Shipping insurance premiums have doubled since the October 6 explosion on the French oil tanker, MY Limburg, in Yemen.

The managing director of major Asian cargo firm, MISC, has announced that his company is paying twice the usual premium. He said that premiums have risen from 0.02% of cargo value to 0.04% of cargo value since the Yemen incident.

Datuk Mohd Ali Yasin said: "It takes one incident like the Limberg for insurers to take the opportunity to raise insurance charges, especially to destinations that are unsafe."

Ali, who is also chairman of the Malaysian Shipowners Association (MSA), added that Petronas incurred £2.6m on re-routing oil cargo since the attack.

Speaking at the MSA's conference, Ali stressed that
"hull insurers had yet to pass on increased premiums" to the majority of cargo firms.

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