Insurance Cover News

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has highlighted the importance of robust vessel design reviews and related insurance coverage throughout the construction process following a recent dispute between a naval architect, a shipowner and a shipyard regarding a vessel’s operational performance post-delivery.The vessel, a 24-metre catamaran servicing the offshore oil and gas industry, faced considerable operational limitations. This was attributed to unexpected vibration issues in the vessel's rudders…

Tankers carrying Russian oil have continued sailing through the Red Sea largely uninterrupted by Houthi attacks on shipping and face lower risks than competitors, according to shipping executives, analysts and flows data.Russia has become more dependent on trade through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea since it invaded Ukraine, which led to Europe imposing sanctions on Russian imports and forced Moscow to export most of its crude to China and India. Before the war, Russia exported…

Shipping companies remain in the dark over a new international navy coalition being assembled by the United States to combat attacks in the Red Sea, with many vessels continuing to avoid the area or cancelling contracts, sources said on Wednesday.The sources, who include shipping and maritime security officials, say few practical details are known about the initiative launched on Tuesday by Washington or whether it will directly engage in the event of further armed attacks at sea.Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have since Nov.

Russian crude oil producers are enjoying the cheapest costs to ship to refiners in China and India in almost a year thanks to a growing number of vessels plying the routes, according to trading and shipping sources.The arrival of new shippers working outside the purview of Western governments allows Russian firms to earn more than the $60 per barrel cap that the U.S. and its allies had aimed to impose on Russia through sanctions. It also means that enforcing the price cap will have a limited impact on Russian revenues.On Thursday, the U.S. imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the cap, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates…

Activity at Israel's ports is slowing after Saturday's attacks by Islamist group Hamas on towns close to Gaza, with the cost of insurance premiums for Israeli shipments soaring amid tightening supplies of food stocks, according to sources and data.Israel's southern coastal city of Ashkelon, which has a small port well in range of Hamas rockets, is not allowing ships to enter, shipping sources said.While the main Israeli ports of Ashdod further up the coast and Haifa in the north…

A new marine insurance facility for Ukrainian grain exports using the country's sea corridor has been set up in conjunction with Ukraine's authorities, insurance broker Miller said on Tuesday.Russia quit a U.N.-backed deal in July to enable exports from Ukraine to sail from three approved ports.Since then, Kyiv has launched what it calls a new temporary humanitarian corridor in an effort to break Russia's de facto blockade. Two ships have sailed in the recent days from the Ukrainian…

Indonesia's coast guard said on Tuesday it seized an Iranian-flagged supertanker suspected of involvement in the illegal transshipment of crude oil, and vowed to toughen maritime patrols.The MT Arman 114 was carrying 272,569 metric tons of light crude oil, valued at 4.6 trillion rupiah ($304 million), when it was seized last week, the Indonesian authorities said.The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was suspected of transferring oil to another vessel without a permit on Friday, the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security agency said.The vessel was captured after being spotted in Indonesia's North Natuna Sea, carrying out a ship-to-ship oil transfer with the Cameroon-flagged MT S Tinos, the agency's chief, Aan Kurnia, said.

The United Arab Emirates is tightening insurance requirements for vessels registered under its flag, according to a government advisory, amid growing concerns over ships sailing without top tier cover in the event of an oil spill.Ships typically have protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance which covers liability claims including environmental damage and injury.

Lloyd's Register has told India's Gatik Ship Management, which has become a major carrier of Russian oil since the Ukraine war, that it will withdraw certification of 21 of its vessels by June 3, the maritime services company told Reuters.It is the latest setback for Gatik, which was also been forced to find new flags for 36 of its ships after they were deflagged by the St. Kitts & Nevis International Ship Registry."Lloyd's Register is committed to facilitating compliance with sanctions regulations on the trading of Russian oil," it said in an email to Reuters.

Insurers are facing half a billion dollars in claims for up to 60 commercial ships still stuck in Ukraine a year after the start of the war with Russia, industry sources said.When the conflict started, more than 90 merchant ships - many with food cargoes onboard - and some 2,000 crew members were caught in Ukraine and unable to leave due to the fighting.Curtailed shipments from major grain exporter Ukraine played a role in the resulting global food crisis.According to shipping and insurance industry assessments…

Turkey's maritime authority said on Thursday it would continue to block the passage of oil tankers that don't carry appropriate insurance letters, adding that insurance checks on ships in its waters were a "routine procedure".The logjam is creating growing unease in oil and tanker markets and comes as the G7 and European Union introduce a price cap on Russian oil.Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.Here are key facts about the issue.Ships typically have protection & indemnity (P&I) insurance…

Oil-laden tankers risk being left languishing at sea if insurers do not urgently get clarity on an unfinished G7 and European Union plan to cap the price of Russian crude, two senior industry executives told Reuters.The Group of Seven (G7), which includes the United States, Britain, Germany and France, agreed in September to enforce a low price on sales of Russian oil.U.S. officials said the move, which is due to start on December 5, was aimed at allowing it to continue to flow…

Vessel operating cost inflation has accelerated in 2022 on mounting worldwide macroeconomic price pressures, despite some receding of Covid-19 related costs, according to the latest Ship Operating Costs Annual Review and Forecast 2022/23 report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.Drewry estimates that average daily operating costs across the 47 different ship types and sizes covered in the report rose for the fifth consecutive year to reach $7,474 in 2022, a rise of 2.2%.

