London, 23 March 2026: The Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) has today issued a market statement clarifying the continued availability of marine war insurance cover for vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz.

Three weeks since the start of the hostilities in the Middle East, we are still seeing reports that suggest insurance coverage is cancelled or unaffordable and that this is the reason that vessels are not transiting the Strait of Hormuz. 

This is not accurate.

In the marine war insurance market comprising hull, cargo and liability, notice of cancellation is built into shipowners’ contracts to allow renegotiation to take account of increased risk to vessels should they be trading in an area of heightened risk. The hull war risk market has a well understood notification mechanism agreed between shipowners and insurers in their war contracts, which allows war premiums to remain very low in peacetime. In fact, such premiums are little more than notional: if applied, for instance, to an average family car, the cost would be under £1 for a year. This mechanism instead allows for premiums to be reassessed when risk increases. This happened most recently with the Ukraine war and in the Red Sea.

War insurance is currently available to cover insureds from war perils and it remains available within the Lloyd’s and London company market today for vessels wishing to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Liability coverage through the P&I Clubs is non-cancellable and remains reinsured in the London market. A small number of fixed premium P&I covers for charterers were cancelled and mostly repriced.

The LMA conducted a survey of the main participants in the Lloyd’s marine war market in the week after the commencement of hostilities. Of those that responded, 88% continue to have appetite to underwrite international (including US and UK) linked hull war risks, and over 90% continue to have appetite to underwrite international (including US and UK) linked cargo. Premium terms will differ according to each syndicate’s appetite. 

The reason ships are not moving is not through a lack of insurance; it is a question of the risk to crew and vessel safety being assessed by the ship masters and owners as too high. 

A statement from the International Chamber of Shipping on 19 March, highlighted the plight of the vessels’ crews (around 20,000 of whom are impacted). There have been at least 11 fatalities, including on a tug trying to assist an abandoned vessel. 

Ships’ bunkers and stores are depleting. There is no certainty as to the availability of salvage vessels to assist if a vessel is in distress and concerns as to which ports are available for refuge in the event that a vessel requires it. There is also concern that chemical tankers are running low on the stabilisers that maintain the integrity and stability of their cargoes.

Since the start of March to late last week there has been very little traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Lloyd’s List intelligence which covers cargo carrying vessels of more than 10,000 dwt, there have been 111 transits in total, although there may have been more who transited with their satellite tracking switched off. Lloyd’s List also stated that there have been 78 eastward bound vessels and 33 westbound. The latter is largely sanctioned/shadow fleet tonnage.

In terms of the types of vessels transiting, the best information to hand is that this is made up of 39 bulk carriers, 23 crude oil tankers, 16 containership, 14 product tankers, 10 gas carriers and 9 others. In terms of ownership/flag, the primary ones are Iran (26%), Greece (17%) and China (9%).

In terms of whether there is any link to Iran (i.e. ownership, flag, sanctions, shadow fleet, or caller to Iran); it is believed that over 60% of all traffic has an Iran nexus or has negotiated consent from Iran to transit.  

Since the start of hostilities, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) have listed 23 maritime attacks involving commercial vessels and offshore infrastructure reported across the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman. The incidents involve a wide range of vessel types and flag states, with no consistent pattern of ownership.  Underwriters have already confirmed that a number of the non-sanctioned casualties are insured or reinsured in the London market and numbers will inevitably rise the longer the conflict endures.

ENDS

Media relations contacts

LMA:

Carole Porter, Head of Marketing and Communications

+44 20 3307 3947 | carole.porter@lmalloyds.com

Omnia Partners:

Will White, Partner

+44 777 155 247 | will.white@weareomniapartners.com

About the Lloyd’s Market Association

The Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) exists at the very heart of Lloyd’s, a world-leading global marketplace for complex risk where solutions to challenges are delivered every day. 59 Lloyd’s managing agents and members’ agents are members of the LMA.

We represent our members’ interests to organisations including governments, regulators, and the market’s central supporting body, the Corporation of Lloyd’s. We provide professional and technical expertise in areas ranging from model policy wordings to the implementation of innovative technologies. We connect with our members to identify and resolve issues facing the market, and work in partnership with Lloyd’s and the other market associations to influence initiatives and outcomes. We operate the market’s most comprehensive technical education service, the LMA Academy. For more information visit: www.lmalloyds.com.