A career in maritime business is exciting. Young people just don’t know it yet.
Rotterdam Maritime Services Community – In the limelight
‘Stuffy, dull and mostly hidden.’ Ton Schox, Marine Specialist Practice Group Leader of the insurances claims services company Cunningham Lindsey, knows why younger people don’t choose for a career in the maritime & offshore business. But he is assured once they realise what things can go wrong before their jeans, fruit or Iphone arrive in perfect condition, they will think different.
Recently, they had a case in Brazil. There was a problem. Mangos would arrive ripe at their final destination in Rotterdam. Whilst there were clear instructions to keep the ventilation of the reefer unit on the container open during transport, someone, somewhere along the line, kept closing it. Cunningham Lindsey’s local Brazilian transport expert finally got to the root of the problem. He found out a dutiful Brazilian dockworker closed the ventilation at the docks before shipping. On this they created fitting handling procedures.
In the world of insurance two questions are of equal importance; how much is the damage and who is liable? ‘In case of a simple kitchen fire, those questions are quickly answered. With worldwide transport, there are far more facts to consider’, says Ton Schox. On several sections, goods and cargo can get lost, stolen or damaged. Also different people are in charge on the way. Therefore, in each case, analysing exactly who is liable demands specialist knowledge.
From their Rotterdam office, Cunningham Lindsey controls the entire Marine division. ‘Aon, Amlin, Maersk all of the big insurers and brokers are here in this city. This is where the market is and we have the expert knowledge. We strengthen each other.’
At RMSC, Schox wants to share his knowledge of the industry. He wants to know what transport lawyers, brokers and other insurers do to get young people interested for their field. Schox even suggests relocating the entire training module of Transport Damage Specialist from London to Rotterdam to really move the industry forward.
