Ukraine's government creates new mechanism for insuring ships against war risks

This is stated on the website of the Ministry of Economy.

The relevant decision, which paves the way for cooperation with British reinsurance companies, was made at a government meeting on 14 November.

According to Yulia Svyrydenko, Minister of Economy of Ukraine, ship insurance became possible thanks to cooperation with leading British reinsurance companies - Marsh McLennan and underwriters Lloyd's of London through the launch of the Unity Facility. The total coverage under this program is $50 million.

"This decision will primarily have a positive impact on the work of grain traders. The new mechanism will reduce the cost of grain insurance by about 2.5 percentage points of the insurance tariff, which in turn will allow grain traders to save about UAH 100-140 per tonne of cargo, and in total, it will bring agricultural producers an additional UAH 4.0 billion," the Minister of Economy said.

She added that these funds will be allocated to agrarians both in the form of an increase in the purchase price and additional purchases. The increase in the volume of Ukrainian exports by sea should contribute to additional growth of the Ukrainian economy.

"After Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal, many cargo ships were trapped. The decision taken by the Government will guarantee the safety of navigation, promote the stability of maritime transport, and ensure the sustainable export of Ukrainian products through Ukrainian ports," Svyrydenko stressed.

The Ministry of Economy stressed that in the 2023/2024 marketing year, according to forecasts, Ukraine plans to export about 50.7 million tonnes of grain. As of 18 October 2023, 7.9 million tonnes of grain have already been exported, 70% of which was by sea.

Recently, Ukraine, together with a pool of British insurance companies, created a special mechanism to make the grain corridor more accessible to exporters.