North P&I Club Supports Latest Global Maritime "Be Cyber Aware At Sea" Campaign

North P&I Club is continuing its drive to highlight the range of cyber threats facing shipowners through its active support of the Be Cyber Aware At Sea campaign.

The Be Cyber Aware At Sea campaign is a global maritime and offshore industry initiative to raise awareness of the increasing maritime cyber threats to international shipping, ports and offshore operations. More than 90% of world trade including the global transportation of energy is by sea and our reliance on technology continues to increase, we are now very much immersed in the digital era. Ships are becoming increasingly sophisticated and the cyber threat at sea poses significant security, safety and financial risks to shipping and offshore operations.

The Be Cyber Aware At Sea campaign, supported by The CSO Alliance and JWL International as well as North P&I, encourages the sharing of research data, best practice cyber guidelines and educational articles to help all stakeholders understand the challenges and threats that the digital era brings to shipping and offshore operations. A selection of the campaign promotional posters are featured below. These posters are already available on the North website and hard copies are now being issued on a rolling basis with North’s popular Signals loss prevention newsletter.

According to North’s deputy loss prevention director Colin Gillespie, “Shipowners and crews are faced with many operational demands and dealing effectively with cyber risks is yet another challenge. Raising awareness of the risks is the first step in reducing the threat to shipping companies’ commercial networks. Shipowners should now treat cyber security as a board level priority to minimise this emerging threat to the business of shipping.”

North’s support of the Be Cyber Aware At Sea campaign builds on the Cyber Risks in Shipping guidance issued by the Club in June 2016 outlining the increasing sophistication of cyber criminals and raises awareness of the proactive mitigation measures that shipowners should now consider introducing.

For further information contact: Colin Gillespie (colin.gillespie@nepia.com) or Kim Heaselden (kim.heaselden@nepia.com). Tel +44 191 232 5221.ENDS

Note to Editors

1)   North P&I Club is a leading global marine insurer providing P&I, FD&D, war risks and ancillary insurance to 131 million GT of owned tonnage. North acquired Sunderland Marine in February 2014 and formed the North Group. Through Sunderland Marine, North is also a leading insurer of fishing vessels, small craft and aquaculture risks. The Standard and Poor’s ‘A’ rated Club is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK with regional offices in Greece, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore and Sunderland Marine offices worldwide. North is a leading member of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG), with 11.5% of the IG’s owned tonnage. The 13 IG clubs provide liability cover for approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage and, as a member of the IG, North protects and promotes the interests of the international shipping industry. For further information visit: www.nepia.com

2)   Be Cyber Aware At Sea is global maritime and offshore industry initiative to raise awareness of the increasing maritime cyber threats to international shipping, ports and offshore operations. More than 90% of world trade including the global transportation of energy is by sea and our reliance on technology continues to increase, we are now very much immersed in the digital era. Ships are becoming more sophisticated and the cyber threat at sea poses significant security, safety and financial risks to shipping and offshore operations. Cyber security should be considered a board level priority issue in order to tackle this emerging threat at sea.

3)  The North P&I Guide to Cyber Risks in Shipping is available for free download from North’s website.

4)  JWC International Ltd offer a wide range of services and have a global portfolio of experience in marine consulting, training and special maritime offshore projects. JWC International is the exclusive provider of GCHQ approved Maritime and Offshore Cyber Security Awareness Training.

5)  The CSO Alliance is a fast-growing online community of maritime company security officers (CSOs).