COSCO: Gov't insurer likely to cover embargoed Iranian oil

China Ocean Shipping Group Company (known as Cosco Group), the country’s largest ocean-cargo carrier, said there is a “big chance” a government-supported insurer will underwrite oil shipments from Iran so European trade sanctions do not disrupt deliveries, Bloomberg reported. The government may have a state-owned insurer cover Cosco’s ships, though it’s not yet clear when arrangements will be confirmed, Meng Qinglin, managing director at Cosco Groups’s tanker unit Dalian Ocean Shipping Co, said in a phone interview Tuesday. China is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil, and Meng said Beijing will take steps to ensure EU sanctions will not stop supplies after July 1. Meng claimed that China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association, or China P&I Club, will probably continue to underwrite tankers shipping Iranian oil, contradicting a report by Reuters last week. “I don’t believe China P&I would make such a hasty decision,” Meng said.