Part of the global fleet has no longer been covered for civil liability against the risk of war in Russia and Ukraine since January 1, 2023. The cause is the withdrawal of reinsurers.

D Insurers have decided not to renew the warranty for part of the contracts that link them to P&I clubs. These regional mutual insurance companies insure 90% of the world fleet in the event of a major disaster. The news was announced by the P&I clubs to their members just before Christmas. It was revealed last week on the specialized site TradeWinds.

Note that the measure only concerns charterers (renters) of freighters and other tankers, as well as shipowners (operators) of the smallest vessels at the moment. But, according to Christian Zaninetti, division manager at broker Marsh, “this is a very bad signal a few weeks before the deadline for renewing reinsurance treaties for major shipowners, next February 20.”