THE all-in insurance cost for most vessel types is little changed on a year ago, although aggregate premiums on tankers and gas carriers have softened fractionally in the past three months, according to the latest data from the Baltic Investor Indices.

Given that P&I rates jumped by between 5% and 7.5% at the February renewal, the findings appear to vindicate broker claims that hull underwriters are offering substantial discounts in a bid to retain market share in the face of an influx of new capacity.

The 1/1 and 1/4 hull renewals just gone are widely seen as the most favourable to owners in several years.

The Baltic Exchange compiles data on insurance outlays as part of its Baltic Investor Indices subscription service, calculating them on a daily basis as part of its effort to track operating expenses.

“Insurance expenses” are comprehensively defined as any potential cover for a vessel trading within international navigation limits and excluding high-risk areas; hull & machinery including disbursements or freight interest insurance; war and strike risks; P&I including cargo, crew, third parties, stowaways, damage caused by vessel or fixed and floating objects and pollution and wreck removal; freight, demurrage and defence cover; cost of Baltic standard deductible incidents; and any manager’s fees relating to managing insurance or an apportionment.

According to the BII, the daily cost of insuring a VLCC in the three months to July 17 was $976. That equates to $352,955 a year, a drop of 1.6% on the $983 per day seen on July 18, 2024.

The cost for suezmax for the same cut-off date was $633, or $231,045 a year. That’s a fall of 3% on the $653 per day a year ago.

For an aframax, the pricing for the same cut-off points was almost unchanged, dropping just $4 from $598 to $594. That represents a yearly outlay of $216,810.

As for bulk carriers, capesizes were up $21 per day, from $693 to $714, while panamaxes rose fractionally from $516 to $518. The annual aggregate insurance premiums are $260,610 and $189,070 respectively.

The daily cost of insuring an LNG vessel dropped minutely to $1,063, and an LPG was steady at $560.