Maritime war risk insurance and European energy security

Priority question for written answer P-001180/2026
to the Commission
Rule 144
Bart Groothuis (Renew)

In early March 2026, several members of the International Group of P&I Clubs withdrew their war risk cover for ships in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters. The P&I Clubs, which together insure around 90 % of the world's tonnage transported by sea[1], subsequently also cancelled their reinsurance extensions for the region. Premiums for tanker transits rose dramatically, bringing commercial tanker traffic virtually to a standstill.[2]

This lays bare a structural vulnerability in the global market for maritime war risk insurance, which is concentrated in London and largely falls outside the EU regulatory framework. The Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum met on 11 March 2026, but maritime insurance capacity was not on the agenda.

• 1.Does the Commission acknowledge that the loss of private reinsurance capacity for maritime war risks constitutes a structural vulnerability for the European energy security, regardless of the current military situation in the Strait of Hormuz?
• 2.Has the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum discussed the availability of maritime insurance capacity in the event of geopolitical disruptions, and is the Commission prepared to place this explicitly on the agenda in consultation with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England?
• 3.Is the Commission considering policy options for a public backstop for structurally uninsurable tail risks in the event of maritime war damage, by analogy with the US Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and the recent DFC initiative[3], without disrupting normal market forces?

Submitted: 20.3.2026

• [1] https://www.igpandi.org/#:~:text=About%20the%20International%20Group%20of,and%20reinsurance%20of%20such%20liabilities.
• [2] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/ship-insurers-cancel-war-risk-cover-due-iran-conflict-2026-03-02/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/maritime-insurance-premiums-surge-iran-conflict-widens-2026-03-06/.
• [3] https://www.ft.com/content/4f3d0c64-42e6-438e-882a-1158532751b1?emailId=9719164c-069f-4dc7-b2a3-46763839f501&segmentId=22011ee7-896a-8c4c-22a0-7603348b7f22&syn-25a6b1a6=1.