Leading global marine insurer North P&I Club has won the 2020 SAFETY4SEA Technology Award for its Digital Covid-19 Tracking Tool, after a public vote recognised the solution as the year’s standout technological contribution to maritime safety.

Hosted on MyGlobeView – a market-leading interactive platform for identifying commercial risks and physical threats to global shipping – the unique Tracking Tool provides live updates on developments related to Covid-19, with data provided by North Correspondents as well as international maritime and health organisations. This allows users to plan their operations based on the most up-to-date information regarding infection rates, port entry requirements, quarantine rules and more.

North received the prestigious award at a virtual ceremony held on 20 October, overcoming competition from four other shortlisted nominees. Accepting the honour on behalf of his colleagues, North Director of Loss Prevention Colin Gillespie said: “When we launched the Covid-19 layer back in February, we were convinced it would prove successful. It was the right technology at the right time, serving our members’ need for information about the spread of coronavirus in different countries and ports.”

Immediately after launching the tool, North decided to share it, free of charge, with the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG), which in turn made it available to all members. The award win therefore also acknowledges the industry-wide impact new digital solutions can have in disseminating insights when the maritime sector most needs them.

“We took the decision very early on to make the information publicly available by sharing it with our international partners via the IG website,” says Gillespie. In keeping with this community approach, he says that the award “isn’t just for North. It’s also for our technology partner Geollect – and especially for the Correspondents and other organisations providing the data that has made this platform so successful.