Black Sea oil tanker insurance costs surge to $2.5 million

Insurance costs for oil tankers operating in the Black Sea have surged more than 12-fold, rising from approximately $200,000 to $2.5 million per vessel. This spike, representing an additional $2.3 million per ship, is driven by escalating maritime risks following repeated attacks on commercial vessels and port infrastructure.

Evgeni Simeonov, special trade manager for Lukoil companies in Bulgaria, noted that these rising premiums increase the cost of transporting crude oil and place additional pressure on domestic fuel prices. In September, the London marine insurance market expanded its high-risk zone reporting requirements to cover the entire Black Sea basin, though territorial waters of Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, and Turkey remain outside these specific notification requirements.

Recent incidents include drone strikes in the Black Sea, including attacks within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. While shipping costs were already trending upward—with daily tanker revenues on the Novorossiysk-Augusta route hitting record highs in August—the recent security threats have intensified the economic burden on maritime logistics.