A leading figure in the European Commission’s antitrust investigation of the protection and indemnity clubs says destruction of the mutual system is definitely not an objective.

Improving the P&I market to the benefit of all shipowners is the key target according to Silke Obst, deputy head of the European Commission competition unit that is in the midst of a detailed probe of the restrictive practices of the International Group P&I clubs.

Silke Obst
“We want to ensure that if the P&I system needs to be improved, all shipowners, not some but all, benefit from real effective competition between P&I clubs and between clubs and commercial insurers,” Obst told the TradeWinds Marine Risk Forum in London.

“We