Insurance of vessels in the Black Sea may become even more expensive – Ivanov

The military insurance market for ships passing through the Black Sea is testing rates at 0.6–1% of the ship’s cost, while last week they were 0.2–0.5%.

This was reported by BPG Shipping Director Gennadiy Ivanov.

According to him, when applying a 50% No Claims Bonus — a discount for the absence of insured events — the actual premium is now about 0.3–0.5%. Last week, after the same discount, it was about 0.1–0.25%.

At the same time, there are already shipowners on the market who are ready to pass through the Black Sea within the 12-mile zone of the territorial waters of Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, which is not included in the expanded Joint War Committee military risk zone.

Such a route allows you to avoid additional military insurance, but significantly increases the distance.

According to Ivanov, the Istanbul-Constanta passage through the 12-mile zone is approximately 90-100 nautical miles longer than the direct route. In a round-trip voyage, the additional distance reaches 180-200 miles. Taking into account the rental of the vessel and fuel costs, this can increase the cost of the voyage by approximately $20,000.

We will recall that in September 2026, almost the entire Black Sea was included in the zone of increased military risk, with the exception of the territorial waters of Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria and Romania.