Reuters: Marine Insurance Companies Cancel Coverage for Saudi-Linked Ships Following Yemeni Strikes

Sources in the international marine insurance market have revealed that global insurance companies are taking strict measures and imposing new restrictions on Saudi-linked ships, following recent naval attacks carried out by the Yemeni Armed Forces.

Agencies – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

Reuters quoted war risk insurance sources as saying that a number of cargo insurers have already begun to impose exceptions and cancel insurance coverage for ships owned by Saudi Arabia or operated and managed by Saudi entities.

The sources explained that committees representing the hull insurance market are now recommending rerouting any Saudi-linked ships away from the targeted maritime passages to avoid targeting and increased risks.

The economic agency noted that obtaining new insurance coverage for Saudi-linked ships and activities has become “extremely difficult,” pointing out that even in the case of annual insurance agreements, the prices for increased coverage have become record high and extremely expensive, doubling operational costs for Saudi shipping.

This comes as Yemeni forces continue to impose a naval blockade on Saudi navigation, based on the “siege-for-siege and escalation-for-escalation” equation, affirming that this equation will continue until the Saudi siege imposed on Yemen since March 2015 comes to an end.