Insight - Russian oil’s Achilles’ heel – insurance

Even non-Russian vessels are now at risk of being dropped by Western insurers if they carry Russian crude.(File pic shows aerial view of the Sunny Liger, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with a consignment of Russian diesel, anchored in the North Sea, near IJmuiden, on April 30, 2022.)

RUSSIA has so far deflected much of the impact of sanctions on its oil trade but the insurance industry threatens to throw a spanner in the works unless Moscow and its customers can plug a gap left by Western underwriters.

Insurers from Europe and the United States, which dominate the international marine market, are curtailing coverage for Russian oil tankers, industry sources say, to avoid breaching sanctions imposed in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.