the charterer newsletter - Charterers P&I Club

HUMAN TOUCH WORKS WONDERSBy Peter Jones – Managing Director of Shipserve Piraeus.When the Managers of the Charterers Clubinvited us to consider being theircorrespondent in Greece, it was necessary forus to consider carefully whether we weresuited to assist them from a charterer’sperspective, for since the coming into being ofSHIPSERVE on 20th February 1979, we hadsolely confined our range of services to thoseproviding Protection and Indemnity cover forshipowners. This was not surprising sincePiraeus is one of the most important, if not themost important, shipping centre in the worldand is predominately the domain of theshipowner and those serving his day to dayrequirements. Therefore to take up theinterests of charterers may have prejudicedour position with our established shipownerclientele.In deciding to make ourselves available ascorrespondents for the The Charterers Clubwe considered there would be no conflictproviding we made clear in every case, whoour clients were and that all parties fullyunderstood whose interests we wereprotecting.We are pleased to say that acting forcharterers interests has proven to beharmonious and that our fears of causingprejudice unfounded. In fact it is fair to say thatthose shipowners with whom we have comeinto contact have welcomed our involvement,seeing it as a positive factor in achievingprompt resolutions.Here in Greece it is crucial to readilyunderstand the culture of the players. Goodservice and the resolution of problems requireappreciation of that culture and it has takenmany years to develop such appreciation. Theart of the game is patience, understanding andthe ability to develop relationships; in otherwords, the human touch. The vast majority ofproblems are capable of resolution withoutlitigation or arbitration provided they are givendedicated attention.There is a mine of information in thecommunity here. It is that information whichcauses us to obtain a great deal of knowledge,and to put it to good use. There is alwayssomeone within the immediate vicinity to tapinto for information. There is more reciprocityhere than is realised.We look upon ourselves as basically andessentially a field extension of the P&IUnderwriter; their eyes and ears so to speak.Throughout the world, the job of thecorrespondent is to give the best possibleservice and advice to the client (charterer orshipowner) and his insurer as quickly aspossible. Speed is of the essence and nocorrespondent could survive in Greece if hedid not respond to all calls with alacrity.Fortunately, the transformation in technologyhas made it possible for parties tocommunicate at the touch of a button,speeding up claims handling and generallymaking work easier and more efficient. Whileno one doubts the advantages that theseadvances have brought to the industry when itcomes to personal service we prefer thehuman touch.We are proud to belong to a worldwidenetwork of correspondents, who we sincerelybelieve feel as we do.6