Correspondents

If you’re in a situation and struggling to navigate your way through it, there’s nothing like someone with local knowledge to help you out. This is especially true if you’re a ship’s master far from your home port.

That’s why Britannia has a local office or correspondent in all the major ports of the world. Some of these correspondents are for the exclusive use of our Members; and, in a number of ports, the local office is owned by us, also providing an exclusive service for Britannia Members.

WHERE ARE THEY?

As you might expect, details of the locations of our correspondents and local offices, who you should be talking to, and the identity of key members of staff, can be found on this website. There’s also a downloadable PDF file that is regularly updated that lists all our correspondents, to be found elsewhere on this page. Additionally, copies of the PDF file can be sent by Club Managers to Member’s entered ships that are unable to access the website

SOME WORDS OF CAUTION, HOWEVER

We should point out that we do not appoint agents and we have no contract with non-exclusive correspondents whose names appear on this website and in the Member’s Rule Book. These firms have agreed to offer assistance to Members on a case-by-case basis. It’s also worth noting that the listed non-exclusive correspondents are not agents for, nor are they authorized to, accept the service of any proceedings or process on behalf of The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Europe, the Club Managers, Tindall Riley Europe Sàrl, Agents for the Managers, Tindall Riley (Britannia) Limited, or any subsidiary or associated company. All, however, have proved helpful in the past.

SO WHAT’S THE PROCEDURE?

Normally, when a problem occurs on a Member’s vessel, the ship’s master should contact Britannia’s local office or port correspondent. The staff of the local office will know whom to speak to for immediate help, if it’s necessary, for example, to appoint a surveyor at short notice. They will also inform the Club Managers as soon as possible of the problem and ask for instructions as to how to proceed further.

CAN CORRESPONDENTS SETTLE CLAIMS?

The short answer to this question is no. However, we do like to use our local offices and correspondents as much as possible. So they will make arrangements that are best made locally and deal with problems that are easier solved on the spot. Only our Club Managers may settle claims. This ensures a consistent approach across the whole Membership and throughout the world.

USEFUL DOCUMENTS

Britannia