Assessment of Maritime Insurance on the NSR

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1 Assessment of Maritime Insurance on the NSR

2 Background Hull & Machinery (H&M) insurance protects the shipowner for losses from damage to the ship and its equipment; Protection & Indemnity (P&I) insurance covers the shipowner for legal liabilities to third parties; and Cargo insurance covers the cargo owner for loss or damage to the cargo Insurance practices are driven by international insurance markets. Ocean-going ships are generally required to purchase both H&M and P&I insurance Arctic shipping will not be sustainable without the availability of marine insurance at reasonable commercial rates (AMSA 2009) Arctic specific maritime insurance is currently limited by the relatively small numbers of vessel voyages per year Managing risk for energy (oil and gas) projects in the offshore Arctic and insuring it is likely to be very costly

3 Background Insurance cost estimation is difficult to achieve because insurance market transactions are not usually disclosed to the public due to the nature of the insurance business Regular H&M insurance does not offer cover for navigation in latitudes above 70 North (Excluded Trading Areas) or in areas such as the Barents, White, Chukchi and Okhotsk Seas require special arrangements with the insurer and additional Hull premiums Currently no additional premiums or restrictions on P&I coverage though marine liability risks are greatly enhanced in the Arctic The insurance market will not charge additional premiums for Cargo for Arctic trade under a worldwide policy - for a specific cargo, perceived additional Arctic exposure is likely to be taken into account in the original rating

4 Excluded Trading Areas

5 Excluded Trading Areas

6 Insurance Companies Risk Perception about Arctic Shipping Harsh and extreme weather conditions Restricted visibility and fog (worst in June and July) Icing (November to March) on superstructures can cause the ship to capsize Ice contact and damage to the hull (icebergs; multi-year ice; ice ridges) Propeller, rudder and associated machinery damage from ice Ice in the engine coolant, fire extinguisher lines and on antennas Grounding on uncharted rocks; lack of charts to support safe navigation Collision of vessels Salvage and oil pollution clean-up operations very costly and difficult Lack of information about safe ports

7 Insurance Companies Risk Perception about Arctic Shipping Insufficient search & rescue capacity Very limited or no service stations for repairs Poor satellite navigation information and communication problems Sea charts with their Mercator projection are poorly suited for polar regions High latitude and proximity to the poles make navigation difficult Unreliable navigational aids; no lighthouses or buoys Lack of bunkering facilities Limited or no traffic monitoring Poor hydrographic and meteorological data

8 Insurance Companies Risk Perception about Arctic Shipping The maritime insurance industry has realized it doesn't have enough information to fully understand sea ice risks for Arctic operations The physical risks to operators together with the environmental risks will lead to greater liability risks (and therefore potential liability costs) including marine pollution and third-party damages It is not damage to the ship that's the biggest financial risk in the Arctic, it's the cost for mobilizing a salvage operation (including wreck removal) and possible pollution clean-up from a potential distance of km

9 Insurance Companies Risk Perception about Arctic Shipping Insurance companies are drafting their own guidelines (e.g. Lloyd s 2014) for sailing in the Arctic as a way to ensure that ships are adequately prepared to sail in a region of extreme and fast changing risks Underwriters normally base their underwriting premiums on a historical loss record, such as statistics and the frequency of accidents is a key element in the evaluation of risk when navigating in Arctic waters. Such records are very limited for the Arctic

10 Accidents and Incidents in the Arctic (AMSA 2009) Vessel Type: # Primary Reason: # Fishing Vessel 108 Machinery Damage/Failure 71 General Cargo Ship 72 Grounded 68 Bulk Carrier 37 Damage to Vessel 54 Passenger Ship 27 Sunk/Submerged 43 Tug/Barge 15 Fire/Explosion 25 Tanker 12 Collision 22 Government Vessel 11 Miscellaneous 10 Container Ship 8 Unknown 2 Oil/Gas Service & Supply 1

11 Map of Arctic shipping accidents Complete absence of incidents reported in the Russian Arctic (AMSA Report 2009)

12 Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Safety and Shipping Review 2015 Reported Maritime Incidents in Arctic Waters

13 Russian Sources: Ice Damages to Ships on the NSR Hull Damage Frequency in Different Modes of Operation Mode of Operation: N= 800 cases over 22 years Frequency: Independent navigation 5-10% Navigation behind icebreaker 50-60% Close towing 15-20% Breaking ice near the ship, compacting 5-10% Grounding 1-2% (Østreng et al. 2013)

