Moscow is seeking to boost recognition of Russian marine insurance to allow it to ship oil and related products abroad in the face of Western sanctions, a government official said.
Western sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine have limited Russia’s ability to obtain expensive liability insurance for its ships – a segment requiring financial leverage and dominated by European reinsurers, in which Russia has little influence. experience or ability.
Deputy Transport Minister Alexander Poshivay, speaking at a Sino-Russian energy conference in Moscow, acknowledged the challenges facing Russian shippers.
In addition to a lack of access to the insurance services traditionally provided by European and American companies, they had also had to deal with the non-recognition of certificates issued by Russian insurers and the Russian National Reinsurance Company because Lloyd’s unions had declared Russian waters a war zone.
The governments of the European Union and the Group of Seven have tried to agree on a price cap for Russian maritime crude oil – which accounts for around 70-85% of Russian crude exports – to limit Moscow’s capacity. fund his campaign in Ukraine.
The main tool to enforce it would be to prohibit shipping, insurance and reinsurance companies from handling shipments of Russian crude around the world unless they have been sold at a price below the set ceiling. by the G7 and its allies.
Poshivay said Russian-flagged ships that were denied insurance by Western companies were insured with Russian insurance companies and reinsured with the Russian National Reinsurance Company, according to Interfax.
The news agency quoted him as saying that Turkey recognizes Russian ocean freight insurance, and that India and China recognize most, but not all, Russian insurance.
“The issue (of Russian insurance recognition) should be settled with the whole world,” Poshivay said, adding that the specific terms “are determined by intergovernmental agreements.”
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No comment was immediately available from Turkish, Indian or Chinese authorities. However, a source from a Turkish shipping company said Turkish authorities had not given any unofficial instructions or guidance on recognizing Russian insurance.
Poshivay suggested that China, for its part, recognize certificates issued by Russian marine insurance and reinsurance companies as guarantees for risk coverage.
He said that in the first nine months of this year, the Russian Federation had increased its maritime hydrocarbon exports to China by 25 percent, to 87 million tons.
Source: Reuters (reporting by Reuters; additional reporting by Can Sezer in Turkey; editing by Jan Harvey)