All parties involved in the liability insurance of the Iranian oil tanker Sanchi that sank in January 2018 have made their compensation payments, a senior official of the Iran Insurers Syndicate has said.
Mr Mohsen Qarehkhani, the secretary of the reinsurance group of the Iranian Insurers Syndicate, said the hull insurance for Sanchi had been covered by Iranian companies and liability insurance by foreign companies, according to a report by the Tasnim News Agency. He said the compensation covered by P&I, which typically covers marine liability risk, had been paid by foreign companies. The news agency did not state whether he mentioned any compensation or loss figures.
Mr Qarehkhani said the payment of damages from domestic insurers to Sanchi’s insurers will be carried out in the near future.
The Sanchi collision occurred on 6 January 2018 when the Iranian-owned tanker, with a full natural-gas condensate cargo of 136,000 tonnes, sailing from Iran to South Korea collided with the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship CF Crystal 300km off Shanghai in the East China Sea. Sanchi caught fire. After burning and drifting for over a week, it sank on 14 January. None of Sanchi’s 32 crew members survived.
Commenting on insurance coverage by Iranian companies, Mr Qarehkhani said, “Of course, in general, it is advisable for the risk to be shared by insurers from different countries. However, unfortunately, because of sanctions and bank restrictions, insurance companies cannot cooperate with Iran.” This was a reference to sanctions imposed by the US on Iran.
Norwegian ship insurer Skuld had said it was the lead hull insurer for the tanker. Skuld chief executive Stale Hansen said 70% of the value of Sanchi itself was covered by 11 international insurers, led by Skuld, with the other 30% covered by Iranian insurers.
The tanker’s cargo was worth $60m and the hull of the tanker was insured for $32m. Total Sanchi claims were set to be less than $200m with P&I at $95m, said a report by Tradewinds, a shipping newspaper. M