Navigating
a New Reality

Navigating a New Reality

Making a vessel fit to proceed to sea has always been a fundamental principle for the shipping industry – ensuring it is properly equipped and manned, ready to sail and to encounter the perils of the adventure ahead.

With the world now navigating a new reality, where ocean health, climate action, safety and wellbeing are rising to the forefront of Board and societal agendas, the concept of fitness is being re-defined.

West is committed to helping develop the sustainable maritime industries of tomorrow. Our Members must undertake a new journey - from decarbonising their operations, testing alternative fuel and energy solutions, considering emerging

technologies and new vessels designs, as well as embracing innovation and enhancing processes which promote the safety and mental wellbeing of their crew.

Our role is to be better, to inspire and to support our Members in navigating this new world, including addressing the insurance implications and new legal regimes that will accompany these new obligations, whilst being equipped to efficiently mitigate the damage if something goes wrong.

This ESG & Sustainability Report illustrates West's commitment to both be better as an organisation and help its Members embrace this new reality.

To reaffirm those commitments, we have adopted seven of the United Nation’s 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs), to use as a blueprint in enhancing our ESG strategy.

We have created a separate ESG function, supported by an internal committee, which will focus on developing comprehensive frameworks and policies across our global office network to ensure that we embed sustainability into every aspect of our business operations and service offerings.

West is proud to have industry leading experts, who advise Members on all aspects of their liability exposure, including crew safety and loss prevention, as well as delivering effective claims handling services to help minimise damage to the environment following events such as groundings or oil spills.

We acknowledge the importance of safeguarding those working at sea as well as our oceans
and West is ideally positioned to address the risks involved.

As a member of the International Group of P&I Clubs, West also works collectively with other Clubs to help raise standards, advance the safety of life at sea and share knowledge to reduce the frequency and impact of maritime incidents for healthier oceans.

It is also important for us to contribute to the communities in which we operate and we are proud to support charities such as the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the Blue Marine Foundation, Sailor’s Society, MacMillan Foundation, Our Forgotten Neighbours, Symplefsi and Feeding Hong Kong.

For more than 150 years, West has been supporting it Members in confronting the challenges they face and develop foundations for a safer and stronger maritime industry.