DFC Unveils $20 Billion Reinsurance Plan for Maritime Risk in the Gulf

• By: Will Jones
• March 11, 2026

Earlier this week, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the U.S. Treasury unveiled a plan to deploy maritime reinsurance, including war risk, in the Gulf region.

The initiative aims to safeguard the continued flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz. The DFC reinsurance facility will insure losses of up to $20 billion on a rolling basis, with the revolving insurance offering applying only to vessels that meet the criteria. Initially, the facility will focus solely on hull & machinery and cargo.

Data from the marine analytics firm IMF Portwatch suggest that about 30,000 ships transit the strait per year, amounting to 82 per day. However, that number has dwindled to only a handful per day after Iran’s move to close the 24-mile stretch of water, leaving more than 150 ships stranded since March 1, according to hormuzstraitmonitor.com.

As the War in Iran and the wider region escalates, three more vessels have been hit ​by unknown projectiles in the Strait, maritime security and risk firms said on Wednesday, bringing the number of ships ‌struck in the region since the Iran conflict began to at least 14.

In an effort to keep trade moving, some ships have resorted to “going dark” to pass the area, which involves switching off their tracking systems to avoid detection.

Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Disruption in the region and trade flowing out of the Persian Gulf has also caused oil and gas prices to fluctuate.

On Wednesday, the U.S. national average for gas ticked up to $3.57 per gallon, according to AAA data, roughly 75 cents higher than at the beginning of 2026.

In an effort to restrain fluctuating crude oil prices, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday recommended the release of 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such move in its history.

“I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary Bessent for their support and approval of DFC’s plan to restore confidence in maritime trade and stabilize international markets, said Ben Black, CEO, DFC.

“Working alongside CENTCOM, DFC coverage will offer a level of security no other policy can provide,” he said. “We are confident that our reinsurance plan will get oil, gasoline, LNG, jet fuel, and fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz and flowing again to the world.”

In recent days, the cost of insuring a ship sailing through the Strait of Hormuz has “soared 12-fold, even backstop trade through the key oil chokepoint,” according to FT, which said shipowners have been quoted millions of dollars for cover to cross the strait or sail in nearby high-risk waters.

Meanwhile, Lloyd’s of London told the paper it will “still provide cover to basically anyone who asks” after criticism over the cancellation of war risk on certain policies and price increases for ships stuck in the Gulf.

Will Jones is IA editor in chief.