NYN | News
Israel is facing an unprecedented crisis in the maritime shipping sector following swift decisions by international insurance companies to refuse coverage for vessels linked to it—even indirectly—amid escalating maritime attacks from Yemen.
According to the British website Middle East Eye, which cited sources in the shipping industry on Wednesday, Israeli authorities are racing against time to address the freezing of insurance coverage for ships. This comes especially after the American insurance company Travelers announced its decision not to extend war risk coverage for a ship scheduled to cross the Red Sea.
The sources confirmed that Tel Aviv recently contacted several maritime insurance companies in an attempt to reactivate coverage, even partially, for vessels with indirect links to Israel. However, the recent U.S. decision has had a “chilling effect” that has reached as far as the Port of Haifa, where ships have begun to seriously consider halting their docking operations.
A security official in the maritime sector noted that panic is spreading among global ship operators, with widespread discussions in the market about whether even an indirect connection to Israel is enough to disqualify ships from receiving insurance.
In the same context, the CEO of Steam Shipping, the owner of the recently sunken vessel Magic Seas, admitted that his ships regularly dock at Israeli ports, which increases the associated risks.
Meanwhile, the website quoted a U.S. official as saying that Israel is strongly pressuring Washington to resume airstrikes on Yemen. However, the U.S. administration currently shows little enthusiasm for military escalation, especially since American vessels have not yet been targeted.
