Loss Prevention Advice
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Russian drones attacked Ukraine’s southern Odesa region overnight into 14 April, striking the port area of Izmail, a key logistics hub on the Danube near the Romanian border.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian officials said two civilian foreign-flagged vessels were damaged, along with port infrastructure and equipment. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said the strikes were deliberately aimed at critical logistics and infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s wartime economy.
One of the affected ships was a Panama-flagged vessel, while another was a Liberian-flagged merchant ship traveling through a maritime corridor to load corn. The Ukrainian navy identified one vessel as the Lady Maris, which was en route to the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk Port.
Authorities said crew members quickly extinguished a fire and reported no injuries, with port operations continuing despite the attack.
In the wider region, the strikes also caused damage to civilian infrastructure, including a car repair shop, vehicles, homes, and an ambulance. Regional officials reported at least one hospitalization.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched about 130 drones and several missiles during the same period, most of which were intercepted or neutralized by air defences.
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Ocean hull claims costs remained elevated in 2024–2025, with the claim cost per vessel 33% above both pre-pandemic and 2021 levels. The rise is driven by costly machinery failures, fires, inflation, and an ageing fleet. Inflation impact is illustrated by various indicators.
Key highlights:
From a silver tsunami to a claim’s tsunami?
- Machinery failure and fires drive increase in claim cost
- Extraordinary increase in claims above USD 10 million
- 3rd consecutive year with claims above USD 50 million
- Still a burning issue – Fires continue to dominate major losses
- Total losses: Increase for vessels with higher values
- Big increase in the cost of medium sized claims
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Recent changes to deterrence and enforcement measures in Taiwan aimed at preventing damage to critical undersea infrastructure.
Following several incidents of damage to subsea cables within its waters, the Taiwanese government has introduced legislative amendments designed to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure and enhance deterrence.
The “Seven Subsea Cable Laws” amendments (covering the Telecommunications Management Act, Electricity Act, Natural Gas Enterprise Act, Water Supply Act, Meteorological Act, Commercial Port Act, and Ship Act) introduce the following key measures:
Increased criminal penalties
Intentional damage to subsea cables, energy infrastructure, or water pipelines is punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment and fines of up to TWD 10million.
Introduction of negligence liability
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Recent cases have highlighted growing safety and operational concerns linked to the carriage of baled Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), as increasing trade volumes continue to expose its variable—and at times hazardous—behaviour at sea, the Swedish Club has warned.
Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is produced from mixed municipal and commercial waste after sorting and removal of non‑combustible materials. The remaining fraction can contain a significant biodegradable component and often varies considerably in composition.
Moisture levels, storage duration and the condition of the bale wrapping influence how the cargo behaves during transport. Since RDF is not covered by an IMSBC schedule, the Master cannot rely on established reference criteria.
Safe carriage depends to a large extent on the accuracy and completeness of information provided by the shipper.