New threats to the maritime industry like GPS spoofing have emerged in some regions, such as the Middle East.
Gallagher Executive Director of Marine, Mr Angus Blayney, highlighted, “The issue of spoofing is a particular challenge in the Middle East”. He noted that GPS spoofing occurs daily.
Additionally, there are sanctions compliance challenges, including ship-to-ship (STS) transfers and price cap restrictions, said Mr Blayney.
He also pointed out that some insurers may reach out to the parties involved, within certain risks, about whether a vessel was moving where it should not be—inside a sanctioned territory or conducting STS operations with potential shadow fleet vessels.
“Thankfully, when this does happen, 99 times out of 100, it is actually just a question of GPS spoofing, and the vessel is not actually there in the first place,” said Mr Blayney.
“But spoofing is the main cause of all those problems, and it is something which must be continually monitored.”
See also the article “Marine hull insurance market faces converging disruptions” in the October 2026 edition of Middle East Insurance Review for Mr Blayney’s views on marine hull insurance developments.