The cost of insuring ships sailing through the Black Sea is surging again,
as spiraling attacks on vessels underscore the growing risk of hauling commoditi
es through the region.
Underwriters are now charging about 1% of the value of a ship for calls at a
ny port in the region, according to people involved in the market. That’s up fro
m about 0.7% at the end of last month.
The surge is a sign of the intensifying danger of sailing in a waterway that
has been designated as ris
ky by insurers for almost three years, but where attacks are steadily mounting.
Read more: Drones Hit Two Tankers in Black Sea, Driving Up War Insurance Costs
In the past few days, two oil tankers were struck near the Caspian
Pipeline Consortium loading terminal, which is a vital location for exp
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orting Kazakh barrels. Ukraine said earlier in the week that two ships, one
due to carry grains and anot
her transporting soybeans were also struck by Russian forces.
“We are certainly seeing an increase in the tempo and frequency of attack
s,” said Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS Risk Group. “There is no sp
ecific profile that is higher risk at present, other than calling at Russian and U
krainian Black Sea ports and terminals.”
Some ships have been adopting new ways to avoid attack, though they
haven’t all been successful.
Some have been sailing close to the Turkish coastline, rather than across t
he center of the Black
Sea in the hope of av
oiding Ukrainian drones. Still, an oil tanker was reportedly struck about
30 miles from Turkish shores last week local media reported.
Others have turned to switching off their digital tracking systems, though th
at offered little protection for the vessels attacked on Tuesday.