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All vessels entering and/or transiting Indian waters must hold a valid P&I Insurance certificate.
As stated in the Directorate General of Shipping Merchant Shipping Notice No. 05 of 2025 dated 7 May 2025, there have been incidents where P&I insurers declined to compensate pollution claims due to vessels possessing invalid P&I Insurance Certificates, declared invalid for reasons such as non-payment of premiums.
All stakeholders are required to comply with the following requirements to ensure that P&I insurance is valid during port calls of all Indian and foreign-flagged vessels.
The Notice states that P&I entry should cover cargo loss and damage, pollution by oil and other hazardous substances, wreck removal, collision and damage to property.
At Sikka Port, authorities are insisting for all vessels to have P&I certificate showing wreck removal, oil pollution, collision clause.
Vessel owners, operators, masters, or their authorised representatives shall:
i. Meticulously review their P&I coverage to ensure it adequately meets their specific operational needs and complies with all relevant domestic and international regulations;
ii. Ensure validity of the P&I Insurance Certificates, including Blue Card and Certificate of Insurance or Other Financial Security (CiOFS), in original, certified, or electronic form, in accordance with the statutory requirements, which shall be verifiable online;
iii. Submit these documents to the respective port authorities, under the Maritime Single Window (MSW) Portal, prior to the vessel’s expected arrival.
Port Authorities of all major/non-major ports and/or maritime boards are required to enforce the following measures for foreign-flagged vessels calling at Indian ports:
i. Verify the authenticity of the P&I Insurance Certificate directly through the official website of the issuing P&I insurer. This verification shall be done through the IG P&I Club’s online verification system (https://www.igpandi.org/vesselsearch/) or the official website of the respective non-IG insurer, listed on the DGS website (https://www.dgshipping.gov.in/Content/InsuranceBranch.aspx);
ii. Ensure that the certificate's validity covers the entire duration of the vessel's intended port stay;
iii. In circumstances where the website is experiencing technical errors and/or further verification may be required, the port authorities may verify the same through the local correspondents of the P&I insurer. All P&I insurers are required to keep their local correspondent list updated on their official website.
P&I insurers:
i. In cases where a vessel's premium payments are deferred or not remitted, the website must clearly state that the certificate is invalid or that the premium remains unpaid. If the insurer does not correctly indicate the premium status, the P&I Certificate shall be presumed valid, and the insurer cannot repudiate liability arising therefrom;
ii. The P&I insurance validity status displayed on the website shall clearly indicate that the coverage is effective for a minimum period of three (03) months from the date of the vessel’s entry into an Indian port, or from the annual renewal date, which is ordinarily 20 February of each calendar year, whichever is applicable. Where this condition is not met, the P&I insurer’s website must provide a specific remark detailing the status of coverage and any relevant information;
iii. Effective from the date of issuance of the notice, the non-IG P&I insurers have a six (06) month timeframe to update their websites with the requisite data. Thereafter, port authorities shall rely exclusively on these platforms for real-time and accurate verification of P&I Certificates. While email-based verification shall remain available as a provisional measure until the insurer’s official websites are operational but will be discontinued after the specified timeline. Once these websites are operational, the links for the same shall be made available on the DGS website.
iv. A list of all the official correspondents of the P&I insurers shall be made available on their official website.
Any irregularities or suspicions concerning the authenticity or validity of the P&I Insurance Certificate, Blue Card, or CIOFS shall be reported to the Directorate General of Shipping without delay, and the concerned vessel shall not be permitted entry into Indian ports until such issue is resolved. If the vessel is already within Indian waters, it shall be directed to depart from the Indian waters without delay.
For further details, as well as information about operations in India, contact GAC India at [email protected]