CURRENT EXPOSURE
On February 21st, 2023, Skytek recorded that 58 ships with an aggregating market value of $440 million remained trapped in Ukrainian seaports. The list of these vessels is available upon request (a sample is provided in the table below).
On February 25th, 2023, a year will have elapsed since the seaports of Ukraine have been closed for entry and exit. Under the Institute War & Strikes Clauses (IWSC), owners are entitled to claim a Constructive Total Loss for the 58 vessels, assuming that there insured under the IWSC, which remained trapped providing there has been no alternation in the Clause 3 (Detainment Clause) wording.
Summary Overview of the Past 12 Months
The year 2022 started with escalating political tensions in the Black Sea region, and, on February 16th, the Joint War Committee (JWC) added Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and Related Perils Listed Areas (HRA).
On February 24th, Russia initiated a military operation in Ukraine. The Russian navy started patrolling the areas and seaways were mined, effectively trapping the ships inside the seven seaports ports with access to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, thus freezing the commercial activity from the ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa, Yuzhny, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Berdiansk and Mariupol.
On February 24th, Skytek recorded 102 ships blocked in the inner waters of the Ukrainian ports, valued at $840 million using Skytek’s proprietary price modelling algorithm.
On July 27th, the United Nations (UN), Turkey, Ukraine and Russia, agreed to allow exporting of food products from three ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny, to resume, via “The Grain Initiative Agreement”.
Skytek tracked that from August 01st 2022 to February 21st 2023, 582 unique ships performed 860 voyages shipping just over 23 mil tons of food products from the three ports involved in The Grain Initiative Agreement.
War-Related Damaged Ships
Using very high-resolution satellite imagery tasked and acquired as frequently as weekly over the areas impacted by the conflict, Skytek was able to identify vessels that were damaged, most likely during bombing activities in the area. This information can be provided in near-real time, globally, for assets that are difficult to reach physically. A summary of the vessels damaged during this time is provided below:
- The Marshall Islands flag bulk carrier Yasa Jupiter – IMO: 9848132, while sailing from Dniepr to Constanta, was struck by a missile off Odesa, Ukraine, and suffered damage on February 24th, 2022
- The Moldova flag chemical tanker Millennial Spirit – IMO: 7392610, was shelled in the Black Sea on February 25th, 2022. The vessel became a Constructive Total Loss
- The Panama flag general cargo ship Namura Queen – IMO: 9841299, was struck in the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine by a missile and suffered damage on February 25th, 2022
- The Bangladesh flag bulk carrier Banglar Samriddhi – IMO: 9793832 was struck by a missile at navigating bridge level while anchored in Mykolaiv and was set afire on March 02nd, 2022. The Owners are reportedly claiming Constructive Total Loss for the vessel
- The Panama flag general cargo ship Helt – IMO: 8402589, sank off the coast of Ukraine on March 02nd, 2022, possibly after striking a mine, and becoming a Constructive Total Loss
- The Dominica flag general cargo ship Azburg – IMO: 9102899 —was shelled and sunk on April 04th, 2022, alongside Mariupol port, becoming a Constructive Total Loss.
- The Liberia flag bulk carrier Smarta – IMO: 9396567, was shelled while alongside in Mariupol and became a Constructive Total Loss
- The Sierra Leone General Cargo Ship Rusen Mete – IMO: 8516835, was hit by a missile on March 24th 2022, at Berdiansk, becoming a Constructive Total Loss
Current Status of the Ships in Ukrainian Ports
Over the past 12 months, Skytek continuously monitored the situation in and around the ports of Ukraine. We provided the insurance industry with valuable situational awareness knowledge of the area, supporting exposure and loss estimations valuable for decision-makers. To date, we note the following information:
- As of February 21st, 2023, the Grain Initiative Agreement enabled 45 of the 102 blocked ships to depart from Ukraine
- On February 25th, 2023, a year would have elapsed since the seaports of Ukraine have been closed for entry and exit. Under the Institute War & Strikes Clauses (IWSC), owners are entitled to claim a Constructive Total Loss for the 58 vessels, assuming that there insured under the IWSC, which remained trapped providing there has been no alternation in the Clause 3 (Detainment Clause) wording
- The port of Mykolaiv, with its five terminals, holds the highest aggregation by both number of vessels and exposure. None of the 27 vessels captured at the beginning of the military conflict could depart as of February 21st, 2023. Skytek places the aggregated value of the ships in Mykolaiv at $230 million
- Using very high-resolution satellite imagery and proprietary vessel detection techniques, Skytek detects, identifies and tracks the ships in Ukrainian ports, even after they turned off the AIS trackers. Ships in Mykolaiv on January 10th, 2023 are represented in Figure 1 below. Further images, of different dates as well as different ports, are available upon request
