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TRUMP BUSTS LONDON'S INSURANCE MONOPOLY (UPDATES)

Following our previous reporting (link), the operation by US and Israeli forces in Iran on Wednesday went into its fifth day. Iran has formally closed the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to open fire on any ship attempting to transit. Some commentators said this was redundant since Lloyd's of London ship and cargo insurance premiums have reached such prohibitive levels that passing the strait has become impossible anyway (link). In order to deal with the disruption, the Trump 2.0 team developed a stop gap. We reported yesterday Trump ordered the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide at low cost political risk insurance and guarantees for the financial security of all maritime trade in the Gulf. The US will also start escorting tankers through the strait. I am going to dispense with expert opinion on this issue, not being able assess its merits.

UPDATES:



March 4, 2026 WGOWS: Strait of Hormuz & Persian Gulf Update | March 4, 2026 | US Sub Sinks Iranian Ship | Russian LNG Hit.

The anti imperial Promethean Action explains the Lloyd's of London maritime insurance business from its specific perspective. 


~o~

After the President announced the news, the price of crude instantly tumbled. Ships are frozen on either side of the strait. Supertanker costs have hit ​all-time highs, as the conflict intensifies.


Zero Hedge has the details, explaining how Trump's plan is a hybrid doctrine,  "a modernized fusion of the Carter Doctrine with Trump-style economic statecraft". 

"While the exact details of the insurance proposal are unknown - rather than relying solely on overt military escalation to reopen the strait, Washington could absorb shipping risk, stabilize insurance markets, and allow tankers to sail under U.S. guarantees - with naval force as a backstop rather than the opening move. In effect, it would convert a military red line into a market-stability red line" (link). 

This product is the work of the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy and his Maritime Administrator Steve Carmel who have been quietly working on a ship insurance plan for months.

But wait, there may be politics behind Lloyd's jacking up the premium. Sitting safely in the City of London in their 300 year old monopoly, they thought they could derail project Iran by freezing the world's energy supply. 

Of course Trump anticipated this and turned it into an opportunity to break their economic stranglehold on energy. 


Now the reason why this US Israeli operation on Iran has to happen precisely now, is pointed out by a Chinese account on X. It should have been me, but I didn't see it. 


Cyprus and Israel sit atop massive natural gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean — fields like Leviathan, Tamar, and Aphrodite. You can't start exploiting these resources with the threat of Iran's nukes over the project. 

"Here’s why Iran could pull the trigger — and why Cyprus and Israel should be on high alert: Israel’s energy Achilles’ heel. Israel just shut down the Karish field amid rising tensions. A full strike on Leviathan and Tamar would knock out 71% of Israel’s electricity.

"The country would grind to a halt, forced to burn expensive, polluting diesel just to keep the lights on. That’s not just an economic crisis — it’s a strategic collapse".

With President Trump's energy drive as the backbone of his economic and monetary policies to save the dollar as the world's reserve currency, and the recent concessions to Chevron in the Aegean (link) and Exxon Mobile in the Ionian Seas (link) off Greece, the time is ripe for action. 

The continued development of the IMEC, the trade corridor from India to Europe via the Middle East and Greece, may also have something to do with this timing. It was now, or possibly never. Everybody in the region can get rich, but not with bellicose Iran in the offing. 

Never bet against President Trump. The mistake many pundits make is, just because they can't figure out what he's doing, that doesn't mean he doesn't know what he's doing. Most of them are locked up in mental boxes. Trump isn't. He's always steps ahead, and they still haven't figured it out. 

That's why I posted yesterday:


This insurance stuff is fascinating, but very, very complicated and has interesting historical angles. I will post the best and most informative posts here for those you care about that stuff. The first thread is also available in a Threadreader page. 

- More on US, shipping, IMEC - 
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