Providing insurance coverage for ships in inhospitable and remote waters remains a dicey proposition at best, as the cost of claims from a grounding, spill or other incident can run hundreds of millions of dollars. As the warming global climate has opened new sea routes through the Arctic and shipping companies are taking advantage of new opportunities and cost savings, insurers are still reluctant to write policies to cover potential problems because of numerous risks associated with operating in these areas. Those risks run the gamut: routes constantly shift amid the melting ice and are poorly mapped, extreme cold causes engine and systems problems, search-and-rescue resources often aren't readily available, spotty satellite coverage results in less accurate positional information, weather reports often are inaccurate, and so on.
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