According to a recent article in the Washington Post, “Tehran’s ability to ship vital goods has been significantly curtailed as some of the world’s most powerful Western insurance companies cut off Iranian shippers out of fear that they could run afoul of U.S. laws, the insurers say.”  In light of the U.S. sanctions against Iran which followed the U.N.’s set of sanctions, companies have become more hesitant to conduct business with their Iranian counterparts for fear of running afoul of the U.S. sanctions.  According to the article, among the hardest hit sectors are “[d]ozens of Iranian vessels that transport crude oil, industrial equipment and other goods and supplies in and out of the Islamic Republic[, which] have been denied insurance coverage for weeks, insurance company representatives said.”

The hardship posed by the lack of insurance for Iran’s shipping sector has become even more acute because “most ports will refuse them entry if they are not covered for possible damages,” says Mohammad Rounaghi, deputy manager of Sea Pars, an Iranian company that provides services for international ship owners and maritime insurance companies.  The Iranian government hopes to side-step the impact of the lack of insurance by pledging to put up $1 billion to guarantee coverage, according to the Washington Post.  The guarantee, however, may not sway foreign insurers to resume business with Tehran as the risk and cost of doing so seems too great, according to a Dutch insurer quoted in the Washington Post article.

You can access that Washington Post article by clicking here.