The powerful London-based Lloyds insurance market said it has removed the Malacca Straits from its list of sea lanes with a war risk rating following an improvement in security.
Lloyds Market Association said the decision by the Joint War Committee was made following efforts by states that border the Straits — Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia — to resolve the “long-standing security threat in the area.”
“The committee is now of the opinion that the evidence has shown that not only has the situation improved within the area, but the measures are long term,” it said in a statement issued in London.
U.S. and Asian officials have long warned about the terror threat in the piracy-prone Straits — the vital trade route that links the Indian and Pacific Oceans that carries about 40 percent of the world’s trade.
The body of water was first added to the Hull, War, Strikes, Terrorism and Related Perils Listed Areas in June 2005.
Lloyds Market Association indicated in January that there had been a significant improvement in the area in terms of security and said Tuesday that independent research by Aegis, a firm of independent third party security analysts, had confirmed continued progress.
The Joint War Committee is made up of marine hull war underwriters from the Lloyd’s and company markets.
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