2024 Renewal and Open Policy Years To the Members At their meeting held in Tokyo on 20 November 2023, the Association’s Board of Directors reviewed open policy years and decided on the 2024 renewal.     1. Introduction   Thanks to the continued support of the Members of the Association, as at 31 October 2023, the total number of vessels entered with the Association has been maintained at 3,682, across 88.9 million gross tons in the aggregate of owners’ entries and Naiko Class (Japanese coastal vessels) entries.   For the 2023 renewal, a general increase of 10% was applied to owners' entries, charterers' entries and FD&D. As for Naiko Class entries, total premium increased by 15% after Members’ rates were adjusted to reflect their individual claims record. Also for owners' entries, a 25% of unbudgeted supplementary call was made for each of the 2020 and 2021 policy years, when there were significant deteriorations in loss records. These measures were taken to improve the balance of income and expenditure and ensure the soundness of the financial base. As a result of these, the Association’s reserve, which had fallen significantly in 2021, was restored to JPY 27.44 billion as at 31 March 2023. We would again like to thank Members for their cooperation with these measures.   While claims for the 2023 policy year have been developing at a relatively favourable level, the Association had one pool claim for owners’ entries in the first half of the 2023 policy year and one large claim exceeding JPY 300 million for Naiko Class entries in the second half. Careful attention will be given to future claims development.   Although progress has been made in restoring underwriting balance over the past years, premium levels are still inadequate. Further, the business environment surrounding the Association remains uncertain and challenging, including continued inflationary pressures on claims costs and war risks such as the Russia-Ukraine war. &nb