War Risk Insurance Spirals Higher for Middle East Tankers

War Risk Insurance Spirals Higher for Middle East Tankers
Alex Longley, Sheela Tobben, and Ann Koh June 15, 2019

Oil tanker owners face spiraling insurance costs to load cargoes from the world’s largest crude-export region after the latest round of attacks on vessels.

War risk premiums that owners pay each time they go to the Persian Gulf have now surged to at least $185,000 for supertankers, according to people with knowledge of the market. They rose to $50,000 after the attacks a month ago.

Both owners and the companies that charter their ships paused bookings in the immediate aftermath of attacks on Thursday as they re-evaluated risks to shipping barrels from the Middle East in the wake of attacks on two more tankers just a month after similar incidents. Insurance costs from the Persian Gulf are soaring.

The U.S. pointed the finger at Iran for the attacks just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for crude oil exports. The Persian Gulf country immediately denied being responsible. Regardless, six tankers, hauling a variety of petroleum cargoes, have now been targeted in the space of just 32 days -- the kind of threat to merchant shipping that hasn’t been seen in the region for decades

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Six oil tankers have been attacked near the Strait of Hormuz
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