A cash-based illustration of the risk that ports and terminals face for insurance claims was highlighted by the explosion of a toxic chemical warehouse in Tianjin.
This resulted in not just an immediate catastrophic event in which over 100 people died, but also led to a massive amount in subsequent insurance claims.
Estimates of the sheer enormity of the insurance liabilities put this disaster in the same class as the Costa Concordia cruise ship grounding off the Italian coast, which led to the equivalent of about R27 billion in claims.
Credit Suisse, for example, estimated losses from the Tianjin accident at between R13.5bn and R20.25bn, while ratings agency Fitch said it could exceed this estimate.
