Share ship-tracking data and create African war-risk insurance for Red Sea trade
Why this matters
On 11 and 12 September 2026 the Houthis took the port of Mocha and Perim island, about 20 kilometres from the African coast. No African leader raised this at the , although five African states lie on the route.
After the Houthis declared a blockade on 21 July, traffic through the strait fell by 30% the next day. Insurance against war damage cost 0.5% of a ship's value, against 0.1% on routes that avoid Yemen. Ships that go around the Cape instead take more than ten extra days. When money costs 20% a year, that delay adds about 0.55% to the value of the cargo.
Today these costs are set by insurers in London, using evidence that African states do not see. A shared African facility would keep some of the insurance money, and the data, on the continent.
Africa has done parts of this before. The , a 2009 agreement against piracy, was widened in 2017 to cover trafficking and illegal fishing. Since 2014 the , an agency, has run a shared insurer for climate disasters.
Sources for this section (11)
- Al Jazeera: the Houthis take the Yemeni shore of the Bab al-Mandeb (opens in a new tab)
- Al Jazeera: traffic and war-risk insurance after the July blockade (opens in a new tab)
- BISI: the cost of Red Sea detours to African trade (opens in a new tab)
- Lloyd's Market Association: the Joint War Committee list of high-risk areas (opens in a new tab)
- IMO: the Djibouti Code of Conduct and the Jeddah Amendment (opens in a new tab)
- African Risk Capacity: about the agency (opens in a new tab)
- Britannia P&I: dates of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (opens in a new tab)
- AfricanLII: the AU decision adopting the maritime strategy in 2014 (opens in a new tab)
- IGAD: maritime safety and security (opens in a new tab)
- Africa Center for Strategic Studies: Kenya and the Djibouti Code (opens in a new tab)
- CNBC Africa: the African Development Bank becomes the largest shareholder in ATIDI (opens in a new tab)
Four levels of action
-
What Africa asks of the world
The Joint War Committee of London insurers marks sea areas as high risk, and its list includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. It should publish the evidence behind the list and review it against shared African tracking data. Members of the , the UN shipping agency, should support the data pool.
- Who
- The Joint War Committee of the Lloyd's Market Association; IMO member states
- When
- IMO Maritime Safety Committee, 14 to 18 December 2026
-
What the African Union does
The uses Africa's maritime strategy to 2050, adopted by AU leaders in January 2014, as its mandate. ATIDI writes the insurance, and the African Development Bank provides capital for the pool.
- Who
- The AU Commission, the African Development Bank and ATIDI
- When
- Study of whether the pool can work, by June 2027
-
What regional groups do
States that signed the 2017 Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code share their tracking data. , the bloc of states in the Horn of Africa, has a maritime security plan to 2030 and hosts the work. Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea did not sign, so they are invited through the Red Sea Council, formed in Riyadh in January 2020.
- Who
- IGAD and the African signatories of the Jeddah Amendment; the Red Sea Council
- When
- By March 2027
-
Which country goes first, and why
Djibouti and Kenya go first. Djibouti sits on the strait, gave the Djibouti Code its name in 2009 and is on the insurers' high-risk list. Kenya signed the Jeddah Amendment and hosts search-and-rescue and training centres for the Code at Mombasa.
- Who
- The governments and port authorities of Djibouti and Kenya
- When
- Monthly port figures from January 2027
Before another country can do this
- Signature of the Jeddah Amendment, or an agreement to share data with the pool.
- A national centre able to send ship-tracking data.
- A law that lets naval data reach a regulated private company.
- Port authorities willing to publish figures on detours and extra charges each month.
What does not carry over from the first country
- Djibouti's place on the strait gives it a view of traffic no other African state has.
- Mombasa's facilities under the Code were built with outside support over many years.
Who else is ready
| Country | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt | It lost about $7 billion in Suez Canal income in 2023 and 2024, and sits on the Red Sea Council. | Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Tanzania | It signed the Jeddah Amendment in 2017. | Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Mozambique | It signed the Jeddah Amendment, and insurers list the waters off Cabo Delgado as high risk. | Source (opens in a new tab) |
| Eritrea | Insurers list it as high risk, and it sits on the Red Sea Council without having signed the Jeddah Amendment. | Source (opens in a new tab) |
Has this worked before?
In the Gulf of Guinea, 25 states signed the Yaoundé Code of Conduct against piracy in 2013. From 2019 Nigeria spent about $200 million on its own maritime security project, Deep Blue. Reported piracy fell from 84 incidents in 2020 to 18 in 2024. The study behind these figures finds that the fall came once Nigeria's own spending took effect, on top of the sharing of information. Shared data works best when a coastal state also pays for its own patrols. Source (opens in a new tab)
Center for Maritime Strategy: piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
First steps
- African UnionATIDI and the African Development Bank order a study of war-risk insurance for cargo bound for Africa, to report by June 2027.
- Regional groupsthe African Jeddah signatories agree through IGAD, by March 2027, to share tracking data with the pool, and invite Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea through the Red Sea Council.
- Djibouti and Kenyathe port authorities of Djibouti and Mombasa publish monthly figures on detours and extra charges from January 2027.
Who acts, and with what
- Who leads
- IGAD and the African signatories of the Djibouti Code, with ATIDI and the African Development Bank; Djibouti and Kenya as first contributors
- Instrument
- A shared data and insurance pool under the Djibouti Code and IGAD
- How progress is checked
- A first insurance policy written on cargo bound for Africa
- Signal to change course
- Insurance costs keep rising and there is still no African alternative
- What stands in the way
- No such product exists today. War damage tends to hit many ships at once, so the pool would need backing from the same London market it competes with. States may refuse to share naval data with private companies.
