Maritime terrorism: incidences and litigation

18.1 It is evident from databases tracking terrorist incidents that insured vessels have been the subject of terrorist attacks on multiple occasions during the past 50 years. The Rand Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents recorded 136 maritime targets since records began in 1968.1 British flagged vessels can be found within this, notably in a series of attacks on British vessels purportedly carried out by anti-Cuban protesters in United States waters in the late 1960s.2 The motive seems to have been to discourage trade with Cuba. Vessels insured at Lloyd’s would certainly also be within this list, and some examples are detailed at paragraphs 18.18–18.29. Whilst it is possible to observe practice in settling these claims, there have been remarkably few reported cases on point. This is not due to a lack of unresolved issues. O’May described the uncertainty of the position of terrorist losses within marine and war risks cover at the time of the anti-Cuban attacks: