continued commitment from the Club’s shipowner member Directors to attend not only the main board/P&I class meetings but also the various executive, audit, investment, remuneration, FD&D and war risks committee meetings.

A list of all member Directors and the committees on which they sit together with an itinerary formeetings during 2003/2004 and beyond is shown below.

Since the last issue of North News the name of the company represented by James Cowderoy has changed and Captain Michael has stepped down from the audit committee and has been replaced by Mr Cowderoy.

TABLE 1: MEMBER DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES

TABLE 2: DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS

Adrian Durkin

Thya Kathiravel

Mike Salthouse

NORTH INSURANCE MANAGEMENT LIMITED

North of England and its sister hull mutual, Marine Shipping Mutual Insurance Company Limited (MSMI),are both managed by North Insurance Management Limited (NIML) – a company wholly owned by theClub which was created in 2000.

The members of the NIML Management Team and their individual roles are shown below.

NIML is pleased to announce underwriting manager Thya Kathiravel as a new Associate Director. Thya is abarrister qualified in both England and Singapore who joined the Club's FD&D department in 1996 beforemoving to underwriting in 2001. He previously worked for Singapore law firm Drew and Napier,specialising in shipping and admiralty law.

Adrian Durkin was promoted to NIML Management in July 2003. Adrian joined the Club in 1999 fromNewcastle based maritime law firm Rayfield Mills.

Mike Salthouse returned to the UK in August 2003 after three years in Greece establishing and runningthe Club’s highly successful Piraeus office. He has rejoined the Club’s FD&D department and hasresponsibility for the Greek Membership.

Congratulations also go to Phil Anderson who was awarded a doctorate by Middlesex University for his research into the implementation of the ISM Code. Phil is recognised as one of the world's leadingauthorities on the ISM Code and has written two books on the subject.

James Cowderoy

Peter Crichton

Andrew Taylor

Katherine Birchall

As reported at the annual general meeting inSeptember (page 3), North of England has somesignificant policy year deficits on its three openpolicy years that require positive action.

The current policy year is proving difficult, with a significant increase in large claims over US$500,000. As indicated in the previous article, this is primarily attributed to the improvement in the dry freight market – which has inevitablylead to an increase in claims.

Consequently the Club is facing a position wherebythe last three policy years are likely to producedeficits. Assuming normal claim-developmentpatterns, these deficits should improve but,nonetheless corrective action is still required.

The Club continues to operate a conservativelystructured investment portfolio, and has benefittedfrom the very strong rebound in world equitymarkets. Finance Director Alan Wilson said, "The MSCI world equity index produced 29.7% to 31 October 2003 which contributed to thecombined portfolios 8.21% return for the financial year to date.

Since 20 February 2003 funds have been committedto equities and this together with the strongperformance has increased the equity andconvertible bond allocation of the combinedportfolio to 26.7%.

Jeff O'Neill commented that, "The balance of thefund was invested in cash and bonds". Although92% of bonds are AAA rated the Club's Directorsare, in view of possible interest rate rises, currentlyreviewing the allocation to and duration of thebond element of the portfolios.

Finally, the Club's Directors have decided to modifythe premium collection pattern for the forthcomingPolicy Year from 20 February 2004. Rather thancollecting the premium over five instalments(with the final instalment some time after the endof the Policy Year) the directors have decided that100% of the mutual premiums shall be collected in four equal instalments during the policy year. The directors believe that this decision will reducebad debt exposure and consolidate the Club'sfinancial position.

FINANCE FINANCE6 7

North of England Directors took the difficultdecision to set this year's general increase at 17.5% for the February 2004 P&I Renewal following extensive consideration.

A sharp increase in claims in recent months,coupled with policy year deficits on open years,were key factors behind the Directors' decision. The Directors also feel that the deductible levelsgenerally within the P&I industry are too low andaccordingly, they have decided that all deductiblesbelow the level of US$50,000 shall be increased by a minimum of 10%. All members' renewals willalso be subject to any increases in the InternationalGroup's reinsurance costs.

Finally, all members' premium rates will be reviewed and where appropriate, adjusted, in line with individual performance and having fullyconsidered the individual exposure of each member.

The Directors believe that it is important to maintain the Club's strategy of achieving breakeven underwriting, combined with a renewalpolicy concluded in an even-handed and mutuallybeneficial manner. This is a secure and prudentapproach for the Club and its Members.

According to Underwriting Director Paul Jennings, a total of US$62 million was eroded from thecombined free reserves of the major InternationalGroup Clubs in 2002/2003.

"Average investment returns over the past three years have fallen to just 0.28%, which has forced many clubs to continue to call on their free reserves just to break even", he says.

The industry has also experienced a notableincrease in the frequency of large P&I claimsduring the first six months of 2003/2004 PolicyYear. According to North of England's JointManaging Director Rodney Eccleston, this isprimarily due to a large surge in freight income,particularly in the dry freight cargo sector, "it is a common trend, which we have seen before, with a high incidence of P&I claims often closely following a period of high freightvolumes", he says.

The Managers believe that free reserves are critical to the financial flexibility of the P&Imutuals and they may be called upon in the event of unexpected claims trends, investmentfailure, catastrophe claims and reinsurance failureas well as the need to maintain solvency margins and rating levels. Without strong free reserves,shipowners are directly exposed to marketconditions that could undermine their cash flow and profitability.

North of England has faired better than most in recent years, due to the willingness of itsworldwide membership to pay realistic premiums.Indeed, North of England was the only major Club to increase its free reserve over the past three years. The increase in free reserves at the last renewal to US$100 million for all classes, was in line with tonnage growth, such that the free reserves per gt remained unchanged at justover US$3 per gt.

Finance Director Alan Wilson, says, "the main reasonfor the further erosion of free reserves across theInternational Group Clubs is that the top nine Clubs made an aggregate underwriting loss ofUS$338 million in the 2002/2003 Policy Year,which is equivalent to 24% of premium income."

The Directors of the Freight Demurrage and Defence (FD&D) Class, also carefully reviewed thecurrent position within the Class and have decidedthat a general premium increase of 12.5% isrequired, but that there will be no change tocurrent deductible levels on a membership wide basis.

The necessity for premium increases is largely as a result of the increased workloads within thedepartment following the surge in freight activityin recent months.

SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES NEEDED AT 2004 RENEWAL FINANCE AND INVESTMENTS

NORTH OF ENGLANDINVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AT OCTOBER 2003

Alan Wilson

Jeff O'Neill

Rodney Eccleston

Paul Jennings

BondsUp to 2 years

9.7%

Cash 12.7%

Equities andconvertable

bonds 26.7%

BondsOver 10 years

19.2% Bonds5 to 10 years

9.6%

Bonds2 to 5 years

22.1%

REGIONAL REVIEW REGIONAL REVIEW8 9

Scandinavianregional Directors

Scandinavian P&Iteams

ScandinavianFD&D teams

Scandinavianunderwriting

Stephen PurvisJohn Howe

Alistair WatsonStephen RebairRune Dybedal

Joanna Meadows John Howe

Stephen Purvis Colin TrappeKaren SackfieldAmanda MillarTricia ForrestRune Dybedal

Katherine BirchallCharles BakerRune Dybedal

John Howe

Stephen PurvisJeremy Miles

Finland

Norway

Denmark Colin TrappeKen GovanTricia ForrestPeter ScottAdrian DurkinAndrew Cooke

Joanna MeadowsMike HopeLesley DixonKatherine BirchallPhilip StembrigeAndrea Skeoch

John Howe

North of England DirectorJens Lauritzen, president ofLauritzen Bulkers A/S

One of Laurtizen’s large fleetof fully geared handysizebulkers

FOCUS ON SCANDINAVIA

North of England began to develop its Scandinavianmembership in the mid 1980s and the Scandinavianentry now stands at 4.5 million GT. The Club's firstScandinavian member was Arne Holt Shipping ApS,Copenhagen who first entered ships in 1986.Denmark is still the largest source of Scandinavianbusiness for the Club including entries from DSNorden, Tschudi & Eitzen and Comet Shipping.

