Global Maritime Security Report: 11 November

No Let-Up at Sea: Conflict and Piracy Keep Shipping Under Pressure

The challenge facing shipping this week is the persistence of several threats at once. While conflict continues to endanger commercial vessels in the Middle East and Black Sea, renewed piracy demands attention from the same industry – and, in some cases, the same naval resources. For owners, operators and insurers, this makes it increasingly important to understand how the risks combine along an entire voyage.

Three takeaways stand out in this week’s MS Risk Global Maritime Security Report:

• At least 130 incidents involving commercial vessels and 25 seafarer deaths in the Middle East since the conflict began. These cumulative figures, attributed in the report to the IMO, put the human cost of disruption into perspective. This week’s six recorded incidents across the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman show the continuing pressure on shipping through the region.
• Three reported vessel strikes in the Black Sea on a single day. The report records Russian Defence Ministry claims of strikes at Odesa, Chornomorsk and southwest of Odesa on 8 November. Vessel identities, damage and casualty details remain unconfirmed, illustrating the difficulty of making commercial decisions while the security picture is still developing.
• Seventeen attempted or successful piracy and armed robbery incidents in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden since the start of the year. The reported rescue of all 20 crew from the hijacked fishing vessel AZINI is welcome news. Its suspected intended use as a mothership also demonstrates how the seizure of one vessel can create a threat to other shipping.

For us, the practical message is that risk assessments must keep pace with both events and the uncertainty surrounding them. At ATL, we see this report as a valuable starting point for conversations about changing voyages, crew preparedness and whether insurance arrangements continue to reflect the exposures businesses face.

Please download this week’s report below. To discuss the implications for your operations or insurance arrangements, contact the ATL team.

Iñaki Bandres
CEO

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