President Donald Trump has ordered the US government to underwrite maritime trade through the Persian Gulf, pledging political risk insurance and financial guarantees for vessels navigating the increasingly volatile waterway — and signalling that US Navy escorts for tankers through the Strait of Hormuz could begin “as soon as possible”.
In a post on his Truth Social, Trump said he had directed the United States Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and guarantees for the financial security of all maritime trade, “especially energy”, transiting the Gulf. The cover, he wrote, would be available to all shipping lines at what he described as a “very reasonable price”.
“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” he added. “No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD.”
The intervention comes as the marine insurance market rapidly retreats from the region in the wake of US and Israeli strikes on Iran and a concentrated wave of missile and drone attacks targeting commercial vessels in Gulf waters.
Over the weekend, several members of the International Group of P&I Clubs — which collectively insure around 90 per cent of the world’s ocean-going tonnage — issued 72-hour cancellation notices for certain war risk covers linked to Iran and adjacent Gulf waters. The group said it was “monitoring closely the developments over the weekend and the military operations currently taking place in the Persian Gulf”, and would inform stakeholders of any changes to mutual cover.
Meanwhile, London’s Joint War Committee expanded its list of designated high-risk areas to include waters around Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar “in light of recent events.” Gulf war risk premiums have surged fivefold in recent days compared with last week, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a single voyage.
The tightening insurance environment has coincided with a dramatic collapse in vessel movements through Hormuz. The Joint Maritime Information Center this week raised the regional maritime threat level to “critical,” warning that “insurance availability may now act as a primary gating factor for transit decisions independent of formal navigational closure”. Data indicates that transits have fallen by roughly 80 per cent from historical averages as operators reassess their exposure.