The spiralling conflict in Sudan has seen London’s marine insurance market add Sudan to its list of areas deemed high risk, according to an advisory note reported by Reuters.
The placement of Sudan on the list will ensure that any ships sailing into the conflict-ridden country will need to pay an additional war risk premium and seek approval from their insurer.
Reuters noted that advisory notes from the Joint War Committee – which is made up of syndicate members from the Lloyd’s Market Association and representatives from the London insurance company market – are watched closely and influence underwriters’ considerations over insurance premiums.
The conflict in Sudan has been ongoing since April 15 and has killed hundreds of people to date, with thousands fleeing their homes and foreign countries evacuating their citizens amid brewing fears of an all-out civil war. Meanwhile, Port Sudan accounts for the majority of the country’s international trade.
“There is an elevated threat of military activity around the port, as such whilst operating in Port Sudan, there is at the least a substantial threat of stray ordnance,” insurer Skuld said.
Reuters reported that leading global container lines A.P. Moller Maersk and Hapag Lloyd said this week they had stopped taking new bookings for Sudan for the moment.
Maersk said the ongoing clashes “had a significant impact on logistics operations in the country”.
“The current political unrest in Sudan is posing supply chain challenges,” Hapag Lloyd said separately.
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