Specialist insurer Hiscox has developed a new security product designed to help protect shipping targeted by nation states. Called “Malicious Vessel Seizure,” the will respond to a single peril of a ship taken by a foreign government, providing loss of hire costs and the services of the crisis management consultancy Control Risks.
Heightened tension in the Middle East and particularly in the politically sensitive area in and around the Strait of Hormuz recently saw a British flagged tanker boarded by Iranian forces and diverted into Iranian waters, noted Bermuda-based Hiscox. This latest incident follows other attempts to seize a British registered vessel in retaliation for an Iranian tanker boarded by British forces off Gibraltar.
It is in direct response to this growing threat that Malicious Vessel Seizure has been developed to protect shipping in the event of being seized by a foreign government, the company said.
As well as meeting the loss of hire costs that shipowners or charterers would face, Malicious Vessel Seizure provides for the services of Control Risks which will help the shipowner or charterer with crisis management support. These services include government liaison and family support for the victims, said Hiscox, explaining that a coordinated crisis management response in the early stages can help mitigate the impact on the assured but most importantly on the families of the victims.
“In recent months we’ve seen growing political tension between the U.S. and Iran which has recently culminated in the seizure of a British flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz,” commented Stuart Bisson, head of Guernsey and Europe for Hiscox Special Risks.
“We have developed Malicious Vessel Seizure to respond directly to incidents like this where a ship owner or charterer has their vessel seized by a nation state who may have taken the ship as a retaliatory measure,” he added.
“It provides shipowners and charterers with the reassurance of knowing that they have the resources and expertise of Control Risks to help them manage the crisis as well as the financial support of Hiscox to meet their Loss of Hire costs,” Bisson said.
No ships trading with Iran will be considered and the cover offered relates to Control Risks’ fees and limited loss of hire only, said Hiscox.
Source: Hiscox
Related:
- Shipping Firms Begin Hiring Unarmed Guards for Voyages in Middle East Gulf
- Insurance for Middle East Oil Shipments Soars to More Than $500,000
Topics Risk Management
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