14 Ice Convoys

15 Ship Collisions on NSR Collision between icebraker Taymyr and tanker Perseverance in July 2011 (Rosatomflot)

16 Insurance Guidelines London s market Joint Hull Committee (JHC) suggests that underwriters should focus their insurance premiums based on the following criteria: Voyage feasibility study, including ports of refuge Suitability of the vessel for the intended voyage Proposed route, dates and timing Crewing arrangements including key personnel s levels of experience in Arctic navigation Icebreaker and/or escort arrangements Access to accurate and up-to-date weather/ice information during the voyage Assessment of chart accuracy Whether an ice pilot will be on board Bunkering arrangements

17 Demonstration Voyages on NSR Tanker STI Heritage dwt Panamax Bulker Sanko Odyssey dwt Suezmax tanker Vladimir Tikhonov dwt LNG Tanker Arctic Aurora dwt

18 Risk Reducing Measures on NSR The most effective way of evaluating the future of insurance for NSR shipping is to perform several experimental or demonstration commercial voyages on the NSR with non-russian flag ships to satisfy insurance companies need for reliable data in their risk analysis Russian s extensive experience over several decades of operating icestrengthen cargo vessels in ice-infected Arctic waters Russian mandatory NSR s rules and regulations which aim at making voyages as safe as possible and minimize the impact to the marine environment Ice class requirements for the ships sailing along the NSR. Insurers do generally not accept any reductions in ice class requirements Russian require a mandatory insurance to operate on the NSR and operators need to show financial security for potential liability in case of marine environmental pollution

19 Risk Reducing Measures on NSR Russian extensive icebreaking experience in the Arctic and operation of a large fleet of powerful diesel-electric and nuclear icebreakers; icebreaking assistance and guidance for vessels in convoys Russian icebreakers acting as a floating support infrastrucure in case of accidents Russians have been strengthening their search and rescue capabilities on the NSR Experienced Russian ice-pilots/ice navigators to assist the master in navigating foreign flag ships through the NSR and communicate with the master of the icebreaker The competence of the crew is seen as crucial including knowledge on and experience from Arctic waters and Russian language skills; training of crew Russian scientific research over several decades on sea ice characteristics in the Arctic Ocean, e.g., «North Pole» floating research stations

20 Insurance for NSR Shipping Now P&I coverage is a requirement for trading for all Russian vessels on the NSR. Russian marine insurance market is today able to underwrite NSR coverage According to the Russian legislation a compulsory P&I insurance is required for foreign ships trading on the NSR Insurance premiums for NSR are calculated on a «case by case» basis and costs and calculations are trade secrets Premium calculations depend on the ships technical specifications, crew skills, icebreaker assistance, the season and likely ice cover at the time of the sailing, and a number of other additional factors Some insurers have a three level premium system for sailings along the NSR. The beginning and end of sailing season has the highest cost of insurance, the cost is lowest when the ice cover is at its minimum, and in the middle seasons costs are in between these levels

21 Insurance for NSR Shipping Additional prerequisites for insurance coverage might include Russian ice pilots, escort by an icebreaker, detailed voyage planning and emergency response plan, and various equipment requirements on board the ship Additional H&M insurance premiums are justified based on trading within the insurance industry s ice-infected Excluded Trade Areas north of 70 N latitude, and the need for extra hull coverage due to presence of sea ice (Ice Deductibles). Currently no additional premiums or restrictions on P&I coverage - P&I Clubs usally have no objections if H&M insurers have approved voyage The insurance premium for the NSR are not considered disadvantageous compared to sailings through the Suez Canal. Cost of insurance when sailing the Suez Canal has also become higher due to more piracy

22 Concluding Remarks Non-Russian insurance companies have been insuring commercial transit voyages on the NSR since 2009 are willing to continue to do so if certain safety and environmental requirements are fullfilled There is seemingly good communication between insurance companies and Rosatomflot; they have several and frequent meetings and Rosatomflot are taking other commercial actors viewpoints seriously If Russian authorities ease up safety related requirements for sailings it is seen as hugely risk increasing by the insurers The new Polar Code (1 st January 2017) will provide the insurance industry with a set of uniform international rules and regulations for enhanced marine safety and environmental protection. The maritime insurance industry will have a role in insuring only ships that meet these new standards