Insurance rates in Black Sea rise by 250% after strikes on tankers – Bloomberg

A report, citing the world’s largest insurance broker Marsh, states that the cost of insurance coverage for voyages to Russian ports has more than tripled.

Before the strikes on the tankers, rates did not exceed 0.25%–0.3% of a ship’s value. They have now reached 1%. The same rate applies to voyages to Ukrainian ports.

"For Russian port calls, underwriters are pricing in a broader range of possible strike locations and a higher likelihood of repetition… As strikes escalate, so does the probability of Russian retaliation against ships connected to Ukraine," Vessel Protect’s Chief Operating Officer Munro Anderson told the outlet.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the tanker strikes, claimed that Russia would allegedly carry out a "counterstrike" if Ukraine’s so-called "pirate attacks" do not stop. Experts noted that rates are steadily rising, as both sides increasingly target port infrastructure and ships.

At the same time, the Turkish shipping company Besiktas Shipping, which owns the tanker Mersin damaged off the coast of Senegal, announced it would halt all operations with Russia due to extremely high safety risks.

Near the Bosphorus on November 28, fires broke out on two tankers belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet. By November 29, it was reported that the Ukrainian Security Service of Ukraine's maritime drones Sea Baby successfully struck two sanctioned tankers, Kairo and Virat, in the Black Sea.

Following this, on December 2, a small tanker, Midvolga 2, transporting sunflower oil from Russia to Georgia under the Russian flag, came under attack near the Turkish coast. However, this incident was apparently a provocation by the Russian regime: Ukraine immediately denied any involvement in the attack.