Mr Tourret's data also shows that, although more frequent, attacks have been less successful. Only 12% of the boats targeted were actually boarded or hijacked, compared to 28% in the first half of 2010 and 30% in the same period of 2009.

But discussions at the conference revealed that the threat remains uppermost in the minds of shipping companies and their insurers.

“We were mostly concerned about finding solutions for the piracy problem, but I am afraid we did not manage to do that,” said Ole Wikborg, the president of IUMI, in an interview with Commercial Risk Europe after the conference.

“We analysed options and hopefully were successful in opening the eyes of some underwriters about the situation in the Indian Ocean, where the problem is larger than anywhere else,” he added.

Among the possible solutions, much attention focused on the presence of armed guards on board ships that sail through regions deemed as high risk. But this is not a cheap solution.

Mr Tourret estimates that the presence of security guards and associated equipment in a vessel runs at $100,000 for a period of ten days. But the solution seems to be gaining ever more support among insurers.

“In last year's conference, the feeling was that armed guards could make things worse, that they could lead to more danger to crewmen and shipowners, and that they could increase the risk of things going wrong,” said Demian Smith, Global Head of Marine at Torus. “But now the consensus seems to be that armed guards constitute the way forward. Statistics show that vessels that have armed guards on board are less likely to be captured.”

“We had taken a neutral position about armed guards until recently, but now we have seen that flag states are more favourable to the idea, although some, like Egypt, remain against it,” said Mr Wikborg. “Anything that will save the lives of seafarers or reduce the risk that vessels are hijacked will have our support, provided that flag states accept it.”

Mr Smith noted that budget constraints of countries looking to protect their seafarers are only likely to increase the popularity and need for armed security on ships.

“I believe that, from October, we will see a dramatic decrease in the amount of naval support from western governments that are having to cut down on defence spending,” he said. “If navies will not be protecting shipping, than we will need another form of protection.”

The next step, he said, is to make sure that shipping firms work with reliable, preferably certified, companies to provide them with armed guards properly trained to perform the job.

Piracy aside, IUMI members were concerned about the dire numbers that have been posted by some marine insurers in recent years. Although premium volumes increased by 2.6% in 2010 to reach $25.3bn, some lines have had poor technical results for a long time.

“That is a concern that goes on year after year, and I am afraid I cannot report signs of light at the end of the tunnel,” said Mr Wikborg, who is also Director and Chief Underwriter at the Norwegian Hull Club. “Particularly in the hull and machinery sector, which is losing money for the fifteenth year in a row.”

He said that cargo insurers have still been able to make a profit, but margins are getting tighter. “With increased exposure and more competition in the international market, we see higher sums insured in total, but premium levels remain the same. So the loss rate is likely to be worsening for the cargo segment, which has also been affected by natural catastrophes,” Mr Wikborg stressed.

Tougher competition is also squeezing results in the hull sector, as insurers try to keep their best clients by all possible means. “There is too much focus on the insurance record of the individual client. If the client has a good record for a number of years, the insurance premium is very low. Hence insurers price the records, and not the risks, although we are charging premiums for covering risks,” Mr Wikborg explained.

“Things look better in the energy sector, mainly because there have not been large losses caused by hurricanes in the United States. The Deepwater situation has left some visible scars, as well as a few other mobile units that have had losses in the spring, but as a whole, the energy segment has been doing quite well. It is a very volatile market though, highly dependent on the American hurricane season,” he said.

Although premium prices are not a theme openly discussed at the IUMI conference, participants informally debated how to sail through the current economic conditions.

“People were talking about the possibility of raising rates in times where shipowners are struggling to make money,” said Torus’ Mr Smith. “Some argued that the insurance industry should support their clients even though insurers are losing money. But another point of view was that when shipping companies were making a lot of money back in 2006, they didn't share it with the insurers,” he noted.

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