Insurance for ships in the ports of Odessa is currently only 1-1.5% more expensive than during peacetime. This was reported by Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky.
According to him, the issue of insuring ships entering the ports of Odessa has been resolved by 95% thanks to the creation of a joint Ukrainian-British insurance fund, to which the Ukrainian government has contributed.
“The creation of the insurance fund has added confidence and predictability for ships entering the ports of Odessa. While at the start of the Ukrainian grain corridor, insurance could have been 5-7% more expensive than in peacetime, the current difference is 1-1.5%. We can state that there are no major insurance problems today,” he said.
Vysotsky assured that the Ukrainian-British insurance fund continues to operate and is well-funded.
“Fortunately, there has been no need to pay out money from this fund so far, and we hope it will remain that way. Insurance matters are moving forward as if in peacetime,” noted the Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy.
Additionally, the official mentioned that systemic Russian military attacks on the port infrastructure in Odessa, where agricultural products are stored, have resulted in losses of $0.5 billion in destroyed equipment and products over the year of the Ukrainian grain corridor's operation.
“Unfortunately, systematic attacks continue, primarily on port infrastructure. Not only is grain stored there, but we have seen incidents where containers of sunflower oil and other products were hit. (...) When assessing this period in terms of losses in products and directly in equipment, the figure reaches almost $0.5 billion,” emphasized Vysotsky.
The Acting Minister reported that these losses are being documented and expressed confidence that the aggressor country will eventually have to pay for the damages.
