• Evgeni Simeonov, Lukoil's special commercial manager in Bulgaria, reportedly told Bulgarian National Television on Monday, October 12, 2026 that per-vessel Black Sea oil insurance rose from about $200,000 to $2.5 million.
• The figure is a single executive's statement relayed by OilPrice.com, which dates the rise only to 'recent months'. It is not an audited market rate, and the report does not say whether it covers a voyage or a policy period.
• Al Jazeera reported that drones hit two commercial vessels in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone on October 6, 2026, and that the Alfa Watan sank. The origin of the drones had not been established.
• OilPrice.com, citing Reuters, reports London insurers widened the Black Sea high-risk reporting area in September 2026 and that war-risk premiums were adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to seven-day voyages, well below $2.5 million.
• Simeonov said the Burgas refinery has had no cancelled crude deliveries and supply is secured into early December, so the pressure he describes is on cost, not availability.

Insurance for oil moving across the Black Sea has reportedly jumped from about $200,000 to $2.5 million per vessel in recent months. The number comes from one Lukoil manager speaking to Bulgarian National Television on Monday, October 12, 2026, as relayed by OilPrice.com that day. It is not a published market rate. It does show how attacks on commercial shipping are moving the cost conversation for crude deliveries into Bulgaria, a small but exposed node in global crude logistics.

What was reported

Evgeni Simeonov, described by OilPrice.com as Lukoil's special commercial manager in Bulgaria, said per-vessel insurance for oil shipments rose from about $200,000 to $2.5 million. By simple arithmetic that is a 12.5-fold increase. OilPrice.com reports he tied the rise to repeated attacks on commercial shipping and said it adds pressure on Bulgarian fuel prices. The report gives no start date beyond 'recent months', and we have not seen an insurer quote confirming the figure.

Why the figure needs caution

Treat the number as an estimate. It comes from one executive and reached us through a news outlet. The report does not say whether the charge covers a single voyage, a policy period or a particular cargo size, and it does not say who bears it, the cargo owner or the refiner. Without that, the retail fuel-price effect cannot be sized, and we do not attempt to size it.

The physical risk behind the repricing

The attack risk is documented. Al Jazeera reported that at about 3am on October 6, 2026, drones struck two commercial vessels about 70 nautical miles off Bulgaria. The Togo-flagged Alfa Watan sank and the Palau-flagged Able caught fire; all 18 Able crew were evacuated. Prime Minister Rumen Radev said shipping disruption is raising insurance costs. The drones' origin had not been established, so this analysis names no attacker.

How the London market has responded

OilPrice.com, citing a Reuters report dated September 18, 2026, says London's marine insurance market widened its Black Sea high-risk reporting area to the whole basin. Voyages inside the territorial waters of Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey are exempt. It adds that war-risk premiums were adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to seven-day voyages. We have not read the Reuters report ourselves. That level is well below $2.5 million, which is why the headline figure needs corroboration.

What to watch next

Three checks matter: published war-risk quotes from brokers or underwriters, any claim of responsibility or official finding on the October 6 strikes, and whether the Burgas refinery keeps receiving cargoes. Simeonov said no crude deliveries have been cancelled and supply is secured into early December, per OilPrice.com. Freight was already stretched: OilPrice.com, citing Bloomberg, reports a record $440,948 daily tanker rate on the Novorossiysk-to-Augusta route in August 2026. This is analysis, not advice, as of October 13, 2026.