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Marine market tries to hold the line
09 December 2009
The marine insurance market continues to face choppy seas in the wake of the global financial crisis and pirates seizing vessels with impunity. But an abundance of capacity mean price rises will be difficult to achieve.
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marine insurance
hull
shipping
Gulf of Aden
piracy
somalia
Maran Centaurus
It has not been the best year to be a ship owner, and marine underwriters have not had it easy either.Insurers have been battered by stalled capital markets and lower investment returns, while a sharp decline in international trade, which damaged certain parts of the shipping community, has hit ship owners hard.The spectre of piracy also looms heavy over the industry. Last year experienced the biggest surge in piracy in modern times with Somali pirates raiding the Indian Ocean around the Gulf of Aden off the Horn of Africa.According to Willis’ annual marine insurance review, Riding the Waves, the situation has continued to deteriorate. In 2009 alone, there have been more than 130 reported pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia and 28 ships have been seized.By comparison, only 13 hijackings occurred in the region during the whole of 2007.There has been a recent lull in pirate activity off the...
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