S&P Affirms Steamship Owners’ P&I (London) ‘A-‘ Ratings

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its “A-” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on The Standard Steamship Owners’ P&I Association (London) Ltd. (SL or the club) with a stable outlook.

“The ratings are based on SL’s membership of the Standard family of clubs, which includes SL’s larger sister, The Standard Steamship Owners’ P&I Association (Bermuda) Ltd. (SB) [See previous article]; strong capitalization; strong operating performance; and good competitive position,” said S&P.

“SL’s limited, albeit good, financial flexibility (being the balance between capital requirements and sources)” were cited by S&P as offsetting factors.

S&P said the stable outlook reflects its “expectation that SL’s competitive position will remain good. Tonnage will continue to increase, largely on an organic basis. Operating performance will remain strong, with the combined ratio remaining below 100 percent over the medium term. The club will continue to be proactive in responding to the increase in the number of claims recorded and the value of large claims.”

“Capital adequacy according to our risk-based capital model is expected to remain extremely strong at the year ending Feb. 20, 2006,” stated S&P credit analyst Lucy Stupples.