عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Red Sea Attacks Hike Up Shipping Insurance Rates

A giant cargo ship near the Red Sea (AFP)
A giant cargo ship near the Red Sea (AFP)
TT
TT

Red Sea Attacks Hike Up Shipping Insurance Rates

A giant cargo ship near the Red Sea (AFP)
A giant cargo ship near the Red Sea (AFP)

Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea hiked the shipping insurance rates, with fees being imposed to cover risks associated with conflicts.
Since last Nov. 19, Iran-backed Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea that they suspect are linked to Israel or heading to its ports.
Houthis say their attack is in support of the Gaza Strip, which has been witnessing a war since Oct. 7, 2023.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Red Sea container shipping dropped 30% within a year.
The Red Sea is a vital route that usually carries about 12-15% of global trade, based on European Union figures.
Commercial boats need to obtain three types of insurance: hull insurance covers damage to the vessel, cargo insurance covers the vessel's load, and protection and indemnity insurance includes coverage for damage caused to third parties.
However, Premiums for ships and their cargos have "increased significantly" following the Houthi attacks, according to Frederic Denefle, head of Garex, a French firm specializing in marine risk insurance.
Garex told AFP that they have increased in proportion to the threat level.
Head of Marine and aviation at the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA), Neil Roberts, told AFP that the Red Sea is a Listed Area, meaning that vessels planning to enter must notify their insurers.
Insurance providers can then review the vessel and its voyage and demand an extra war premium on top of normal coverage.
The war premium, however, is limited to a short period.
However, Marsh Marcus Baker's global head of marine, cargo, and logistics explained that this new coverage is usually valid for only seven days, considering that hostilities may escalate.
General Manager of Ascoma International Claire Hamonic indicated that war insurance premiums have multiplied by five to ten times for vessels and cargo crossing the Red Sea.
- Huge sums of money
According to several sources contacted by AFP, the current rate of war risk premium stands at between 0.6 percent and 1.0 percent of the value of the ship.
The amounts can equal a considerable sum when some of the enormous vessels are worth over 100 million euros.
The nationalities of the companies owning or operating the ships are also considered.
Houthis have begun targeting US and UK ships, considering that they have become "legitimate targets" since Washington and London launched joint strikes on Houthi sites inside Yemen several times since Jan. 12.
The US Army alone carries out strikes from time to time that it says target sites or missiles and drones prepared for launch, the most recent of which was last Wednesday.
Head of operations at war insurance specialist Vessel Protect Munro Anderson said that the Houthis expressly indicated that they are targeting US and UK-connected vessels" or those linked to Israel.
Anderson explained that many vessels are flagged or associated with countries that don't carry the same risk profile.
"For example, Chinese connected vessels. Hong Kong Chinese connected vessels, of which there are lots, are trading in that area. Those will be able to add less premium than those connected with Israel, UK and US."
The Houthi strikes have also prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea.
However, Hamonic warned that the diversion of ships around the Cape of Good Hope could "very possibly lead to a resurgence in piracy in the Indian Ocean."
"That risk extends from just below the Red Sea and towards the coast of Somalia," she added.
The journey takes an additional 10 to 15 days via this route, and sometimes up to 20 days, depending on the vessel's speed.
According to a London Stock Exchange Group report, the cost of a trip from Asia to northwestern Europe increased by 35% for a large container ship, and up 110% for an Aframax, an oil tanker with a deadweight between 80,000 and 120,000 metric.
- Impact on inflation
Meanwhile, analysts from Moody's Investors Services said on Thursday that attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea have delayed cargo and sent higher shipping costs, but soft demand and ample ship availability are muting the impact on inflation.
Nevertheless, Daniel Harlid, a transport sector analyst, said diversions are not expected to affect inflation because they are not driven by demand significantly.
Rerouting ships around Africa requires anywhere from 6% to 10% more vessels due to longer sail times, slowing the return of ships to their origination points, and sending on-demand spot rates on some routes up more than 100%.
The increases came off rock-bottom levels, and shipping experts expect them to normalize. Owners who have new ships arriving were struggling to fill existing vessels with cargo before the Houthi attacks began in November.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Middle East War Reshaping National Energy Strategies, Says IEA

An empty fuel station, as India faces rising oil prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Halvad, Gujarat, India, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
An empty fuel station, as India faces rising oil prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Halvad, Gujarat, India, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Middle East War Reshaping National Energy Strategies, Says IEA

An empty fuel station, as India faces rising oil prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Halvad, Gujarat, India, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)
An empty fuel station, as India faces rising oil prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Halvad, Gujarat, India, May 22, 2026. (Reuters)

The Middle East war is pushing countries to open new supply routes and turn to domestic resources to tide over the world's biggest energy crisis, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.

"We are in the midst of the largest energy security crisis the world has ever faced -- and I believe this will reshape investment strategies globally, with parallels to the major changes the energy world witnessed after the oil shocks of the 1970s," said IEA executive director Fatih Birol

"We are already seeing intensified efforts by both producer and consumer countries to diversify trade routes and energy sources -- such as advancing new pipelines and other supply infrastructure, on the one hand, and turning more to domestically available resources, on the other," he added in the World Energy Investment report by the energy agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The IEA estimates that global energy investment will reach $3.4 trillion in 2026, slightly higher than the previous year, with around $2.2 trillion devoted to power grids, storage, low-emission fuels, nuclear, renewables, energy efficiency and electrification.

Alongside this, around $1.2 trillion is expected to be invested in oil, natural gas and coal.

