Six people are still missing after an incident when a Singapore-flagged ship was leaving Baltimore harbor heading to Sri Lanka when it crashed into a support pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, forcing one of America's busiest ports to close. close the door.
With little clarity on when the Port of Baltimore will reopen, insurers and analysts are assessing losses related to claims for property, cargo, marine, liability, trade credit and business interruption.
Scene of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore city, Maryland (USA), after being hit by a cargo ship, March 26, 3. (Photo: AFP/TTXVN)
Depending on the duration of the blockage and the nature of business interruption coverage for the Port of Baltimore, insured losses could increase, said Marcos Alvarez, managing director of global insurance ratings at Morningstar DBRS. from 2 billion USD to 4 billion USD.
He said this figure would exceed the record insured loss of the Costa Concordia luxury cruise ship disaster in 2012.
Senior director in charge of the analysis department of insurance rating agency AM Best, Mr. Mathilde Jakobsen, also said that compensation payments could reach billions of dollars.
Civil liability insurance for shipowners, including for damage to the marine environment, is provided through an organization called the P&I Insurance Association. The organization provides general insurance for approximately 90% of the world's ocean freight and members reinsure each other by sharing claims of over $10 million. According to AM Best, the above organization holds a total loss reinsurance amount of up to 3,1 billion USD.
About 80 different reinsurers provide insurance services to ship insurers, said Moody's Ratings analyst Brandan Holmes. He said while the total amount of claims is expected to be high, it is unlikely to be significant for individual reinsurers because it will be spread across so many companies.
Insurer Britannia P&I said the P&I Club is working closely with the ship manager and relevant authorities “to establish the facts” and help ensure that this situation is resolved quickly and accurately. professional way.
Mr. Alvarez said the above disaster will likely put pressure on marine insurance prices globally.
Economic software analysis firm IMPLAN said initial estimates of the cost of rebuilding the bridge, which could be paid by the federal government, were about $600 million. Meanwhile, closing the Baltimore port for a month could cost the state of Maryland a total of $28 million.
