Speaking at the 11th Delphi Economic Forum, Ilias Tsakiris, Chair of the Ocean Hull Committee of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), delivered a pointed assessment of the pressures bearing down on global shipping and the marine insurance industry, from geopolitical flashpoints to the unresolved question of how the industry decarbonises without breaking under the weight of its own ambitions.<\/p>\n
The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz dominated the opening day’s agenda, set against a high-level panel moderated by European affairs analyst Yiannis Koutsomitis<\/strong>. Joining Mr. Tsakiris on stage were Professor Sotiris Serbos<\/strong>, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Greek Prime Minister; Stavriana Asprogiannidou<\/strong>, Managing Director Marine at Howden Hellas; Koray K\u00f6se<\/strong>, CEO and Chief Analyst of K\u014cSE Advisory; and Safeen Ghafour<\/strong>, Senior Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government.<\/p>\n The discussion centred on the shifting balance in the wider Middle East, the strategic weight of the Strait of Hormuz as a chokepoint for the world’s energy trade, and the fallout already being felt across shipping, crew safety and the international insurance market.<\/p>\n “We’re already looking at 24 confirmed attacks on commercial vessels, 10 confirmed seafarer deaths, and roughly 20,000 seafarers affected across the region,” said Mr. Tsakiris. “At the same time, damage to energy infrastructure is now estimated at somewhere between 25 and 58 billion dollars. This isn’t theoretical risk. The consequences are already here.”<\/p>\n He was equally direct on how quickly geopolitical tension translates into higher insurance premiums and operating costs for shipowners. Insurance markets, he explained, don’t simply react to what has already happened, they price the possibility of what could come next.<\/p>\n “War creates uncertainty, pushes up operational risk and feeds the fear of sudden escalation. That works its way through every part of shipping, freight rates, voyage planning, crew safety and, of course, insurance costs.”<\/p>\n Even with premiums rising sharply, insurance cover remains available in high-risk waters, he noted, though the terms are tighter and underwriters far more selective.<\/p>\n “The question isn’t whether insurance is available. The real question is whether it can be commercially viable.”<\/p>\n On Washington’s proposal for state-backed insurance schemes covering vessels transiting Hormuz, Mr. Tsakiris offered a historical perspective. Such mechanisms, he pointed out, are hardly new.<\/p>\n “Government-backed schemes for war risks have been around since the 1950s, when governments stepped in to protect their national fleets during times of crisis. But those kinds of initiatives are usually about defending strategic national interests, not the international fleet as a whole.”<\/p>\n On the side of the forum, Mr. Tsakiris also referred to decarbonisation, making adding that the green transition is non-negotiable, but that it has to be grounded in what’s actually achievable.<\/p>\n “Decarbonisation isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity. But the transition has to take account of the real conditions shipping is operating under today, geopolitical tensions, shifting trade routes, sanctions, and the shortages in both fuels and infrastructure.”<\/p>\n He pointed to recent remarks by Melina Travlos, President of the Union of Greek Shipowners, as reflecting the industry’s position. “As the President of the Union of Greek Shipowners said in her statement on April 16, shipping remains firmly committed to the path toward decarbonisation. But that transition can’t be built on ambition alone. It needs realism, technically workable solutions and a common global framework that actually reflects how the market operates.”<\/p>\n “What we need is an international framework that works in practice for the shipping industry. And that conversation becomes all the more important with the IMO meeting coming up on April 27.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking at the 11th Delphi Economic Forum, Ilias Tsakiris, Chair of the Ocean Hull Committee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":276924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,298],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-276926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritimes-news","category-seagoing-maritimes-news"],"yoast_head":"\n