It nevertheless expects oil investment to decline for the third straight year in 2026, falling below $500 billion despite rising crude prices.

This is due to uncertainty over how long higher prices will last, project lead times, supply constraints and the tightening offshore rigs market, which are limiting short-term investment outside the Middle East.

By contrast, investment in natural gas is "projected to rise to $330 billion, the highest level in a decade, supported by a wave of new LNG export projects, particularly in the United States and Qatar," IEA said.

At the same time, oil-importing countries are turning to energy sources available domestically, notably renewables, nuclear and coal, the report said.

The IEA estimates that investment in renewables should reach around $665 billion in 2026, including $365 billion for solar alone.

Investment in nuclear energy and is set to exceed $80 billion annually while investment in coal should reach $180 billion -- the highest in 10 years, it said.

China alone will account for nearly 70 percent of global coal supply spending, and some Asian countries may seek to extend the operation of their existing coal-fired power plants in order to strengthen their energy security.

The IEA said investment in electricity supply and infrastructure is expected to reach nearly $1.6 trillion in 2026, including around $550 billion for power grids, while investment in battery storage should exceed $100 billion.

Business

ECB Chief Economist Sees Persistent Impact on Inflation from Iran War

The Euro currency symbol is seen prior to a press conference after an ECB's governing council meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP)
The Euro currency symbol is seen prior to a press conference after an ECB's governing council meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP)
TT
TT

ECB Chief Economist Sees Persistent Impact on Inflation from Iran War

The Euro currency symbol is seen prior to a press conference after an ECB's governing council meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP)
The Euro currency symbol is seen prior to a press conference after an ECB's governing council meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP)

The energy shock caused by the Middle East conflict will likely have a persistent impact on inflation even if there is a quick solution to the war, the European Central Bank's chief economist, Philip Lane, said on Thursday.

While oil prices historically tended to revert to original levels after a burst of increases, the current episode may be different as energy costs may stay elevated with countries restocking inventory or diversifying their energy mix, he said.

"We had ‌an overnight, fairly ‌quick and big decline in global oil ‌supply, ⁠which has been ⁠masked until now by inventories," Lane said at a conference hosted by the BOJ and its think tank in Tokyo.

"Even if the initial energy shock starts to reverse, the second round (effects) will be with us for a while," he said.

With the energy shock pushing up prices, financial markets have fully priced in ⁠two hikes in the ECB's 2% deposit ‌rate and see a roughly 50% ‌chance of a third move over the next year. Economists are more ‌cautious and see just two hikes, followed by a cut ‌in mid-2027, a Reuters poll showed.

Lane said there could be some policy lessons from past energy shocks, such as that rising energy costs could push up inflation abruptly and cause "all sorts of non-linear" mechanisms ‌that broaden price hikes.

"But it's not the same non-linearity we had four years ago," when ⁠supply disruptions ⁠from the Ukraine war and strong demand from the COVID re-opening pushed up inflation, he said.

Central banks must acknowledge any substantial shocks and their potential impact on inflation, but avoid overreacting in setting monetary policy, Lane said.

"You have to be skillful in terms of looking at monetary transmission, consumer confidence and all these different mechanisms," he said.

While some inflationary pressures from a supply shock do calm down over time, it was important for central banks to make sure "there's no persistent belief in the population or among price-setting sectors that inflation is going to be too high for too long," he said.

Business

Dollar Firms to One-Week High as Gulf Tensions Flare, Yen Nears Intervention Zone

US dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
US dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Dollar Firms to One-Week High as Gulf Tensions Flare, Yen Nears Intervention Zone

US dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
US dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 24, 2026. (Reuters)

The dollar firmed to a one-week high on Thursday after Middle East tensions ratcheted up following fresh US strikes on Iran, while the yen softened toward a level that triggered central bank intervention last month.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a US airbase after what they described as an early morning US attack near Bandar Abbas airport, Tasnim news agency reported, while Kuwait's army said its air defenses were intercepting hostile ‌missile and ‌drone threats.

That followed news that the US military ‌carried ⁠out new strikes targeting ⁠an Iranian drone operation that it said posed a threat to US forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices rebounded and the safe-haven dollar steadied as hopes of a swift resolution to the war faded, with investors now increasingly expecting the greenback to break higher as the Federal Reserve shifts its focus to battling inflation amid elevated energy prices.

"Geopolitics and ⁠the subsequent inflation risks remain a key concern," Alex ‌Saunders, Citi's head of global quant ‌macro strategy, wrote. "We continue to see a trim in the USD underweight."

The euro was 0.2% ‌lower at $1.1600, while the pound was down nearly 0.3% at $1.3392.

The risk-sensitive ‌Australian dollar weakened 0.4% to $0.7111to a one-week low, and the New Zealand dollar was down 0.3% at $0.58831.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six major peers, strengthened 0.17% to 99.464, near its highest level since ‌May 21.

Markets will now look ahead to today's release of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the core PCE ⁠deflator, which ⁠will help shape the broader interest rate outlook.

The yen weakened to as far as 159.610 per dollar on Thursday, the lowest since April 30 and within sight of the 160 level that triggered intervention by Japanese authorities last month.

That intervention bought policymakers some breathing room, but questions linger over its lasting impact, said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG.

"The broader question is whether it was worth it for what essentially amounts to just a single month's relief. And furthermore, will authorities have the stomach to write a similar-sized cheque if the 160 level is breached again in the coming sessions?" he said.

Markets are pricing a roughly 70% chance of a quarter-point interest rate rise at the BOJ's June 15–16 policy meeting, LSEG data showed.