Miller has launched a war risk insurance policy to cover grain shipments from Ukraine.
The move comes after the first successful grain shipments from Ukraine’s deepsea ports since the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative raised hopes that the trade can be reopened.
Marine insurance broker Miller said it is working with Ukrainian authorities on the policy with technology company Clearwater Dynamics (CWD).
CWD will provide advanced vessel-tracking technology and a round-the-clock operations room to support vessels until they leave the high-risk area.
The idea is that the monitoring will give underwriters an additional level of security and allow them to assess their exposure.
Miller said the move has the backing of the A-rated London marine insurers that will underwrite the policy.
“By using CWD technology and operational support, we can give underwriters the information they need to insure vessels as they travel through the corridor,” said Nick Summers, head of direct marine at Miller.
“We are open to all enquiries and look forward to helping Ukraine resume the vital international shipping of its grain.”
So far, five ships have sailed into Ukraine to ship grain since Russia ended the United Nations-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative.
According to sources, they have either sailed in uninsured, used cover with the backing of the Ukrainian state road fund or paid around 5% of insured values to commercial insurers for the cover.
War risk cover has also been available for small ships sailing to Ukraine’s Danube River ports to load grain that is then transported overland to Romania’s port of Constanta.
The likely premium and the extent of Ukrainian participation has not been disclosed by Miller.
Broker Marsh has also been working with the Ukrainian state to develop a similar policy, which is also expected to be launched this week.
Broker Lockton has a Russia, Ukraine and Belarus policy to provide cover for ships trading to the region, which has been excluded from cover by the reinsurance market.
Attacks on the port of Odesa this week destroyed many of its grain export facilities and raised the risk profile of the region.
The other Ukrainian Black Sea grain export terminals are at Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyy.
