As the Ukrainian navy carries out attacks with drone speedboats up to Russian ports, the eastern part of the Black Sea is becoming increasingly dangerous. Recently, reports have emerged of attacks on Russian ports on the Black Sea. So far, oil tankers from Russian Black Sea ports have not been hit, but the risks are increasing, according to oil traders.
Kyiv states that negotiations about insuring new grain shipments across the Black Sea, through the coastal waters of NATO countries Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, are making progress. Resuming grain shipments is a crucial step after Russia withdrew last month from a UN-mediated agreement.
Ukraine says that reinsurance is currently being discussed with local banks and international insurance groups, including Lloyd’s of London. Insurers, burdened with billions of dollars in losses, have insisted on some form of risk sharing (read: higher premiums).
Insurance companies have imposed a premium increase on charterers of oil tankers in the Russian part of the Black Sea, known as 'war risk premiums.' Military actions in the Black Sea area involving Russian and Ukrainian ports have escalated since the grain export agreement fell apart in mid-July.
The premium increase means that each trip costs an additional 200,000 dollars per tanker and will amount to 1 million dollars.