Image for representation purposes only London’s marine insurance market has widened the Red Sea area it classifies as “high risk” after attacks on Saudi-linked vessels by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, a move that is expected to increase insurance costs for ships operating in one of the world’s busiest trade and energy routes. The decision follows the Houthis’ July 20 announcement of a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, which the group said opened a new front against the United States and its allies in the war involving Iran. The Joint War Committee (JWC), whose guidance is widely used by marine insurers when setting war risk premiums, said it had moved the Red Sea notification line further north after two Saudi-linked vessels were attacked in the days following the Houthi announcement. “The decision … to amend those listed areas reflects the recent escalation by the Houthis and their attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea,” Neil Roberts, head of marine and aviation at the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) and secretary of the JWC, said in a statement on Thursday. The JWC includes syndicate members from the LMA and representatives from the London insurance market. Its list of high-risk areas is closely followed by underwriters when deciding war risk insurance premiums. The latest changes have already increased insurance costs. Insurance industry sources said indicative war risk premiums for Saudi ports north of Jizan, including Jeddah and the key oil export terminal of Yanbu, have risen to about 1% of a ship’s value, up from 0.25% earlier this week. Premiums for voyages through the southern Red Sea have also increased to between 1% and 2% of a ship’s value, compared with around 0.3% before the Houthis announced the embargo. Even a small increase in war risk premiums can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a seven-day voyage. Insurance costs had already started rising immediate