Zodiac Maritime and the China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association, widely known as China P&I Club, have signed a cooperation framework agreement aimed at strengthening collaboration across the shipping and marine insurance sectors.

The agreement was signed on July 23 at China P&I Club’s headquarters in Shanghai.

The ceremony was attended by Xu Lirong, Chairman of China P&I Club; Daniel Ofer, Chief Executive Officer of Zodiac Maritime; Ren Yongqiang, a director of China P&I Club, Assistant General Manager of COSCO SHIPPING and Chairman of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation; and Tao Weidong, a director of China P&I Club and Chairman of COSCO SHIPPING Lines.

Luca Dessy, Head of Tankers — Crude and Products at Zodiac Maritime, and Song Chunfeng, General Manager of China P&I Club, signed the agreement on behalf of the two organisations.

Cooperation across shipping and marine insurance

Under the framework agreement, Zodiac Maritime and China P&I Club will closely follow emerging trends in the shipping and marine insurance markets.

The two sides said they would combine their respective strengths, deepen practical cooperation and jointly respond to industry challenges while identifying new development opportunities.

The agreement also calls for the integration of high-quality resources and the exploration of new cooperation models and channels. Detailed projects or implementation timetables have not yet been disclosed.

The signing establishes a formal cooperation platform between one of the United Kingdom’s largest and most diversified shipping companies and China’s largest P&I insurer.

For Zodiac Maritime, the agreement strengthens its institutional links with China’s shipping, marine insurance and maritime service sectors. For China P&I Club, the addition of a major London-based shipping company supports its continuing effort to expand its international membership and global service network.

China P&I Club’s first UK member

Zodiac Maritime formally joined China P&I Club in February 2026, becoming the association’s first member from the United Kingdom.

China P&I Club said Zodiac’s membership and the subsequent framework agreement reflected the continued optimisation of its international business portfolio, as well as the development of its underwriting capabilities and global service capacity.

The Club has been pursuing a strategy centred on professionalism, market orientation, internationalisation and digitalisation. Its international network includes branches and service companies in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Piraeus, in addition to its headquarters in Shanghai and regional offices across China.

As of February 20, 2026, China P&I Club reported P&I entered tonnage of approximately 104.8 million gross tonnes across 2,199 vessels. It had 218 members and a network of 490 correspondents covering 145 countries and regions. The Club said it ranked eighth among global P&I insurers by entered tonnage.

Its insurance portfolio includes P&I, hull and machinery, freight, demurrage and defence, charterers’ comprehensive cover, war risks cover and marine delay insurance.

A major diversified shipping platform

Established in London in 1976, Zodiac Maritime has developed into one of the world’s largest privately controlled shipping and shipmanagement companies.

The company says its diversified fleet comprises around 200 ships, including containerships, bulk carriers, crude oil tankers, product and chemical tankers, LPG carriers and pure car and truck carriers. Its operated fleet represents more than 20 million dwt of capacity, supported by more than 6,500 seafarers.

Zodiac has also maintained extensive commercial and shipbuilding links with China. Its recent fleet development has included containerships, tankers and LNG dual-fuel vehicle carriers constructed at Chinese shipyards.

The company’s broad exposure to crude oil, refined products, dry bulk, container shipping and vehicle logistics gives the new cooperation agreement relevance across several major marine insurance and risk-management segments.

With geopolitical disruption, sanctions compliance, alternative-fuel adoption and increasingly complex maritime regulation placing greater demands on shipowners and insurers, closer cooperation between shipping companies and marine mutuals is becoming an increasingly important part of fleet risk management.

The agreement with Zodiac Maritime therefore represents more than the addition of another international member. It gives China P&I Club a stronger connection with the London shipping market and creates a new channel through which the two sides can develop practical cooperation in a rapidly changing global risk environment.