Insurers refuse to cover Strait of Hormuz transits
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Le Quotidien d'Oran
Insurers are reluctant to cover ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz after a series of incidents that have left at least 25 seafarers dead since 28 February. Oscar Seikaly, chief executive of NSI Insurance, says insurers no longer want to take on this risk, according to Al Jazeera.
Oscar Seikaly, chief executive of NSI Insurance, a US insurance broker, said the insurers his group works with currently do not want to cover transits through the Strait of Hormuz. He cited the risk of a fresh escalation in the area, in a statement to Al Jazeera.
Two oil tankers caught fire on Saturday morning after being hit by sea mines, according to the Iranian navy, as cited by the semi-official agency Tasnim. Three other vessels, including an LNG carrier, had also caught fire on Friday. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN’s maritime agency, has recorded at least 136 similar incidents since 28 February, while the UN says October recorded the highest monthly toll since the start of the conflict.
Insurers are therefore refusing to take on risk as incidents multiply around the strait. The NSI Insurance chief executive said no cover is currently available for transits through Hormuz until the situation is clarified.
Insurers’ refusal to cover Hormuz transits follows three oil tankers catch fire in the Strait of Hormuz, on 9 November, and the UN counts 25 seafarers killed around Hormuz since the war, published on 14 November.
