Among all the world’s ports, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge is ranked as having the eighth-highest risk of insurance losses due to catastrophe, according to a new report by risk management firm RMS. The port is at risk of sustaining an estimated $800 million loss in marine cargo should a catastrophe occur, according to the report released this morning.
RMS says six of the top 10 ports in the report, which was issued to coincide with the the first anniversary of China’s Tianjin Port disaster, are located in the United States. The Tianjin explosion cost $3 billion.
The Plaquemines Port is ranked third on the list, with an estimated marine cargo loss of $1.5 billion. The Port of New Orleans is ranked fifth, with an estimated loss potential of $1 billion.
“Surprisingly, a port’s size and its catastrophe loss potential are not strongly correlated. For example, while China may be king for volume of container traffic, our study found that many smaller U.S. ports rank more highly for risk—largely due to hurricanes,” says Chris Folkman, director of product management at RMS. “Our analysis proves what we’ve long suspected—that outdated techniques and incomplete data have obscured many high-risk locations. The industry needs to cease its guessing game when determining catastrophe risk and port accumulations.”
A port in Nagoya, Japan, topped the list with an estimated $2.3 billion in potential marine cargo loss. Other ports at risk are located in Pascagoula, Mississippi; Beaumont and Houston, Texas; as well as China, France and Germany.
