Due to the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on tankers in the Black Sea, insurance on ships sailing to the Black Sea has increased. Ukrainian companies that receive significant amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel by tankers will also have to pay more.
"The cost of military insurance of ships sailing to the Black Sea has risen sharply again: insurers review policies on a daily basis as the conflict on Ukraine has spread to the sea routes,"Reuters reports, citing sources.
According to them, after the attacks on tankers in the Black Sea last Friday, the cost of insurance for military risks for the ports of Ukraine and Russia's prices rose to 0.6%-1% of the cost of the vessel, whereas a week ago they were still 0.4−0.6%.
"The figures of 1% will be the highest since the end of 2023, although still below the peaks of 2% for the Red Sea at the height of the attacks of the Houthi militia of Yemen in 2024," the agency writes.
The increase in the cost of insurance occurred after the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked two tankers in the Black Sea with naval drones a week ago. Then Turkey expressed sharp indignation, and Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that if the "piracy" continued, Ukraine would receive an answer.
"What kind of response measures can there be? First, we will expand the range of our strikes on port facilities and ships that enter Ukrainian ports. Secondly, if this continues, we will consider the possibility — I'm not saying that we will do it, but we will consider the possibility — of retaliatory measures against the vessels of those countries that help Ukraine to commit these acts of piracy," the Russian president said.
As Reuters notes, the difference in the cost of military insurance for Russian and Ukrainian ports has decreased. Previously, Russian ports had higher premiums, agency sources explained.
"The threat level for tankers entering Russian ports and ships entering Ukrainian ports has increased significantly," said Ambrey, a British maritime security company.
It is obvious that Ukraine may suffer significant losses due to the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as it receives significant volumes of oil products to the Danube ports through the Black Sea. Only in November, small tankers delivered 211 thousand tons of diesel fuel from Greece.