Russia's state-run Sovcomflot has insured all its cargo ships with Russian insurers and the cover meets international rules, the chief executive said, after Western insurers withdrew cover.Western insurers halted insurance cover for Russia's biggest shipping group when Sovcomflot was hit by sanctions after Moscow sent troops across the border into Ukraine.Sources told Reuters this month that state-controlled Russian National Reinsurance Company had become the main reinsurer of Russian ships…

A ship financier’s primary security is the mortgaged ship. If the ship becomes a total loss, the mortgage will provide no valuable security, leaving the financier to rely on its rights as assignee and loss payee (and occasionally as co-assured) under the shipowner’s marine insurance policies. However, the owner’s insurers may decline a claim, for example on grounds of breach of warranty or material non-disclosure, or because the loss is not covered by the policy, such as where the owner scuttles the mortgaged ship.

Western ship insurers are terminating cover for Russia's leading shipping company Sovcomflot as multiple sanctions start to bite, companies involved say, adding to the growing challenges for the state-owned company and Moscow's efforts to export oil and gas.Russia's maritime sector is seeing the wind down of multiple services, including ship certification by leading foreign providers - vital for accessing ports and securing insurance - shipping companies pulling out and ship engine…

Russia's top shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF), already struggling to find berths to discharge cargoes, is facing fresh pressure after the UK on Thursday joined countries that have slapped sanctions on it, with implications for insurance and certification.With a modern fleet of ships, state-run SCF is a key transporter of Russian oil and liquefied natural gas but also carried cargoes previously from other countries such as the United States.Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Feb.

Insurers have raised the cost of providing cover for merchant ships through the Black Sea, adding to soaring rates to transport goods through the region for vessels still willing to sail after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Ship owners pay annual war-risk insurance cover as well as an additional "breach" premium when entering high-risk areas. These separate premiums are calculated according to the value of the ship, or hull, for a seven-day period.Ship insurers have quoted the additional premium rate for seven days at anywhere between 1% to 2% and up to 5% of insurance costs…

Greece-based Empire Navigation is investigating whether Iranian oil was transferred onto one of the vessels it manages, the company said in a statement, after a U.S. advocacy group first made such allegation last week.Top oil shipping companies say they are grappling with a growing risk of handling oil shipments originating from countries that have been targeted by U.S. sanctions such as Iran and Venezuela.A breach of U.S. sanctions could lead to a company losing access to the dollar financial system, having assets seized, and insurance cover for ships canceled, U.S. and insurance industry officials say.Empire Navigation said it was "aware of the allegation of non-compliance regarding our managed vessel…

London’s marine insurance market on Tuesday added the Ukrainian and Russian waters around the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to its list of areas deemed high risk as tensions persist in the region, a senior official said.Guidance from the Joint War Committee, which comprises syndicate members from the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) and representatives from the London insurance company market, is watched closely and influences underwriters’ considerations over insurance premiums.Following a buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine…

Two tankers have had their environmental and safety classification withdrawn by a U.S. company that provides such certification, after accusations by a U.S. advocacy group that they had shipped cargoes of Iranian oil, documents seen by Reuters show.Countries targeted by tougher U.S. sanctions, including Iran and Venezuela, have responded to the mounting pressure with elaborate strategies to circumvent restrictions on their oil exports.Top oil shipping companies say they have in turn responded by tightening guidelines and deploying technology to prevent accidental sanctions breaches, which U.S. officials have said could lead to them being…

Dutch FPSO leasing specialist SBM Offshore has completed the project financing of FPSO Sepetiba for a total of US1.6 billion, which SBM Offshore says, is the largest project financing in the company’s history.FPSO Sepetiba, formerly known as Mero 2, is destined for deployment in Brazil with Petrobras.SBM Offshore said that the project financing was secured by a consortium of 13 international banks with insurance cover from Export Credit Agencies (ECA): Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) and SACE S.p.A.

Even as the United States and Iran appear to signal a keenness to avoid further conflict, oil and gas shipowners are bracing to pay a price for the war of words that culminated in rocket strikes in Iraq over the last week - higher insurance bills.According to industry sources, payments known as war risk premiums for tankers shuttling through the Strait of Hormuz could rise significantly, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to shipping costs in some cases that will ultimately…