- Cost and money
- The cost is not yet known. Nigeria's Deep Blue project, the nearest comparison, cost about $200 million. Capital would come from ATIDI, the African Development Bank and port operators, and shippers would pay the premiums.
Who else contributes
| Who | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Navies and coastguards of the Red Sea states | Share tracking data |
| ATIDI | Writes the insurance and leads the study |
| African Development Bank | Provides capital; its $125 million in ATIDI, announced in June 2026, makes it the largest shareholder |
| Port authorities of Djibouti and Mombasa | Host the |
| Shipping lines | Buy the insurance and share voyage data |
What each audience can do
Business and investors
What you can doInvest in the pool and buy its insurance
What you gainLower costs and safer supply
Governments
What you can doSign the Jeddah Amendment and share coastguard data
What you gainSafer trade routes
AU and regional bodies
What you can doPlace the pool under the Djibouti Code and IGAD
What you gainA picture of the seas owned by African states
Social entrepreneurs
What you can doBuild tools that track ships and measure risk
What you gainA market in maritime data
Researchers and media
What you can doPublish shipping and insurance data
What you gainEvidence on what the crisis costs Africa
The briefings behind this
The Houthis
An armed movement that controls much of Yemen, including most of its Red Sea coast. It has attacked ships in the Red Sea since 2023.
Bab al-Mandeb
The narrow strait between Yemen and Djibouti and Eritrea at the southern end of the Red Sea. Before 2023, about a tenth of world sea trade passed through it.
War-risk insurance
Insurance that covers ships against war, piracy and terrorism. A committee of London insurers, the Joint War Committee, lists the sea areas where extra cover must be bought, and its list includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan.
Security and conflict briefingGlossarySource: lmalloyds.com (opens in a new tab)
ATIDI
African Trade and Investment Development Insurance, an insurer owned by 24 African states and other investors. It insures trade and investment in Africa against risks such as war and unpaid debts. The African Development Bank became its largest shareholder in 2026.
UN General Assembly
The meeting of all 193 UN member states, each with one vote. It meets every year from September. It can make statements, elect members of other bodies and approve the UN budget, but most of what it says does not bind governments.
Djibouti Code of Conduct
An agreement made in 2009 under the UN shipping agency to fight piracy in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The 2017 Jeddah Amendment widened it to cover trafficking, illegal fishing and other crimes at sea.
Security and conflict briefingGlossarySource: imo.org (opens in a new tab)
African Risk Capacity
An African Union agency, set up in 2012, that helps governments plan for and respond to droughts and other disasters. Its sister company sells drought insurance to African governments and pays out when agreed conditions are met.
Our recommendation on thisFood and agriculture briefingGlossarySource: arc.int (opens in a new tab)
African Union (AU)
The organisation of 55 African states, based in Addis Ababa. Its heads of state meet each February. It can suspend members after a coup.
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
The UN agency that sets rules for shipping, including safety and security at sea.
African Union Commission
The African Union's secretariat. It prepares decisions for heads of state and carries them out.
IGAD
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a bloc of eight states in the Horn of Africa and East Africa.
Data centres and compute
Buildings full of computers that store data and run AI. Their size is measured in megawatts (MW) of electricity. "Compute" means the computing power needed to build and run AI.
Words used on this page
- The Houthis
- An armed movement that controls much of Yemen, including most of its Red Sea coast. It has attacked ships in the Red Sea since 2023. Security and conflict briefing · Glossary
- Bab al-Mandeb
- The narrow strait between Yemen and Djibouti and Eritrea at the southern end of the Red Sea. Before 2023, about a tenth of world sea trade passed through it. Security and conflict briefing · Glossary
- War-risk insurance
- Insurance that covers ships against war, piracy and terrorism. A committee of London insurers, the Joint War Committee, lists the sea areas where extra cover must be bought, and its list includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. Security and conflict briefing · Glossary · Source: lmalloyds.com
- ATIDI
- African Trade and Investment Development Insurance, an insurer owned by 24 African states and other investors. It insures trade and investment in Africa against risks such as war and unpaid debts. The African Development Bank became its largest shareholder in 2026. Glossary · Source: cnbcafrica.com
- UN General Assembly
- The meeting of all 193 UN member states, each with one vote. It meets every year from September. It can make statements, elect members of other bodies and approve the UN budget, but most of what it says does not bind governments. Glossary · Source: un.org
- Djibouti Code of Conduct
- An agreement made in 2009 under the UN shipping agency to fight piracy in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The 2017 Jeddah Amendment widened it to cover trafficking, illegal fishing and other crimes at sea. Security and conflict briefing · Glossary · Source: imo.org
- African Risk Capacity
- An African Union agency, set up in 2012, that helps governments plan for and respond to droughts and other disasters. Its sister company sells drought insurance to African governments and pays out when agreed conditions are met. Our recommendation on this · Food and agriculture briefing · Glossary · Source: arc.int
- African Union (AU)
- The organisation of 55 African states, based in Addis Ababa. Its heads of state meet each February. It can suspend members after a coup. Glossary · Source: au.int
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- The UN agency that sets rules for shipping, including safety and security at sea. Glossary · Source: imo.org
- African Union Commission
- The African Union's secretariat. It prepares decisions for heads of state and carries them out. Glossary
- IGAD
- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a bloc of eight states in the Horn of Africa and East Africa. Glossary · Source: igad.int
- Data centres and compute
- Buildings full of computers that store data and run AI. Their size is measured in megawatts (MW) of electricity. "Compute" means the computing power needed to build and run AI. AI and technology briefing · Glossary