2 AUGUST, 2024

Carbon capture, smart hotels, sinkings and good news for tourism

---

In this month’s News Digest we’re exploring a series of stories, each with insurance implications. If you didn’t realise there’s an insurance side to every news item, read on. As it turns out, life and insurance almost always go hand in hand!

LEADING THE WAY WITH CO2 CAPTURE

It’s great to know that Malaysia is in such a great position to lead the way regionally on carbon capture, carbon utilisation and carbon storage, together called CCUS, as highlighted in our National Energy Transition Roadmap or NETR.

Malaysia aims to create three CCUS hubs by 2030, building up an enormous shared storage capacity of as much as 15 million tonnes of CO2 a year. We have 16 depleted fields suitable for CCUS, all capable of either stopping CO2 reaching the atmosphere or removing CO2 that’s already there.

A total estimated storage capacity of 46 trillion cubic feet is impressive, with eleven offshore sites in Sabah and Sarawak, and five – including Terengganu and Pahang - off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The Bill to regulate the activity and attract investment will go in front of Parliament in late 2024 and should conclude in 2025.

Insurance-wise the carbon economy is already booming. The new tech and processes it brings pose new risks for insurance actuaries to analyse and underwriters to price.

SMART HOTELS GET A BOOST IN OUR REGION

Hotels and travelling come with insurance implications. Holidaymakers and business travellers need travel insurance, hotels need all sorts of policies including commercial buildings and contents insurance, public liability insurance, business interruption insurance and more. So it’s interesting to see the Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association collaborating with hospitality technology solutions experts Vendfun to get the smart hotel scene moving.

Smart hotels are all about harnessing state-of-the-art tech to revolutionise the hospitality sector, enhancing guest experiences and improving the efficiency of hotel operations. Smart check-in and check-out systems are on the list, designed to cut waiting times dramatically, and energy-efficient smart lighting, HVAC systems and water management will also play a part, making hotels more sustainable while reducing operating costs. Digital room keys, AI services, targeted marketing, personalised greetings and more will transform the face of the hotel experience for millions of us.

You can’t do it without hands-on training, which is also on the ‘to do’ list, and joint research and development will pin down the latest trends and advancements in the hotel world.

BALLAST TANK LEAK SINKS SHIP OFF TANJUNG RHU

As experts in marine insurance and cargo insurance with a large freight forwarding client base, we were saddened to see the cargo ship MV KUM JIN sinking off the coast of Tanjung Rhu following a large leak in its ballast tank.

The vessel sank despite the efforts of everyone on board, and a distress call was sent to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency at around 3.35am. Despite horrible weather, the rescue vessel Perkasa 36 arrived quickly and brought all ten crew members to safety before the ship’s dangerous situation turned deadly.

Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh, Director of MMEA Selangor, said a large crack had been found by the crew and urgent evacuation measures were taken straight away. The vessel’s owners, Malaysian company AR Shipping, will be making an insurance claim.

GOOD NEWS FOR MALAYSIA TOURISM

There’s great news for Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia, thanks to a new Visa Exemption extended until 2026 and designed to boost holidaymaker numbers. Now Chinese people can visit Malaysia without a visa for up to 30 days as part of Malaysia’s strategy to revive tourism post-covid.

Travel and tourism is essential to our economy, it is Visit Malaysia Year in 2026, and the new policy should significantly increase tourist numbers from China, a key market. If anyone’s travelling in the other direction, from Malaysia to China, come to us for good quality travel insurance and enjoy the peace of mind you deserve when away from home for business or pleasure.

BUSINESS INSURANCE AND PERSONAL INSURANCE

Whatever kind of insurance you need, we can help. Talk to our friendly team – we’ll give you a warm welcome.