Lloyd’s removes Pakistan from war-risk maritime list
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
- Decision to improve the competitiveness of Pakistani exports and strengthen the confidence of international shipping companies
In a major development for Pakistan’s maritime sector, the country and its territorial waters have been removed from the Listed Areas of Lloyd’s Market Association’s Joint War Committee (JWC), a move that will help reduce war-risk insurance premiums and shipping costs, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said on Thursday.
The Joint War Committee Listed Areas are high-risk maritime zones designated by London marine insurers, specifically representing the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) and the International Underwriting Association (IUA).
Describing the development as a historic achievement, the minister, in a statement, said the decision would improve the competitiveness of Pakistani exports and strengthen the confidence of international shipping companies, traders and investors in the country.
He said the move could also make Karachi Port, Port Qasim and Gwadar more attractive to global shipping lines and investors, creating opportunities for regional trade, cargo transit and transhipment.
Chaudhry said the issue was taken up on March 13, 2026, when it was noted that Pakistan and its maritime areas had remained on the JWC’s Listed Areas for decades. Their inclusion had resulted in additional war-risk insurance premiums and surcharges for Pakistani shipping and trade, he said.
The prime minister subsequently constituted a special committee, headed by Junaid Chaudhry, to pursue the matter. The committee held negotiations with Lloyd’s officials and presented Pakistan’s case on the basis of technical evidence and factual data.
The minister said that sustained negotiations eventually resulted in Pakistan being removed from the list.
He said the decision would reduce the additional financial burden on the country’s maritime trade and help Pakistani exports compete more effectively in international markets.
Chaudhry said the development was an important step towards making Pakistan a major regional logistics, transit and transhipment hub.
Reference Link:- https://www.brecorder.com/news/40432548
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