The Club has 13 Norwegian members includingentries from Star Shipping, Viken ShipManagement, KG Jebsen and others together with ships from Finland.

According to Scandinavian regional directorStephen Purvis, the Club has a special relationshipwith Norway. In addition to there being threeNorwegian speakers on the staff, we have a 10 year co-operation with the Norwegian Insurance Academy.

Scandinavian members are represented on theClub’s board of Directors by Jens Laurtizen fromLaurtizen Bulkers AS and Atle Bergshaven, theChairman of Bergshav AS who tell us on thesepages a little more about their respective shippingbusinesses and share their thoughts for the future.

LAURITZEN’S BULKER FLEET ENJOYS RECORD EARNINGS

Copenhagen-based bulk carrier operator LauritzenBulkers AS is set to achieve record earnings in 2003thanks to one of the best freight markets for manyyears. In the first six months of this year the companymade US$11.8 million from its 85-strong bulkerfleet, compared to a small overall loss in 2002.

President Jens Lauritzen believes the good newswill continue in 2004. ‘The market is being drivenby a hectic rate of imports into China and ashortage of newbuildings,’ he says. ‘China’sprosperity continues to grow and the shipyards are fully occupied building double-hulled tankersand container ships. As such I believe our fleet willcontinue to be in demand for some time to come.’

Laurtizen has one of the largest, modern handysizefleets in the world thanks to a pool agreementformed two years ago with Island View Shipping.Operated by Lauritzen from Copenhagen, the poolhas at its core 35 of Lauritzen’s 25,000 – 40,000dwt owned and chartered vessels and 20 fromIsland View Shipping. Worldwide coverage isachieved through support offices in Beijing, Durban, Melbourne, New York and Tokyo.

The company also operates a further 20 handymaxand panamax bulk carriers, ranging from 42,000 to75,000 dwt. The average age of all vessels is less than6 years and between them they complete around 450cargo voyages a year carrying 12.5 Mt of cargo.

State-of-the art grabs with a capacity of 8 –12m3

are fitted to the majority of the fleet, giving them

a self-loading and self-discharging capability. Being independent of port facilities has provedparticularly useful when ports are congested orshut for public holidays. The grabs can handlealmost any kind of dry bulk cargo (over 50 types are carried), either in port or at anchor, and can be specially adapted if needed.

Around 50 of the company’s ships are entered inthe North of England. Mr Laurtizen became a Clubdirector in October 2000. ‘For us the predominantbenefit and star attraction of the North of Englandis its FD&D department,’ he says. ‘As we are more of an operator than an owner, legal expenses coverbecomes even more important. We looked for thebest combination of individual lawyers and overalllegal team strength – and we believe we havefound this at the North of England.’

Lauritzen Bulkers is part of J. Lauritzen AS, whichalso includes reefer operator Lauritzen Cool andliquefied gas carrier Lauritzen Cozen. The groupnow operates a total fleet of 209 vessels andemploys 1041 people. Turnover last year was US$920 million.

The company was founded in 1884, initially as a trading company dealing in building materialsand later fertiliser and coal. Three years later itcommissioned its first ship, the 450gt Uganda,setting it on a course to becoming one of theworld’s largest specialist shipping businesses.

BERGSHAV’S CARGO FLEET SET FOR EXPANSION

Norwegian ship-owning and ship-managementcompany Bergshav AS is planning to invest inmore dry bulk vessels over the next few yearsfollowing a strong performance in 2003.According to chairman Atle Bergshaven: ‘Themarket has been exceptionally promising thisyear. Volumes are at incredible levels – I’ve neverseen anything like it.’

Bergshav currently manages and part-owns afleet of 16 ships comprising nine tankers, threecontainer ships, two car carriers, a capesizebulker and The World cruise ship. Launched lastyear, The World is a unique 43,000gt floatingresort with 110 luxury flats, 88 guest suites andextensive leisure and retail facilities. Bergshavalso managed the five-year, US$270 millionconstruction programme for ResidenSea – aservice it provides for many other shipowners.

