NorthStandard, IME and Zostera Marine bring the maritime sector together in Madrid to address the industry’s key challenges

“Navigating Complex Marine Risks” was the title of the event held in Madrid on 17 September, bringing together leading representatives from across the maritime sector. Through scenarios closely reflecting the day-to-day realities faced by shipowners and charterers, the session demonstrated how identifying and managing risks effectively can help reduce friction across the contractual chain and ultimately maximise the financial performance of an operation.

Madrid, 18 September 2026.- NorthStandard, the Instituto Marítimo Español (IME) and Zostera Marine chose Madrid’s VP Plaza España Design hotel as the venue for an event that brought together a substantial group of senior professionals from public authorities and organisations spanning shipping, chartering, shipbroking, maritime law, P&I clubs and other specialist areas of the maritime industry.

The event marked a further step in the collaboration between the three organising entities, which share the aim of bringing specialist knowledge, international expertise and opportunities for professional exchange to the Spanish market around the key challenges currently facing the maritime industry.

NorthStandard adopted a particularly dynamic format for the session: using an entire maritime voyage as the narrative thread for the event, progressing through each stage in turn, from pre-fixture to the load port, the voyage itself, the discharge port and finally post-fixture.

Following opening remarks from Mercedes Pardo, CEO of IME and Joel Grau, Managing Director of Zostera Marine, who introduced the event and set the scene for the discussion, Tricia Forrest, Head of Mediterranean & Ireland at NorthStandard, stepped into the shoes of a shipowner or charterer and presented the panel with real-life situations that can arise during a maritime operation. These scenarios provided the basis for discussions covering counterparty creditworthiness, international sanctions, geopolitical and war risks, P&I, bunkers, delays, letters of indemnity and post-voyage claims.

From there, Simon MacLeod, Loss Prevention Director – Mediterranean & Ireland, Middle East, India & Africa; Juan Maldonado, P&I Claims Senior Executive – Americas & UK; Feirin McConville, Head of FD&D Claims – Mediterranean & Ireland; Stephen Rebair, Deputy Global Head of Mutual Underwriting and Head of Underwriting – Mediterranean & Ireland; and Nick Rowe, Head of Strike & Delay each responded from their respective areas of expertise to the different situations and risks presented, offering practical insight into how they can be anticipated, managed and their impact on operations mitigated.

Craig McBurnie, Head of Coastal & Inland also gave a brief presentation on the insurance solutions offered by this specialist NorthStandard team for vessels under 10,000 GT, broadening the discussion to include the range of cover available for different fleet profiles.

The approach focused not only on insurance cover, but also on prevention, specialist knowledge and close collaboration with shipowners and charterers.

And it was precisely this concept of support and partnership that emerged as another of the session’s central messages: not to replace members in their decision-making or due diligence processes, but to work alongside them, providing the knowledge, experience, tools and advice needed to help them identify and manage their risks more effectively.

In the words of Tricia Forrest, Head of Mediterranean & Ireland at NorthStandard, “in an increasingly complex maritime environment, our aim is to be alongside our members before, during and after every operation. By anticipating risks, sharing our expertise and working collaboratively with shipowners and charterers, we can help them make better-informed decisions and protect their businesses.”

Mercedes Pardo, CEO of the Instituto Marítimo Español, said: “The significant interest generated by this event demonstrates the need to create forums where maritime professionals can share experiences and benefit from the expertise of international specialists. For IME, collaborating with organisations such as NorthStandard and Zostera Marine allows us to continue bringing to the Spanish maritime sector the trends, solutions and debates that are shaping the international maritime industry today.”

Joel Grau, Managing Director of Zostera Marine, added: “Risk management cannot be approached in isolation. Geopolitics, contracts, operations, insurance and profitability are becoming increasingly interconnected. Our aim is to combine NorthStandard’s global capabilities with our local knowledge and proximity to the Iberian market, building genuine partnership relationships with companies across the sector.”

ENDS