Included in the numerous articles posted from various sources, we have seen mention of the Joint War Committee having amended the areas of high risk to merchant shipping vessels and operations. The Joint War Committee (JWC) is a non-governmental committee comprised of underwriting representatives from Lloyd's and IUA (International Underwriting Association of London) company markets, representing the interests of writers of marine hull war business in the London market.
Joint World Organisation (JWO)
The Joint World Organisation (JWO) was initially a combined operation between the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John of Jerusalem in England. A brief history of this organization begins in 1909, when members of the British Red Cross and the Order of St John were organized into Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD) ostensibly to provide supplementary aid for the Territorial Medical Services. In May, 1908 the War Office gave instructions for establishing and mobilizing general hospitals in Circular Memorandum No. 31, which in explanation contains the following paragraph:
The medical corps of the Territorial Force will train in peace and nucleus of men, consisting mainly of those to whom duties of a highly specialized nature would be entrusted. Local branches of the Red Cross Society could render very valuable assistance if they would undertake the task of providing the balance of establishment of the hospital, mainly consisting of men to whom those duties which do not demand a very special training could be allotted. The local knowledge possessed by the representatives of the Society would be of the greatest value as enabling them to draw up lists of individuals who would be prepared in case of national emergency to aid their country's cause in the hospitals, though precluded by unavoidable circumstances from undertaking serious responsibilities in times of peace.
In four years' time, the Voluntary Aid Detachments rapidly grew in size and numbers, and by 1914 there were 4,000 VADs and 125,000 volunteers. That same year, just after the outbreak of the war in Europe, the JWO was formed to reduce duplication of effort and to provide St John personnel with the protection of the Red Cross. VAD nurses were introduced into Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) hospitals in England and France, as well as working overseas in transport and hospitals, treating sick and wounded military personnel. The VADs also replaced males in hospitals so they could be sent to the field. The organized volunteers worked alongside technical and professional staff and supplied the machinery and mechanisms to provide services in Britain and in the conflict areas of Europe, the Middle East, Russia and East Africa.The JWO ceased operations when WWI ended in 1919.
In 1939, the JWO was re-formed upon the British entry into WWII and remained active until it permanently disbanded in 1947. It is interesting to note that in 1941, the JWO began the Aid to Russia Fund to assist Russians ro cope with the deprivations caused by Hitler's advance, of which Mrs. Clementine Churchill was appointed chairman.
Joint World Committee
The Joint War Committee (JWC), a non-government administrative body, controlled the JWO and the Joint War Finance Committee managed its finances and concentrated on raising donations and funding. In researching the history of the organization and the committee, we found several references that use the JWO and JWC interchangeably. Little information was found through internet searches on how the JWO came to be simply the JWC, with its current structure being a committee comprised of underwriting representatives from Lloyd's and IUA company markets, representing the interests of writers of marine hull war business in the London market.
JWO to JWC
In searching for information on the structure change and when it might have occurred, the following information was obtained via internet search:
Following WWII, in a combined meeting of the United States and the United Kingdom Committee on Commercial Policy held in Washington on December 1, 1945, it was discussed that a body other than the International Trade Organization (ITO) should take the place of the United Maritime Authority when it ceased to exist on March 2,1946, to address, among other related concerns, the problems of national and international security involved in shipping subsidies. In this meeting, the UK representative Sir Percivale Liesching stressed the importance the contribution of shipping income makes to the United Kingdom's external balance of payments.
Over the years, several countries proposed that a permanent international body be established to promote maritime safety; but this did not come to fruition until the establishment of the United Nations. In 1948, at the international Geneva Convention, the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) was formally established. The name was changed in 1982 to its present title of International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO convention started inforce in 1958 and had their first meeting the following year. Today, the IMO is the United Nations specialized agency that carries the responsibility for safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. It keeps legislation affecting these issues up-to-date, and ensures that it is ratified by as many countries as possible.
The International Trade Centre website, 5.7 – Logistics and insurance – war risk insurance in shipping, describes the process shipping companies must go through to obtain insurance on vessels sailing through or passing through dangerous areas declared as 'war risk zones', due to piracy attacks. War is not piracy, yet where such acts occur frequently, underwriters have to consider piracy as an additional risk and do so by declaring the area in question to be a 'war risk zone'. While the piracy discussions here referenced attacks on shipments of coffee, all shipping commodities were at risk. As early as 2005, the Joint War Committee was part of the Lloyd's Insurance Market Association when it designated the Malacca Straits Declaration to be a 'war risk zone' due to such piracy attacks.
JWC Today
The Joint War Committee now designates these high risk areas as "Areas of Perceived Enhanced Risk", aka Listed Areas, and updates them as deemed appropriate based on assessment of independent maritime security advisors. The Listed Areas are areas where owners are required to notify underwriters of voyages, but the JWC plays no role in the individual rating negotiations between underwriters and brokers. However, guidance from the JWC is watched closely and influences underwriters' considerations and insurance premiums. The JWC meets quarterly to review areas it considers as high risk for merchant vessels and those risk-prone to war, strikes, terrorism and related perils.
Since 2005, many areas have been designated Listed Areas for Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils, with the most recent update being the inclusion of certain boundaries of waters in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, all inland waters of Ukraine, inland waters of Russi within three distinct areas of the Crimean Peninsula, River Don (from Sea of Azov to specified line), and River Donets, from River Don to the Ukraine border.
This is the current list of Listed Areas described in the LMA JWC website:
JWLA-029 Black Sea and Sea of Azov
The designation puts the Russian and Ukrainian waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in the same notification category as the Gulf of Guinea, the Persian Gulf, Yemen, Syria and Iran. It is the only listed region in Europe.
The JWC also issues wordings and clauses and makes them available for market use. Below are the wordings which allow underwriters to put the piracy peril into the war policy: