Major Chinese ship insurance company to cease Iranian oil tanker coverage

Commercial insurance market for oil tankers tightens A major insurer of Chinese ships has announced that, starting in July, it will be stopping its indemnity coverage for tankers that are transporting Iranian oil. This has dealt another blow to the tanker companies that carry oil – the main export of Tehran – from the Iranian capital, and has further narrowed the coverage options available in a market that has already been pinched by payment barriers put in place by sanctions in the West. As the number of Western sanctions increase…

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Price of Iranian oil expected to spike from ship insurance ban in European Union

According to sources in the insurance industry, a ban is widely forecasted to begin on European insurance coverage for exports of oil from Iran beginning on July 1,2012, and is threatening to restrict shipments from that country, causing costs to rise for large purchasers such as South Korea and Japan. The European Union created a partial exemption from its embargo last week for some insurance companies that cover Iranian oil, until July. Next month, the ministers in the EU intend to go over whether or not those exemptions will be…

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European Union holds back on Iranian oil sanctions, considers exemptions for insurers

The European Union has been deliberating on how to handle sanctions imposed against Iran since late last year. Iran has been the target of oil sanctions from much of Europe and the U.S. These sanctions would have a significant impact of the transportation of oil from the country and much of the Middle East. One of the major problems that would arise from the sanctions concerns the insurance industry. If the sanctions are enacted, insurers in Europe and the U.S. will no longer be able to provide coverage for ships…

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