Russian naval drills impede Black Sea trade; war risk insurers list region's waters

VesselsValue senior trade analyst Vivek Srivastava said, “Dry bulk exports registered a particularly strong January. However, shipments of dry commodities in February are on course for a 44% month-on-month fall. Some 15% behind the five-year average for the time of year, towards the lower end of their 2017-2021 range.”

“Oil exports are faring even worse, although there are additional factors at play, with generally weak demand for the region’s Caspian grade of crude oil reported from Asian refiners, which make up much of its customer base. January exports were again relatively strong, as shown below. But February volumes are on course for a 45% month-on-month decline and will be some 37% less than the five-year average for the time of year.”

Black Sea exports are on course for a 27% month-month decline, falling to some 24% below the five-year average and at the very lower end of the 2017-2021 range.

More than 20 ships from Russia’s Northern fleet have now started drills in the Barents Sea.

Reuters has reported that London’s marine insurance industry has added Russian and Ukrainian waters to their list of high-risk waters. 

A Joint War Committee circular dated 15 February 2022 stated that Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov had been added to listed areas prone to "Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils" and that "the application of this list on individual contracts will be a matter for specific negotiation".

A series of updates on the situation from North P&I in the UK said that "the ongoing political tensions in the region remain high and unpredictable".

North P&I cited the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) announcement that routes to the seaports of Ukraine in the Sea of Azov are open and that Russian authorities had cancelled military exercises which may have led to the blocking of the Sea of Azov.

"Furthermore, Axis Maritime has advised us that vessels can continue to safely call at the Russian and Ukrainian ports," the update said, noting however that "the Russian firing exercises in ‘temporarily dangerous areas’ in the Black Sea area remained unchanged."

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