“Tit for tat”… but not funny (first)
20/12/2022
“Tit for tat”… but not funny (first)
In retaliation to the confiscation of an Iran flagged tanker by US and Greek authorities, Iran boarded and seized two Greek crude oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, for alleged violation of maritime regulations. No specific details were mentioned in the various media.
The Greek authorities said that the boardings were equivalent to piracy and called for the immediate release of the vessels and their crews. They also informed allies and the IMO, and recommended Greek citizens to avoid travelling to Iran.
Stepping aside the diplomatic tit for tat, the unpleasant consequence is that two first class owners had their ships seized for an alleged crime committed onboard.
It is usually quite difficult to have a clear picture in this type of incident because of its political charge, but our Delay cover could have stopped the owner’s losses after a 1 day deductible if indeed the cause of the seizure were “a crime or an alleged crime committed on board the ship”.
If the seizure was in connection with any MoU for PSC, or by an authority of similar jurisdiction in a state not party to the MOU, then we could not respond, as we could not respond in case the delay was a consequence to the operation of ordinary judicial processes.
Clearly quite complex,
But in our view well worth digging into, because this type of incident is not trivial and not that rare.
And the current geopolitical landscape does not suggest clear blue skies ahead any time soon.