INDIA'S GIC WILL OFFER IRANIAN CRUDE COVER, BUT ONLY FOR $50M

India's state-owned General Insurance Corp (GIC) has said that it will offer third-party cover of up to $50m for ships carrying crude oil to India from Iran, according to Sunil Thapar, director at state-run Shipping Corp of India, the country's largest ocean carrier. PV Kulkarni, vice-president in charge of insurance at the shipper, told farsnews.com that "GIC has instructed all four state-run insurance companies ... to get the product approved by Irda (Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority)". GIC is willing to offer liability cover of up to $50m against collision and oil spills on a per-voyage basis, according to Mr Thapar. India buys 14m to 15m tons of crude from Iran every year – making it the second-largest crude oil provider to India after Saudi Arabia. The GIC product would only partially replace the cover that Indian shippers can no longer obtain from P&I companies, which would mainly find their way back to the International Group of P&Is. From July 1 the IG Clubs will not be providing protection on Iranian crude oil shipments. Shipping Corp managing director Sabyasachi said that, although the $50m on offer from GIC would not replace the $1bn cover obtainable from the IG Clubs, "it is a commercially pragmatic decision to have at least this cover. It is a very short voyage from Iran to India and, over the past 10 years, there have been virtually no claims in this regard".