[SMM Steel] War Insurance Suspended and Shipping Paralyzed; Export Stagnation Forces Turkish Shift to Domestic Supply

Published: Jul 30, 2026 17:43

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[Black Sea] Escalating geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea and Azov Sea have triggered severe maritime shipping paralysis. Following the cancellation of war risk coverage by the Russian National Reinsurance Company and a series of attacks leaving several merchant vessels sunk or damaged, shipowners are avoiding port calls or declaring force majeure. Consequently, steel billet freight rates on the Russia-Turkey route have surged to 25–35 USD/tonne, with insurance premiums skyrocketing to 10–15 USD/tonne. As shipping disruptions pose a grave threat to Turkey's import supply chain, buyers have been forced to pivot toward domestic sourcing; after Karabük raised its billet offers by 10 USD/tonne to 525–530 USD/tonne EXW, transaction volumes reached approximately 100,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, with Ukrainian iron ore shipments blocked and Russian coal diversions constrained, regional exports of steelmaking raw materials and semi-finished products have plunged into deep paralysis.

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