The tanker fleet currently ranges from smallproduct and chemical vessels to Aframax crude oil carriers and shuttle tankers of up to 134,000 dwt. The container ships are in therange 724– 746 TEU and the car carriers cancarry up to 4800 vehicles. The fleet is manned by a total of around 450 highly trained seafarers,from Norway and India.

Bergshav has been a member of the North ofEngland since 1994 and Mr Bergshaven became

a Director in 1997. ‘We joined the North ofEngland because we could see it providesconsiderable added value – and continues to doso,’ he says. ‘It’s extremely good to be a memberand the staff can feel proud of their successesover the past 10 years.’

Mr Bergshaven particularly enjoys his visits to the Club’s head office in Newcastle-upon-Tyne as they have enabled him to re-establish hispersonal connections with the city in which hewent to university. He graduated from NewcastleUniversity in 1972 with an honours degree ineconomics and accounting – a qualification that has clearly stood him in good stead.

His family has been involved in shipping since it bought the sailing ship Fortuna in 1772. Hisgrandfather J. M. Ugland established shipownerUglands Rederi in 1930, from which Bergshav was demerged in 1989 but remains nearby inGrimstad, southern Norway.

As to the future, Mr Bergshaven hopes theshipping industry will not suffer a repeat of last year’s major casualties, which have had a direct impact on all P&I clubs and theirmembers. ‘However, as one of the strongestclubs, the North of England is well-placed to ride out any rough weather that might lie ahead,’ he says.

SCANDINAVIAN SERVICE TEAM

Scandinavia benefits from a dedicated service team at the North of England.

Stephen Purvis

Rune Dybedal

The 42,447 gt Cypress Passcar carrier, one of Bergshav’sentered vessels

North of England DirectorAtle Bergshaven, Chairman ofBergshav AS

SERVICE SERVICE10 11

NORTH FACE

As with any service-based organisation, the success of the North of England depends entirely on its people. In this issue of North News we introduce you to three more members of our team: claims manager Alistair Watson, FD&D manager Mark Robinson and personal assistant Julie Ives.

Julie Ives enjoying qualitytime with her childrenChristopher and Lauren.

Mark Robinson seenhere working in hisprint making studio.

Alistair the doting Grandadpictured here with recentarrival Archie.

Name: Julie Ives Age: 43

Family: Married to Graeme and has twochildren, Christopher 9 and Lauren 4.

Role at Club: Responsible for organisingDirectors’ and NIML board meetings as well as personal assistant to joint ManagingDirector Rodney Eccleston and Finance DirectorAlan Wilson.

Joined from and when: Julie joined the Club in 1979 from Newcastle City Council’s socialservices department.

Qualifications: A degree from the ‘Universityof Life’ and years of working with Rodney and

Alan have given her a relaxed approach to life, a bonus when trying to organise meetingsof busy people from all over the world.

Career highlight: Meeting the Queen atBuckingham Palace in 1995 when the Club was awarded The Queen's Award for ExportAchievement.

Most embarrassing moment: Too many too mention

Favourite restaurant: Vujon on the Quayside,Newcastle.

Where most likely to be when not working:With her children and friends.

Name: Mark Robinson Age: 43

Family: Married to Sally, a psychiatrist.

Role at Club: One of the managers within theFD&D department, with particular responsibilityfor members in Greece and Iran.

Joined from and when: Mark joined theNewcastle P&I Club in 1989 from Newcastlelaw firm Ingledew Botterell (now Eversheds),which he joined in 1984 after two years with a London practice. He transferred to North ofEngland in 1998 when the clubs merged.

Qualifications: Solicitor, LLB (Hons) Wales.

Career highlight: While still a trainee, Markmet famous figurative artist Lucian Freud

(son of Sigmund), who was an opponent in a dispute with a gallery owner and another artist for whom Mark was acting. Mark won the case.

Most embarrassing moment: So traumaticthat he has apparently blocked it from hisconscious memory (according to Sally).

Favourite restaurant: The Three Chimneys onthe Isle of Skye and Chez Panisse in Berkeley,California.

