Geopolitical uncertainty has become the risk for the maritime transport sector. He highlighted this Allianz Commercial, the global division of the insurance group Allianz, presenting its latest report "Safety and Shipping Review 2026" which notes that incidents such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz represent only the latest of a series of recent outages that have impacted the maritime sector and signal a transition to a "new maritime order" defined by increasing risks to the security along strategic shipping lanes.

The report points out that, in addition to geopolitical uncertainty, Traditional risks for shipping remain one of the main concerns, although in recent years the total number of ship losses and ship accidents are steadily decreasing. The damage o Machinery breakdowns and fires are among the main causes of accident, with consequent economic and insurance losses significant ones.

"Our analysis - commented the CEO of Allianz Commercial, Thomas Lillelund - shows that the maritime transport sector has increased in recent years made significant progress in terms of safety. However, It has also undergone a fundamental transformation, passing through decades of relative stability, characterised by trade flows and widely predictable operating conditions, at a an increasingly complex and volatile context. The conflict in Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz represent Just the latest in a series of serious disruptions that have affected shipowners and operators in the freight sector. Resilience, geopolitics and efficiency must be balanced in an increasingly where the cost of uncertainty is reshaping the maritime transport sector'.

Data from Allianz Research shows that as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, which has paralyzed the Strait of Hormuz, about 1,150 merchant vessels, with an estimated value of ships and cargo equal to about 125 billion dollars, a volume of 29 million tons of gross tonnage and about 20,000 seafarers, are located in the Gulf Persico waiting to resume operations following the recent diplomatic progress. Highlighting that the insurance coverage for ships was available throughout the conflict, although with higher premiums for hull and cargo, Allianz Commercial specified that, however, the real problem for the was more linked to the risk for crew and for the ship during transit in a transit area conflict, rather than mere insurance considerations and has noted that, even if the agreement between the United States and Iran were to and the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened, it will be necessary to strong safe transit guarantees, with the involvement of the international community, especially if we want the traffic return to pre-war levels of traffic of up to 140 ships per day.

The report highlights that, despite the difficulties of the shipping sector, the total number of accidents and accidents is in decline, with over 900 total ship losses reported in the last few years. ten years. Between 2016 and the end of 2020, there were 555, with an average of 111 per year. This number has dropped to 350 between 2021 and the end of 2025, with an average of 70 (down by 37% compared to the previous five years), as evidence of the positive effect of a greater focus on security. In 2025, 43 total losses were reported, of which over 30 relating to ships of more than 500 gross tonnage tons.

Globally, the number of has decreased by about -16% (2,818 in the 2025 compared to 3,353 in 2024). The Mediterranean region and Black Sea recorded the highest number of of accidents (622), followed by the British Isles (619), which is also the area with the highest number of accidents in the last decade. Damage or breakdowns to machinery were the cause of maritime accidents globally, accounting for more than half (1,505), followed by collisions between ships (260).