What We're Tracking Insurers drop marine war coverage in Russian waters. Most Western insurers for marine traffic will stop providing coverage for war-related risks in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian waters effective Jan. 1, 2023, after reinsurance companies informed insurance companies in December they would stop reinsuring war-related damages. The drop in coverage will result in some tankers refraining from sailing in Russian waters, even in Russia's Far East, or in tankers operating without insurance. This will result in rising shipping costs associated with moving goods — including oil and gas — to and from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Governments may eventually step in with sovereign guarantees to provide coverage, just as countries like Japan have in the past to insure cargoes from Iran when Western insurers were prevented from offering coverage due to Western sanctions.