Where most likely to be when not working: At the opera, in his printmaking studio or in the kitchen.

Name: Alistair Watson Age: 59 1/2

(he retires on 12 May next year).

Family: Married to Aline with two daughters,Fiona and Mari, and new grandson Archie.

Role at Club: A manager in the claimsdepartment, with particular responsibility formembers in Croatia and Holland as well as foradmiralty claims.

Joined from and when: Alistair joined the Clubin 1986 after 25 years at sea, the last 11 as a master. He says it was cheaper to give him a job at the Club than leave him at sea.

Qualifications: Master Mariner Foreign Going and a lot of sea time.

Career highlight: Alistair was one of the firstBritish masters to rescue Vietnamese boatpeople in the late 1970s. Some of the 46 herescued were brought to London where aVietnamese girl called Ann Thuy was born and Alistair was asked to be her godfather.

Most embarrassing moment: Several, allrecorded on old North of England claim files.

Favourite restaurant: Restaurant Bota at Mali Ston on the Adriatic coast of Croatia.

Where most likely to be when not working:Alistair is a keen swimmer and is often foundat his local swimming pool, where he swimsover 300km a year (could come in handy if he returns to sea in retirement).

STAFF DEVELOPMENTS

NEW APPOINTMENTS

An ability to attract high quality new staff is vitalto the continued success of North of England. TheClub is thus delighted to welcome the followingnew recruits.

Helen Henderson has joined the Club staff as aHuman Resources Consultant. Helen, who is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Personneland Development has extensive experience in the personnel sector and joined the Club from the sportswear giant FILA. Helen will assistmanagement as they further enhance anddevelop the Club's HR policy.

Charles Baker joined the Club in September 2003as a solicitor in the FD&D department. Charles is an experienced shipping litigator who has been apartner with several leading shipping law firms over the past 25 years.

Antigone Yanniotis joined the Club’s FD&Ddepartment in October 2003. Antigone is a Greek-speaking, American shipping attorney whopreviously worked with New York law firm LyonsSkoufalos. Antigone will transfer to the Greek office next year.

Steven Jones joined the risk-managementdepartment in August 2003. He was previously aconsultant with one of the UK’s leading maritimesecurity firms. He served as a deck officer on a varietyof vessels before graduating from Liverpool JohnMoores University with a degree in maritime studies.

Gary Chen has joined the Hong Kong claims teamfollowing a period of training and familiarisation inNewcastle. Gary is a law graduate and Mandarinspeaker who formerly worked at COSCO Qing Daoin China.

Joanne Campbell has recently been appointed as areceptionist at the Club’s head office in Newcastle.

NEW QUALIFICATIONS

All our staff are encouraged to continue trainingand development throughout their careers andcongratulations are given to the following for their new qualifications.

Michelle Anderson, trainee secretary with the P&I department, has passed five modules of avocational OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA)course.

Julie Fisher, senior P&I claims executive, hasgained an LLB (Honours) law degree from theUniversity of Northumbria.

Iris Shiu, P&I claims executive based in the Club’sHong Kong office, has gained an LLB (Honours) law degree from the University of London.

NEW HONG KONG OFFICE

Continued development of the global P&Imembership as well as increased tonnage from theAsia Pacific region, coupled with the fact that manyMembers are trading their ships in the Far East, hasled to increased demands on our Hong Kong Office.

The team, based in Hong Kong and headed by Alan Lo, has been expanded recently following the recruitment of Gary Chen. The furtherdevelopment of the Hong Kong team, which hasgrown significantly in recent years, has meant that new office space was required.

Consequently, the Hong Kong Team recentlyrelocated to the COSCO Tower in the CentralDistrict of Hong Kong. Full details of the new office are provided below, but telephone and fax numbers remain the same.

North of England P&I Association Ltd Room 3001 COSCO Tower 183 Queen's RoadCentral Hong Kong Telephone: +852 25446813 Facsimile: +852 25424424 E-mail: HongKongOffice@nepia.com

Charles Baker

Antigone Yanniotis

Steven Jones

Helen Henderson

Julie Fisher