Chauncy Maples makes a million

On 29 September at London's Dorchester Hotel, Thomas Miller, a London-based specialist insurance company, announced that the funds raised for the renovation of the medical ship Chauncy Maples had passed the £1million mark, halfway to the project's £2million target.

A charity auction held at the Lloyd's List Global Awards Dinner had just raised £6,000 from five sale items including a cruise donated by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. The auction was conducted by Andrew Binstock, one of the UK's leading auctioneers.

Thomas Miller is the sponsor of the Chauncy Maples Malawi Trust, a UK charity which is renovating the 19th century ship as a clinic to provide essential medical services to the lakeside people of Malawi. The Malawi Ministry of Health, the owner of Chauncy Maples, has committed more than £250,000 to the project, actively planning the renovation work in conjunction with the contractor.

Hugo Wynn-Williams, chairman of Thomas Miller, commented:

"Reaching the halfway stage in only three months since the project launched in June is a truly magnificent effort by our community. I have been genuinely surprised by the very positive response not just to fundraising but also the desire to participate in all sorts of ways.

"Since the outset we have wanted to celebrate our anniversary with something better than a party - this has exceeded our wildest dreams."

Mark Holford of Thomas Miller explained how the funds raised thus far were already being put to good use:

"In the past two weeks, work has commenced in Malawi in stripping out the ship in preparation for major hull work in a dry dock in October. Our next step is to persuade the world's maritime manufacturers to donate the £800,000 worth of parts necessary for the renovation work."

Eighty-five per cent of the £1 million raised so far has come from Thomas Miller, which donated £250,000, and its business community.

Sixteen donors have given at least £25,000 each to become Founders of the project, including five of Thomas Miller's transport clubs: UK P&I Club, UK Defence Club, TT Club, Hellenic War Risks and ITIC.

Three UK law firms have also become Founders: Ince, Holman Fenwick Willan and Reed Smith, which considers Thomas Miller to be its oldest client. American law firms have also been significant donors, led by New York law firm Blank Rome.

Another Founder, the broker Miller Insurance Services, is taking a 'charity' slip around Lloyd's and other London underwriters which has produced £65,000 so far.

Note to editors

Established in 1885 as the manager of the UK P&I Club (www.ukpandi.com), Thomas Miller is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. A global leader in the management of transport mutual insurance clubs, it provides insurance services to approximately 50% of the world's shipowners as well as many of the world's leading ports, terminals, logistic operators, ship brokers, ship agents and other types of transport intermediaries.

In recent years, it has also extended into non-marine activities and today provides professional indemnity insurance services to barristers, solicitors, patent agents, housing associations and pension fund trustees.

In addition, its investment division has US$4 billion under management split approximately 50/50 between in-house and external clients.

For further information on Thomas Miller and its various activities, including links to associated websites, please see www.thomasmiller.com.

For further information on the Chauncy Maples Malawi Trust, please see www.chauncymaples.org.

Photographs and images to accompany this press release are available to download from the Dunelm Public Relations website at: http://www.dunelmpr.co.uk/ThomasMiller-Photogallery-NEW.html

The captions read:

Photo 1: Thomas Miller's Chairman, Hugo Wynn-Williams.

Photo 2: Thomas Miller director, Mark Holford, who is overseeing Thomas Miller's involvement in the Chauncy Maples project.

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For further information, please contact:

David Cheslin of Dunelm Public Relations on:
Tel: +44 20 7345 5233 Fax: +44 20 7345 5234
E-mail: davidcheslin@dunelmpr.co.uk

Mark Holford of Thomas Miller & Co Ltd on
Tel: +44 20 7204 2350 Fax: +44 20 7204 5614
Email: mark.holford@thomasmiller.com