Following an incident involving a cargo ship within international waters in the Black Sea, Turkish authorities issued a caution to their Russian counterparts. The Turkish presidency shared this information on X, previously known as Twitter, on Thursday.
In response to the ship incident, the presidency emphasized that Russia had been warned appropriately to avoid actions that could escalate tensions in the Black Sea.
On Sunday, a Russian statement revealed that the Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons at the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel. This action was taken when the Sukru Okan’s captain did not respond to a request to halt for inspection.
Consequently, merchant ships experienced congestion in lanes surrounding the Black Sea, resulting in backlogs at ports. This situation caused concerns among insurers and shipping companies, especially after a Russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo vessel.
On Monday, Kyiv strongly criticized Russia’s “provocative” actions and urged the international community to respond with decisive countermeasures.
Insurance industry sources indicated that rates for additional war risk premiums remained stable on Monday. However, the possibility of an increase existed if any ship suffered damage or sank.
The cost of a Black Sea war risk premium, which is typically renewed every seven days and added to annual insurance expenses, was estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars per ship for the voyage.
