Resilience in a Changing Tide: Challenges and Opportunities for the Marine Insurance Industry

Rocco Bozzelli, Head of Global Insurance, MSC Cruises

Rocco Bozzelli is Head of Global Insurance at MSC Cruises, Board Member of NorthStandard P&I and the Swiss Association of Insurance & Risk Managers (SIRM). He regularly contributes to international discussions on marine insurance, sustainability and the evolving role of risk management in the shipping industry.

The marine insurance industry has always evolved alongside global trade, but never as fast as today. What I attended last Genoa Shipping Week 2025 confirmed how deeply the sector is being reshaped by three converging elements: ESG, cyber risks and geopolitical fragmentation. These are no longer “emerging” risks; they are the daily reality of our business.

ESG and the Energy Transition: The New Frontier of Underwriting

The shift toward low-carbon shipping is already changing how we assess risk. New vessel designs and propulsion technologies appear—from LNG to methanol to hybrid systems using lithiumion batteries. The question is simple but fundamental: are current insurance wordings keeping pace?

Traditional Hull & Machinery clauses were never written with energy storage or alternative fuels in mind. That creates both exposure and opportunity. Those insurers who adapt first—creating solutions aligned with decarbonization goals—will help the industry move faster and more safely.

About the ESG element, we are seeing this already through voluntary frameworks like the Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance, where data on carbon intensity and operational transparency may soon start to influence pricing and available insurance capacity. Risk selection will increasingly be guided by measurable ESG performance of the fleet.

Geopolitical Shocks: A New Normal

Over the past few years, marine insurers have had to cope with drone attacks in the Red Sea, sanctions-driven shadow fleets and a volatile regulatory environment around carbon tax topic. It’s a perfect storm of operational, legal and reputational exposures. Underwriting discipline remains essential, but it must now coexist with flexibility. Insurers who succeed will be those who stay close to their clients’ operational realities.

Cyber Risk: The Invisible Hull

One other important risk related topic is cyber resilience in the blue economy business.

We have seen ransomware attacks on ports that showed how a digital breach can disrupt global supply chains in hours. Modern vessels are now floating data networks where a cyber-attack could trigger cascading operational and financial losses. Most hull & machinery policies still carry the CL 380 cyberattack exclusion and even if P&I Clubs don’t generally exclude cyber-triggered liabilities, there are war or terror carveouts and a possible risk of gaps is there when an onboard attack would cause both physical damage and third-party liabilities.

There are some buy-back offers in the marine insurance market but the industry should start considering building dedicated marine cyber covers—scenariobased, aligned with ship operations and without possible gaps in coverage. Cyber on board may still look like a “tomorrow” risk, but it needs to be analyzed and structured today. Cyber also intersects with geopolitical opacity, particularly the so-called “shadow fleet”—older tankers operating under obscure ownership and often beyond regulatory oversight. In a major casualty, such as a collision with one of these vessels, identifying liability and valid insurance can be nearly impossible.

Collaboration and Innovation: A Shared Compass

The collaborative spirit among insurers, brokers, shipowners, class societies and all related stakeholders will be increasingly important. Everyone recognizes that the complexity of today’s risks requires dialogue and shared data.

Marine insurance has always adapted—from the Lloyd’s coffeehouses to today’s digital underwriting rooms. But the transformation we’re experiencing now is deeper than technological change. It’s cultural.

If we position ourselves not only as underwriters but as partners in sustainable progress, we can turn this disruption into purpose. ESG, cyber and geopolitical volatility will continue to test the industry, but they also push marine underwriters to redefine what marine insurance stands for: resilience, innovation and responsibility at sea and ashore.