With the Islamic nation arranging shipping and insurance in the wake of European sanctions, the government has allowed conditional import from Iran on cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis for six months starting July 1, 2012 or till the issue is resolved. India, which has secured a waiver from US sanctions which prohibits import of crude oil from Iran in an attempt to check Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
European sanctions, which were announced earlier this year prohibits euro-based insurance companies from providing insurance and guarantees for transportation of oil from Iran, which has compelled many nations to reduce their oil imports from Iran. Around 90 percent of world’s tanker fleet is covered by western based protection and indemnity club, which includes personal protection and environmental cleanup claims.
As a result to this sanction, the oil ministry has proposed Iranian entity to export oil in their own ships so as to free the importer to get insurance cover for the ship and the oil. The shipping ministry has also taken up this matter with the finance ministry. Further, the oil ministry is also looking for finance ministry’s intervention to get state-owned General Insurance Corp (GIC) to provide insurance cover to domestic ships carrying oil from Iran.
The government might itself provide insurance to ships carrying crude if all other option closes. India has reduced import of oil from Iran from 18.5 million tons in 2010-11 to 17.44 million tons in 2011-12 and further down to 15.5 million tons in this fiscal. Unlike private refineries, state owned oil companies need permission from the government to import oil on cost, insurance & freight basis, which requires the seller to arrange for the carriage of goods by sea.
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