Shippers Note Heightened Dangers of Black Sea Grain Exports

The paper agreement to restart Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea is running up against the reality of how difficult and risky the pact will be to carry out. “We have to work very hard to now understand the detail of how this is going to work practically,” said Guy Platten, secretary-general of the International Chamber of Shipping, which says it represents national shipowners associations, accounting for about 80% of the world’s merchant fleet. “Can we make sure and guarantee the safety of the crews? What’s going to happen with the mines and the minefields, as well? So lots of uncertainty and unknowns at the moment,” he told the Associated Press. “I think it’s going to come (down) to the position of the marine insurers that provide war risk and how much they are going to be adding in additional charges for vessels to go into that area,” said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, shipping and commodities analyst at Lloyd’s List, a global shipping news publication. Bockmann said vessels carrying this kind of load typically have between 20 to 25 seafarers on board. “You can’t risk those lives without something concrete and acceptable to the shipowners and to their charterers to move grain,” she said.