About 32% of shipping losses last year occurred in Asia, making it the most incident-prone region, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) says.

Bad weather and busy sea routes contributed to a 25% rise to 30 loss incidents.

The East Mediterranean and Black Sea region ranked second with 17 incidents, followed by the British Isles on eight.

Total shipping losses fell 4% to 94 incidents last year – the second-lowest figure in the past 10 years.

“The decline in frequency and severity of total losses over the past year continues the positive trend of the past decade,” AGCS Global Product Leader Hull and Marine Liabilities Baptiste Ossena said.

“Insurance claims have been relatively benign, reflecting improved ship design and the positive effects of risk management policy and safety regulation over time.

“However, as the use of new technologies on vessels grows, we expect to see changes in the maritime loss environment.

“The number of more technical claims will grow – such as cyber incidents or technological defects – in addition to traditional losses, such as collisions or groundings.”