Marine Insurance – Ship Piracy Insurance News

Marine Insurance

Piracy against shipping is probably as old as maritime navigation and trade.

Like international trade, piracy has developed along with the expansion of commerce and transportation.

The recent seizure by pirates of the Saudi owned super tanker “Sirius Star” and its reported $100 million of crude oil cargo has highlighted the huge impact a few armed individuals in small boats can inflict on international trade.

This bulletin gives a brief overview of the current problem and likely coverage options for Hull and Cargo risks.

Introduction

The increasing incidents and boldness of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Yemen and around the ‘Horn of Africa’ recently has seen increased alarm and an international effort to try to secure the busy waterways leading to/from the Suez Canal.

Nigeria and Indonesia continue to feature heavily on Piracy Reporting Centre statistics and highlight the broad geographic spread of the problem.

Generally speaking the term Piracy is given to incidents of armed attack and burglary against ships. Kidnap of the crew and ransom demands are common, and in some cases an attack will result in the complete loss of the vessel.

Marine Insurance – Hull Cover

The perils clause of the predominately used Institute hull clauses (1983) includes “Piracy”. The intention is to embrace the likes of – violent acts of persons who board the vessel with an intention to steal. Cover would include damage to or loss of the vessel. The Marine Insurance Act 1909 (Cwlth) goes on to include within the legal definition of “Pirates” – “passengers who mutiny and rioters who attack the ship from the shore”.

Loss of Hire cover can be purchased to secure the earnings capability of the vessel. Further investigation is recommended in order to gauge the effectiveness of this type of cover.

Marine Insurance – Cargo Cover

The ‘All Risks’ nature of the commonly used Institute Cargo Clauses (A)