In light of London’s marine insurance market meeting on Thursday, May 16, they decided to extend the list of waters deemed as high risk to include Oman, the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf after ship attacks off Fujairah, Reuters reports.
Thus, London’s Joint War Committee announced that the added areas reflect those of enhanced risk for marine insurers and reflect the enhanced regional risk.
The Joint War Committee will closely review the existent situation. Its guidance is watched closely and influences underwriters’ considerations over insurance premiums.
The situation will be kept under close review.
… the Joint War Committee noted.
North P&I Club presented the High Risk Areas, as such:
Areas added:
- Oman
- Persian or Arabian Gulf and adjacent waters including the Gulf of Oman west of Longitude 58°E
- United Arab Emirates
Areas amended:
- Saudi Arabia (Gulf coast)
- Saudi Arabia (Red Sea coast) excluding transits
According to Reuters, the Joint War Committee, which comprises syndicate members from the LMA and representatives from the London insurance company market, normally meets every quarter to review areas it considers high risk for merchant vessels and prone to war, strikes, terrorism and related perils.
Yet, the meeting now concerned an unexpected sabotage attack against four vessels in UAE territorial waters.
Concluding, after the attack, Naval Dome expressed its concerns on the possibility that the sabotage may result to cyber attacks in the area, as vessels that operate in these water areas could be targeted, have their systems hacked and GPS spoofed in order to render vessels immobile or re-directed as part of wider actions.
