Marsh Highlights Marine Insurance Impact of Middle East Peace Agreement and Strait of Hormuz Developments

By :-  Marcus Baker, Global Head Of Marine, Cargo & Logistics, Marsh

“For the marine community, crucially absent from the agreement (as disclosed to date), are the practical details surrounding the Strait of Hormuz reopening, particularly Iran’s guarantee to respect freedom of movement within the Strait and the region as a whole.

“While some marine insurers recognise that conditions in the Persian/Arabian Gulf region have improved over the weekend, the overall market response in the short term will largely depend on further de-escalation of hostilities or perceived breaches of the agreement.

“In the longer term, following a final agreement, there will need to be a sustained period of no further attempted or successful attacks on commercial shipping before there is an adequate environment to implement a market-wide, significant and meaningful concession in insurance costs.”