The development of UK marine insurance law has a significant impact to Hong Kong's logistics sector. Sea transportation is an important logistic mode in Hong Kong, and its development can be traced back to the British governance before 1997. Today, Hong Kong has earned its renowned status as a flourishing hub port for the South Asian Pacific region. The Information Services Department of the Hong Kong Marine Department reported that there were a total of 37,3.50 sea-going vessels arrived at Hong Kong during 2001. There were so many container vessels coming in and out of Hong Kong because it has maintained a world class reputation for efficient cargo handling operations. Statistics showed that the average turnaround time for container vessels is about 10 hours. Regardless of these achievements in the operational aspects of the shipping industry in Hong Kong, the legal aspects on marine insurance practices are more or less unchanged after 1997. Therefore, logistics professionals and, especially shipowners, should keep a close eye on the recent developments of marine insurance law in UK, so as to make sure their ships are adequately protected by an effective insurance policy. The aim of this article is to help the Hong Kong shipowners, through the 2005 case of Thor Navigation Inc v Ingosstrakh Insurance, The Thor II, to understand the recent development of UK's marine insurance law regarding the valued and unvalued policies.
展开▼
