JWC Listed Areas Tracker.

The Joint War Committee updates the Listed Areas list at its discretion. Areas shown on this page reflect the most recently published JWC notice known to our editorial team. Verify directly with the JWC or your underwriter before relying on this page for placement decisions.

What is the Joint War Committee?

The Joint War Committee is a standing body formed by Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) and the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA). It has no regulatory authority, issues no binding orders, and does not set premiums. What it does — and why the global marine insurance market treats its decisions as authoritative — is maintain the Listed Areas list: a periodically updated schedule of waterways and coastal zones where the threat of war, hostile acts, or the consequences of war is judged to be materially elevated.

The Committee draws on intelligence from the Lloyd's market, government assessments, and other specialist sources. Membership reflects the underwriting community, not shipowners, flag states, or cargo interests. Its mandate is to inform underwriting, not to direct it — but in practice, a Listed Area designation functions as a market-wide signal that triggers standard hull and cargo war policy provisions.

The JWC is not the only body whose designations carry market weight. The International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) publishes its own market intelligence. P&I clubs — through their War Risk Pooling Agreement — maintain separate but overlapping geographic designations. Underwriters at individual Lloyd's syndicates and company market insurers apply their own assessments. However, the JWC Listed Areas list remains the most widely cited reference for hull and cargo war risk policy provisions.

How the Listed Areas list works

Most standard hull war risk policies and cargo war risk policies are written with automatic termination or notice provisions triggered by entry into a Listed Area. The two mechanisms most commonly encountered in market wordings are:

Automatic Termination. Coverage under the war extension terminates automatically — typically at midnight on the seventh day following the date the vessel enters a Listed Area, unless the underwriter has agreed to extend coverage by endorsement and collected any applicable Additional War Premium (AWP). The policyholder must notify the underwriter before or immediately upon entry.

Additional War Premium (AWP). For voyages into Listed Areas that underwriters are prepared to cover, an AWP is assessed on top of the annual war risk premium. AWP rates vary significantly by zone, vessel type, vessel age, flag state, and trading history. In active conflict zones, AWP rates have moved sharply within days of a specific incident. The Red Sea AWP spike following the escalation of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in late 2023 and through 2024 demonstrated how rapidly the market can reprice a zone, with rates rising by an order of magnitude over pre-crisis benchmarks.

Removal from the listed areas. Delisting is not automatic on cessation of hostilities. The JWC applies a lag — it requires evidence that the threat has materially subsided before removing a designation. The Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA), originally designated in response to Somali piracy, was progressively modified through the early 2020s and ultimately removed following years of reduced incident frequency. That delisting took effect after sustained suppression of the piracy threat, coordinated naval presence, and underwriter reassessment — a process measured in years, not months.

What triggers a new listing

The JWC does not publish a formal threshold for listing. In practice, the following types of events have preceded new designations or expansions of existing listed zones:

• Direct attacks on merchant vessels in or transiting a defined waterway
• Government-issued warnings or naval advisories affecting commercial routing
• Mining or mine-laying confirmed or credibly suspected in a waterway
• State-on-state conflict extending to maritime commerce (seizure, detention, or destruction of civilian vessels)
• Sustained threat posture by a non-state actor with demonstrated capability to strike commercial shipping

A single incident in an otherwise stable area does not typically trigger immediate listing, though it may prompt underwriters to apply informal AWP requirements ahead of any official JWC action. Conversely, the JWC has in some cases moved quickly — within days — when events warrant. The market may move before the JWC does.

Currently listed and elevated-risk zones

The following regions have been subject to JWC Listed Areas designation or elevated market risk assessment. This list is informational only and may not reflect the most current JWC publication. Always verify with your underwriter or the LMA/IUA directly.

Red Sea (Southern) and Gulf of Aden

Designated and subject to significant AWP surcharges since the escalation of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping beginning in late 2023. The southern Red Sea — broadly the waters south of approximately 15°N — and the Gulf of Aden have seen AWP rates reach levels not recorded since the peak of the Somali piracy period. Many major carriers and charterers have diverted vessels around the Cape of Good Hope rather than pay AWP and transit the zone. The diversion adds roughly 10–14 days to typical Asia–Europe voyage times, with exact differentials depending on origin and destination.

