Skuld Charterer September 2019. Credit to: lavizzara / Shutterstock.com The ongoing threat to shipping around the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman is a concern to all in the industry, not least the crew who are at risk in the event of an attack. In this article we look at the issue from the charterers’ perspective. Recent developments Most readers will be aware that four tankers were attacked off Fujairah and two further tankers in the Gulf of Oman in May and June this year, apparently with limpet mines attached to the side of the vessels’ hull. In July, a British-flagged tanker (Stena Impero) was seized by Iran in the Straits of Hormuz, ostensibly as retaliation for the earlier detention of Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 (formerly Grace 1) in Gibraltar in connection with allegations that the vessel was carrying oil to Syria in breach of EU (and US) sanctions. While the Gibraltar authorities have since released the Adrian Darya 1, this has done little to ease tensions. The US have blacklisted the vessel, and the Stena Impero currently remains detained in Iran. The UK and US have deployed naval assets to the Persian Gulf as part of a US-led maritime security mission to protect commercial shipping. P&I cover Skuld’s charterers’ P&I cover remains in place when trading to the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas. Charterers’ liabilities for war risks are excluded in narrow circumstances which do not apply to the current situation. Unlike owners’ cover, there is no general exclusion of war risks liabilities, costs and expenses in the charterers’ cover. The cover is only subject to standard war risks exclusions for nuclear and bio-chem risks and for losses arising from war between any of the five major powers. In addition, Skuld has the right to declare Listed Areas for charterers as any area declared by Skuld to be an area of perceived enhanced risk for the purposes of the insurance as notified to members and listed on the Skuld website. There are currently no such are