N America News May 2017

NORTHAMERICANEWS / MAY 2017 11 NEWS , The process of cold treatment is used to exterminate insects and larvae in perishable cargo by maintaining a sufficient low temperature for a pre-determined period says George Radu of Thomas Miller Americas, adding that it is a more efficient way to exterminate fruit insects than fumigation. “The period and temperature required are defined in protocols established by the relevant authorities of the import- ing countries” he comments. “The Club has recently seen an increase in refrigerated cargo claims for fresh fruit from South America to the United States due to cold treatment failure. Cold treatment failure delays the ar- rival of the cargo to the US, and excessive delays in the transit time result in the fruit becoming unmarketable or being sold at a much lower price. To prevent cold treatment failure, Radu outlines the below proce- dures that need to be carried out by the shipper: • Calibrate all air and pulp tem- perature sensors in a clean ice water slurry mixture that is 0C (32 F); • Fruit intended for in transit cold treatment must be pre- cooled to the temperature at which the fruit will be treated prior to beginning treatment. If pulp temperatures are .28C (0.5 F) or more above the temperature at which the fruit will be treated, the pallet will remain for further precooling; • Each container compartment must contain only one type of fruit and loaded in one type of carton; • Load fruit directly from the precooling area so fruit temperatures do not rise significantly after loading and during transfer of the contain- er to the ship and; • Open the cartons in which the sensors will be located and insert the sensors into the fruit. The tip of the sensor must not extend through the fruit. CGICA is a Del- aware-domiciled manufacturer of private placement variable life insur- ance and annuity contracts. Contributing to the company’s accelerated growth is its Group Annuity Contract which provides access to private placements for U.S. taxable and tax-exempt investors, treaty and non-treaty benefit non-U.S. investors, and sovereign wealth funds seeking tax efficiency for their leveraged business-related and real proper- ty investments. “This accolade from S&P Global Market Intelligence is a testa- ment to our unwavering dedi- cation to providing outstanding tax-efficient solutions designed to enhance returns for affluent individuals, institutional inves- tors and investment managers, said Perry Lerner, Chairman and CEO of Crown Global. “Our Group Annuity Contract assists institutional and foreign investors assists investors in minimizing the burdens associated with UBTI and inefficient “blocker” strategies. The GAC solution is attractive to a wide audience, including endowments, founda- tions, sovereign wealth funds and similar groups seeking to invest in the United States without a high tax burden.” Chris Calise, President of Crown Global, remarked on the Company’s successful distribu- tion strategy, “While we have flourished in the high net worth individual market for years, a fo- cus on institutional clients has set us on a path of rapid growth. The GAC is just one of many, unique and innovative solutions Crown Global has for the challenges faced by institutional clients.” Learn more at http://www.crown - globalinsurance.com Regarding treatment require- ments, UK P&I Club’s Radu com- ments: “When monitoring cargo, temperatures must be recorded at intervals no longer than one hour apart. Gaps of longer than one hour could cause a treat- ment failure. Fruit pulp temper- atures must be maintained at the temperature specified in the treatment schedule with no more than a 0.39C (0.7 F) variation in temperature between two consecutive hourly readings. Failure to comply could result in treatment failure. “After the cold treatment and before the ship arrives at port, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will obtain the clearance officer’s copy of the calibration documents from the ship’s officer. USDA and the ship’s officer will retrieve the temperature printout and review the readings. “The authorised official will then release the shipment for carriage to the United States if all require- ments have been met. However, if irregularities are not consistent with treatment requirements, the shipment will be held for further evaluation. “Members should be aware that the precooling and loading of the sensors are carried out at the shipper’s premises. If the refrigeration unit is set at the cor- rect temperature and there are temperature irregularities shortly after receipt by the carrier at the load terminal, then it can be concluded that the cold treatment failure is due to the shipper’s lack of precooling or calibrating the sensors. All liability for claims under these circumstances can be denied by the carrier. “If a claim is received, shippers should contact the Club imme- diately to assist in reviewing the temperature records to deter- mine if the carrier is responsible for the cold treatment failure.” www.ukpandi.com www.thomasmiller.com Crown Global Insurance Company of America Ranked as Fastest Growing Life Insurer by S&P Global Market Intelligence Crown Global Insurance Company of America, amember of Crown Global Insurance Group LLC onMay 18th announced that it has been ranked as the U.S. life insurance industry’s fastest- growing group or standalone entity in 2016, according to criteria set forth by S&P Global Market Intelligence.