Coverage for vessels transiting this zone requires affirmative underwriter agreement, proper notification, and AWP payment before entry. Standard war extension provisions do not automatically follow a vessel into this zone without endorsement.

Black Sea

Designated since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both the Black Sea broadly and specific sub-regions (Ukrainian ports, the Kerch Strait approach, waters adjacent to conflict operations) have carried Listed Areas status and elevated AWP throughout the conflict period. Ukrainian grain corridor operations — including the Black Sea Grain Initiative corridor that operated from July 2022 until Russia's withdrawal in mid-2023 — operated under specific insurance arrangements negotiated on a voyage basis. AWP for Black Sea voyages remains elevated relative to pre-2022 benchmarks.

Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf (Northern Approaches)

The Strait of Hormuz and portions of the northern Persian Gulf have maintained Listed Areas designation or elevated underwriter attention for an extended period reflecting the ongoing risk of vessel seizure or interference by Iranian naval or IRGC-affiliated forces. A recurring pattern of vessel seizures, detentions, and interference incidents has sustained market awareness of this exposure. AWP for tankers transiting the Strait is a meaningful ongoing cost for operators on Middle East export routes.

Parts of the Indian Ocean (Historical Context)

The Indian Ocean High Risk Area — a large box encompassing the waters most affected by Somali-based piracy — was among the most consequential JWC designations of the 2008–2020 period. The HRA represented a significant AWP burden for any vessel trading east of Suez through the region. Following the suppression of the piracy threat, the designation was progressively modified and ultimately removed. The removal reduced AWP costs materially for affected trade lanes. Residual watch-list status may apply to specific corridors; verify with underwriters for any planned passage.

Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea — covering the West African coastline from Senegal to Angola, with the highest incident concentration around Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea — carries a distinct risk profile: kidnap for ransom of crew members rather than vessel seizure or cargo theft. The threat is not classified as war risk in the traditional sense but triggers K&R policy provisions and may affect war extension wording depending on the specific incident characterization. Lloyd's market underwriters and specialist K&R insurers maintain active watch on this region, supported by IMB, IUMI, and Oceans Beyond Piracy incident reporting.

Other Zones Under Watch

The following zones are tracked by specialist underwriters and may carry informal AWP requirements or underwriter-specific limitations even absent a formal JWC designation:

• Taiwan Strait (elevated risk of commercial vessel interference in a hypothetical conflict scenario — underwriters are increasingly factoring this exposure into rating discussions for vessels with regular Taiwan calls)
• South China Sea (specific sub-regions, enforcement incident risk)
• Socotra Island approaches (residual Houthi operational range)

What Listed Areas status means for your premium

The practical effect of a JWC Listed Areas designation depends on your policy wording, your vessel's trade pattern, and the underwriter's current appetite for the zone.

At the time of placement, expect your underwriter to ask detailed questions about trading areas. A vessel expected to transit Listed Areas will not obtain standard war risk premium rates. The war risk premium will reflect the zone exposure, voyage frequency, and any deductible or coverage limit adjustments the underwriter requires.

During the policy period, entry into a new Listed Area — one added after your policy was bound — triggers the notification and AWP requirement regardless of when the policy was issued. Failure to notify before entry is a breach of policy conditions and may void coverage for any claim arising from the transit.

At renewal, a policy year that included Listed Areas transits will be reflected in the underwriter's assessment. Consistent trading in elevated-risk zones increases renewal premium over time. A material de-escalation in a key zone — as occurred following the HRA delisting in 2023 — can produce meaningful premium relief at renewal.

Working with a specialist

The JWC Listed Areas framework is the foundation of marine war risk underwriting, but it does not operate in isolation. P&I war risk, cargo war risk, and hull war risk policies interact in ways that require careful coordination. A vessel may have hull war coverage in a zone while its cargo owner's policy excludes the same zone under different wording. K&R coverage for the crew may require separate notification and endorsement.

A specialist marine war risk broker manages these interactions, tracks JWC updates between renewals, and ensures that AWP obligations are met before any transit rather than discovered after a claim.

Speak with a marine war risk specialist →