Europe is moving rapidly toward enacting an embargo against Russian crude oil. One of the main enforcement mechanisms will likely be denying maritime insurance coverage to ships carrying Russian crude to European ports.
We’ve already seen many ship captains and crews avoiding loading at Russia’s Black Sea oil terminals out of a fear for their own physical safety–the Iran/Iraq war provides a good historical analogue for the risks to tanker ships in an active war zone. But Russia’s Baltic and Pacific ports aren’t seeing a lot of activity either, as many global buyers are looking to stay on the right side of a quickly evolving sanctions regime.
Which brings us back to the world of maritime insurance. Some 95% of global insurance and reinsurance markets are dominated by European players. Would-be buyers of Russian crude who could leverage sovereign indemnification of Russian cargoes–China and Turkey, potentially India–must now weigh the worth of crude discounts against falling afoul of the Europeans and access to their markets.
To that end, they have set up an Amazon Wishlist for those who are willing and able to help directly contribute specific supplies. We’ve placed a button with the link below the video. Our sincerest appreciation and gratitude to all of those working, donating, and volunteering to help with Ukrainian refugees–especially those willing to put themselves directly in harm’s way.
Having difficulty keeping up with the chaotic and quickly-changing landscape of Russia sanctions and commodities markets?
We have been offering a series of in-depth presentations on the global impacts of the Ukraine war on various industries.
So far, we’ve tackled the challenges facing energy, agriculture, and industrial materials. You can purchase access to the recordings of both of these webinars via the buttons below:
We will continue to post our analysis and updates on this and other topics related to the Ukraine War. This newsletter and its affiliated videologues are, and always will be, free. New subscribers can sign up here.
Finally, a reminder:
Russia’s strategic shift from thunder runs to a civilian obliteration has already forced ten million Ukrainians from their homes, with nearly four million now living in limbo in foreign lands. All proceeds from all formats of all of our previous books are being donated to the Afya Foundation, a charity which provides medical assistance to refugees from the Ukraine War. The buttons below will direct you to our purchase pages where you can both find out a bit more about each book, as well as select purchase options ranging from e-services to your local bookstore.
