08.00-08.55

Registration and refreshments sponsored by West of England P&I Club

08.55-09.00

Conference Chair: Fareed Lutfi, Secretary General, Emirates Insurance Association

09.00-09.10

Welcome Address

Her Excellency Hessa Al Malek, Advisor to the Minister for Maritime Transport Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, will highlight the UAE’s maritime legacy and its vision to become a global hub for sustainable and secure trade. She will emphasize the critical role of marine insurance in enabling global commerce, enhancing resilience, and supporting the country’s long-term goals, including UAE Vision 2031 and the Net Zero 2050 Strategy. Her Excellency will call for stronger regional collaboration, standardized frameworks, and innovation in insurance models to meet emerging challenges such as climate risks and digital disruptions.

Presenter: H.E. Hessa Ahmed Hamdan Al Malek, Advisor to the Minister for Maritime Transport Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, United Arab Emirates

09.10-09.50

Panel Discussion: A Market Overview – What is Next for the Region?

Marine insurance classes have been stable in terms of rates, as well as terms and conditions for the past few years, but there are signs of change thanks to a slight softening of rates, but also a number of losses. Combining that with changing regulations set to impact the market, we explore the mood of the market and look ahead to the coming year in a legal environment in which the regulator now operates through the auspices of the Central Bank.

Moderator: Bozidar Ljubisavljevic, Regional Head of Marine, Middle East and Africa/Chief Client Officer, Asia, Howden

Panellists: Matteo Pescatori, Senior Marine Broker, Orion Insurance & Reinsurance Broker Group

Capt. Gagan Dhillon, Chief Executive Officer Dubai, West of England P&I Club

Satish Marathe, Head of Marine, Sukoon Insurance

Cenk Bilgin, Head of Marine – MENA, Starr Underwriting Agents Dubai, a Member of Starr Companies

09.50-10.10

Presentation: Money Talks – The Impact of Tariffs

Tariffs may not directly impact the Middle East, but tariffs elsewhere reverberate around the region in terms of shipping routes and demand for goods. In this session, we not only consider the impact on the Middle East economically, but also look in more detail at the impact for marine clients and their policies. For example, how do charter parties adjust to new sailing routes? We also consider the opportunities for new routes and slicker supply chains.

Presenter: Manik Verma, Partner, Fichte & Co

10.10-10.30

Case Study: Cargo Under Fire – Houthi Rebel Attacks in the Red Sea

Cargo Under Fire explores the legal, insurance, and commercial challenges posed by attacks on shipping in high-risk regions such as the Red Sea. Through a real-world case study, we examine liability, recovery strategies, and market responses from a cargo perspective, equipping underwriters, brokers, and claims professionals with practical insights into navigating maritime risk and disruption.

Presenter: Cameron Boyd, Senior Associate, Clyde & Co

10.30-11.05

Coffee and Networking Break sponsored by Sun Marine & Trading Management

11.05-11.45

Panel Discussion: The Dark Fleet – Really a Risk

When the concept of a ‘dark fleet’ emerged, so did the doom-mongers warning of catastrophic incidents to follow. In this session, we take a look at the reality of events so far, including some examples from other parts of the world where claims have materialised and consider the implications for this region’s insurers if something similar occurred. As a final thought, we discuss end-of-life arrangements for such vessels, particularly in the context of the new Hong Kong Convention.

Moderator: Richard Hugg, Partner, Stephenson Harwood

Panellists: Divas Panjwani, Assistant Underwriting Manager, Emirates Insurance Company

Dmitry Vavilov, Managing Director, Maritime Risk Management

Kirill Patyrykin, Managing Director, Sun Marine & Trading Management

Alessandro Tricoli, Partner, Fichte & Co

11.45-12.25  

Panel Discussion: Managing an Emergency in Middle Eastern Waters

This session considers the aftermath of a serious casualty and the possibility of severe environmental damage, had salvors not done their job. In addition to this the panel will discuss dealing with a fire on a container ship in order to reduce additional costs, mitigate further environmental damage and manage intact and distressed cargo.

