Tag: marine insurance

Seafarers indemnified against employers

New passenger ship insurance provisions

Insurers need to be asking questions to cut casualties and costs

Insurers face tougher times as Somali piracy drops

IUMI Conference: Unpredictable Time for Marine Insurance

Implications of insurance law changes for the shipping industry

Ransom insurance was becoming a necessity in Australia's international trade A ransom up to $4 million was paid through Australian companies and insurers to Somali pirates who seized a bulk carrier in 2008.Many shipping firms are employing armed guards and considering longer, more expensive voyages to avoid pirate hot spots east of Africa.The ransom was paid to recover an Australian cargo of 50,000 tonnes of lead and zinc aboard the Panama-flagged container ship Stella Maris.The carrier, with a crew of 20 Filipinos, was seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in June 2008, Australian Shipping chief executive Llew Russell said.Ransom insurance was becoming a necessity in Australia's international trade, 99 per cent of which travelled via sea, Mr Russell said."You've got to pay the ransom," he said.If companies refused to negotiate ransoms, crews would not be willing to ply the seas off Somalia or other hot spots, including the Strait of Malacca.Piracy is costing the global economy $7 billion a year.Some Australian shippers were so wary of running the gauntlet off Somalia, as they head towards the Suez Canal, they were now rounding the Cape of Good Hope at an extra cost of $2 million per container ship ...

Iran offers to insure foreign ships in Iranian waters

Japan insurers expand cover to boost Iran oil shipping capacity

From July, EU based insurance firms will no longer be able to insure any ship carrying Iranian oil In ten days on July 1st a sweeping European Union ban on Iranian imports will go into effect in response to the Islamic Republic's burgeoning nuclear program. In addition, and just as importantly, EU based insurance firms will no longer be able to insure any ship carrying Iranian oil.Iran is OPEC's second biggest oil producer behind Saudi Arabia. Oil analysts at Citigroup expect that Iran will still be sending out 1.25 million barrels a day, about half of last year's production.Brent crude is currently trading in the $95 dollar a barrel range , that's down eleven percent year to date. Light sweet is in the $83 dollar a barrel range, down 15% year to date.Ray Carbone is President of Paramount Options. He believes we'll see an upward trend before the July 1st deadline but it's unclear how high oil could go. Carbone says "it depends to a large degree on how much of Iran's share of oil OPEC is willing to pump out and that's still a question mark."Despite the EU ban several countries will still be importing Iranian oil. On the ...