The US insurance market has declined to service Indian ship management company Gatik, a shift that journalism outlets describe as a setback for what has grown into a large oil transport operation linked to Russia. Bloomberg reports that this move targets the so‑called shadow fleet that has expanded in response to sanctions.
Gatik Ship Management, previously an obscure name, built up a fleet of 48 tankers by 2022, capable of carrying more than 30 million barrels of crude and refined products. A notable pattern is that these vessels routinely call Russian ports and export oil and other petroleum products from those terminals.
Observers say the decision to withhold insurance coverage stems from the United States viewing Gatik’s activities as a breach of anti‑Russian sanctions, particularly the price cap on Russian oil. Without this protection and indemnity insurance, which covers liability in events such as oil spills, the tankers face restrictions on entry to certain ports and straits, complicating their operations.
In early February, Bloomberg, citing Trafigura analysts, noted that after the EU embargo on Russian raw materials came into effect, the so‑called shadow fleet that ships Russian oil to global buyers surged to a record high—roughly 600 tankers. Iran and Venezuela, both under sanctions, are unable to mount a competitive challenge to Moscow in this metric, continuing to fall behind in this crucial transport channel for global energy trade. — Bloomberg