Challenge
Iraq needed modern dredging equipment to renovate hydroelectric dams, improve flood control in villages and cities, rejuvenate irrigation systems for farms, and make rivers more navigable.
Ellicott Dredges LLC of Baltimore, Maryland, is the world’s oldest and largest builder of medium-sized cutter-suction dredges, but as a small business operating in several challenging markets overseas, the company needed to ensure that it would be paid promptly for goods and services rendered.
Solution and Impact
Political risk insurance provided Ellicott Dredges the assurance it needed to sell its equipment to the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity. Ellicott’s dredging equipment has enabled the country to more efficiently supply electricity and ensure navigation for river traffic.
Ellicott has also used political risk insurance to support the sale of its equipment in other countries including Egypt and India, where it was unable to access private insurance. The political risk insurance ensure that these American made dredges are successfully sold and implemented.