War risk insurance premiums for voyages through the southern Red Sea jumped to over 1% of a ship’s value in July 2026, up from around 0.75% days earlier and just 0.3% the week before, after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20. Rates for vessels calling at exposed southern Saudi ports such as Jizan and Al Shuqaiq were quoted as high as 3%, while calls further north at Jeddah and Yanbu remained closer to 0.1%.
Even small percentage moves translate into real money: brokers say the swings add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a single seven-day voyage, on top of freight-rate and rerouting costs shipowners are already absorbing from years of intermittent Houthi attacks. Premiums across Middle East corridors now range from roughly 0.5% to more than 10% of hull value depending on route, timing and vessel type.
Source: Insurance Journal
