American Steamship Owners Mutual P&I
US-based Protection & Indemnity mutual insurance association underwriting third-party maritime liability
Last refreshed: 26 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Without P&I cover, can any insured vessel legally call at an Iranian port?
Timeline for American Steamship Owners Mutual P&I
Cancelled war-risk cover for Iranian waters from around 5 March 2026
Iran Conflict 2026: Five vessels, no AIS: Hormuz goes darkMentioned in: Last P&I clubs quit Gulf; Hormuz sealed
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: Three P&I clubs pull Gulf war risk cover
Iran Conflict 2026- What is Protection and Indemnity insurance and why does it matter for shipping?
- P&I insurance covers third-party liabilities for shipowners: crew injury, oil pollution, cargo damage, and port damage. Without it, ships cannot legally operate in most jurisdictions under international maritime conventions.
- Which P&I clubs cancelled Iran cover in March 2026?
- Five clubs cancelled or suspended cover effective 5 March 2026: American Steamship Owners Mutual, London P&I Club, Gard, NorthStandard, and West of England.Source: event
- Why can ships not operate without P&I insurance?
- International conventions including the CLC and Bunkers Convention require P&I cover as a condition of entry into most ports. Flag states and port states both enforce this requirement.
Background
American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association (the American Club) is one of the thirteen members of the International Group of P&I Clubs, the London-based consortium that collectively insures roughly 90% of the world's ocean-going tonnage against third-party liability claims including oil spills, crew injury, and cargo damage. In March 2026, the American Club was among five clubs that cancelled cover for vessels calling at Iranian ports or transiting waters designated as high-risk under tightened sanctions guidance, effective 5 March 2026.
Founded in 1917, the club is headquartered in New York and is one of the smaller P&I clubs by tonnage, but its cancellation decision carried symbolic weight as the only US-domiciled member of the International Group. P&I clubs are mutuals: shipowners pay premiums into a pool and the pool covers claims; clubs do not pay dividends. The American Club's action mirrored simultaneous moves by Gard, NorthStandard, London P&I Club, and West of England.
The practical effect of mass P&I cancellations is that vessels lose the third-party liability cover required by most port states and by international conventions such as the CLC and Bunkers Convention, effectively grounding any ship that cannot secure replacement cover.