Kyiv has reached a deal with Lloyd’s of London and Marsh McLennan to bring insurance cover for ships taking Ukrainian grain exports.
Ukraine’s economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated in a Facebook post that the $50m program would insure ships against military risks. The insurance news comes one week after a pilot died and three Filipino crew and a dockworker were injured following a Russian missile strike on a bulk carrier entering the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny.
Since Russia pulled out of the United Nations-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, shipping has faced a far more precarious security situation in the region, with Ukraine and Russia both targeting enemy ports. Insurance premiums for ships calling Ukraine have rocketed in recent months, while the 21 months of war between the two East European neighbours have seen a number of merchant ships hit in the crossfire.
This is very necessary and looks like the right solution.