Moderator: Mohamed El Hawawy, Head of Middle East Shipping and Insurance, Stephenson Harwood

Panellists: Jasmin Fichte, Managing Partner, Fichte & Co

Ian Clarke, Chief Executive Officer Hellas, West of England P&I Club

Maurice Schreurs, Commercial Director, SMIT Salvage

12.25-12.45

Presentation: AI and Cybersecurity in Maritime Insurance – Building the Digital Defence Line

As vessels become smarter and port operations increasingly automated, cyber vulnerabilities must be met with equally sophisticated risk modelling, underwriting tools and claims preparedness. Integrating AI and machine learning can enable the marine insurance sector to transition from reactive claims processing to proactive risk prevention.

Presenter: Harvey Ransome, Associate Director – Cyber, MENA Specialty, Aon

12.45-13.55

Lunch and Networking Break

13.55-14.35

Panel Discussion: Legally Speaking – Policy Wordings, Contract Liability Cover, Loss of Hire

In this panel our experts will answer a number of questions to clarify some of the key legal aspects to consider around policy wordings, loss of hire and contract liability cover. Members of the audience will also be able to put questions to our experts.

Moderator: Shadi Kousa, Senior Associate, Clyde & Co

Panellists: Lia Konstantopoulou, Marine Director, City Marine Insurance Brokers

Saif Almobideen, Partner, Stephenson Harwood

Joseph Shead, Advisor, Norwegian Hull Club

14.35-14.55

Presentation: The Power of Response – Shaping Outcomes in Maritime Emergencies

In the maritime world, outcomes are set early. There are a number of factors influencing the speed and direction of the initial response on board, ashore and across regulators, insurers and specialist responders, ultimately determining whether an incident stays contained or spirals into catastrophe. Drawing on real operations, we map the ‘golden hours’. What happens on the ground, from the first report to stabilisation. What information is needed, who must decide and which actions bend the loss curve? The focus of this session is the front line in remote and underserviced locations. With dedicated salvage resources often days or weeks away, we demonstrate how directed local assets—people, tugs, port cranes, dredgers, divers and generic workboats—can bridge the gap, sharpen information quality and buy time for specialist intervention. The result: reduced risk and loss, protected reputation, a safeguarded environment and above all, lives preserved.

Presenter: Neil Scott-Williams, Director, Mubarak Bridge Maritime

14.55-15.30

Coffee and Networking Break sponsored by Sun Marine & Trading Management

15.30-16.10

Focus Session: War Risks Matter

The world has proved an uncertain place in the last year and for the shipping sector, the risks have been all too real, with rocket attacks, minefields and kidnappings. When it comes to war risk insurance, claims have been more frequent in the past year than ever before. As part of that, wordings have been tested and tested again. In this session we look at how those wordings have played out in practice for cargo interests as well as hull and machinery.

Moderator: Puneet Sareen, Master Mariner and Solicitor, Hill Dickinson

Panellists: Capt. Manoj Kumar, Senior Vice President, Marine Specialty, Lockton

Craig Dennis, Head of Marine Business Development, Miller Insurance Services

Vijay Ramachandran, Head of Marine Underwriting, ARMA Underwriting DIFC

Prithvi Devanandan, Manager Marine Operations, Gulf Ocean

16.10-17.00

Role Play: What Can Possibly Cost $1bn+?

In this session, we look at a hypothetical casualty of two tankers colliding and inevitably claiming on various policies. We ask the question, who pays the costs?

Narrator: Capt. Gagan Dhillon, Chief Executive Officer Dubai, West of England P&I Club

Participants: Alex McCooke, Claims Syndicate Manager Global Offshore Claims and Contract Specialist, The Shipowners’ Club

Madhukant Sawant, Senior Consultant Claims Advocacy, Marsh McLennan

Ian Teare, Partner, Hill Dickinson

Anna Lee, Director of Strategic Development, LGA Assistance

17.00-17.05

Closing Remarks: Fareed Lutfi, Secretary General, Emirates Insurance Association

17.05-18.00

Drinks Reception