Lloyd's List: The Shipping Podcast

Shadow fleet vessels are returning to mainstream trade, drawn by a freight market that owners are eager to tap. But how long does a ship’s past follow it? At the Lloyd’s List Intelligence New York City Outlook Forum, sanctions specialists said there is no clear limit on when past behaviour is wiped. Any return to the mainstream will also be limited by ownership, conduct and whether a vessel is serviceable and insurable. In part two of this episode from New York, we ask why vessels are leaving the shadow fleet, how far back a ship’s history matters, and why recycling them is harder than it sounds. Joining senior reporter Joshua Minchin on this week’s podcast are: Richard Meade — editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List Claire O’Neil McCleskey — founding partner, Clarity Compliance Consulting Claire Grunewald — founding partner, Clarity Compliance Consulting Manny Levitt — international trade attorney, Holland & Knight LLP Tomer Raanan — senior maritime intelligence analyst, Lloyd’s List Intelligence

Hydrex CEO Boud Van Rompay says shipowners and insurers should assess underwater repair options before committing to full salvage. The approach aims to restore vessels safely and quickly while reducing disruption and expense

Vessels continue to transit the Strait of Hormuz and they continue to be attacked: so how much longer can this go on for? At the Lloyd's List Intelligence New York City Outlook Forum, analysts discussed the security situation and explained that the level of support being provided by the US is not sustainable forever, with a bill to be paid eventually. And for those oil producing nations around the gulf, their reliance on the Strait of Hormuz has been made quite apparent to them in recent months. Yet according to some in New York, their options for alternative export lanes are limited by internal struggles and simple geography. So where does that leave us? In part one of this episode from New York, we examine why Iran wants transits to be expensive, ask how much longer the US can sustain its support, and find out why pipelines aren't the easy answer they appear. Joining senior reporter Joshua Minchin on this week’s podcast are: Richard Meade, editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List Joshua Tallis, research program director, ally and partner security affairs, CNA Corporation Noam Raydan, senior research fellow, The Washington Institute For Near East Policy

With available ship recycling tonnage scarce, leading recyclers are offering attractive prices, says the vice-president and green recycling coordinator for cash buyer Wirana. For the longer term, he reflects on some regulatory developments likely to reach conclusions in the coming months

THERE’S been quite a bit more optimism around nuclear power. There is hope that next-gen small modular reactors made on a shipyard-based assembly line will enable fast, zero-emissions shipping, with far less refuelling. The US government is getting behind this in a big way. Its Department of Transport has signed a deal with British start-up Core Power to come up with a framework for nuclear merchant ships, including the potential for specialist nuclear shipyards. The Port of Houston is looking at floating nuclear power, and the energy department is looking into all sorts of future maritime applications. None of this is about decarbonisation; energy dominance is the new buzzword. But there are still big questions about whether nuclear can succeed. Joining Declan to discuss the viability of nuclear shipping are: Mikal Bøe, chief executive, Core Power Farah Bziker, research fellow, University College London Professor Stephen Thomas, emeritus professor of energy policy, University of Greenwich

International insecurity is placing seafarer welfare under increasing pressure. This podcast, featuring London P&I, outlines risks and priorities for owners, clubs and crews

Container shipping’s orderbook looks significant, tanker contracting is rising again and dry bulk is becoming more top-heavy — but Lloyd’s List markets editor Rob Willmington says the headline numbers only tell part of the story

Data lies behind virtually all decisions and calculations related to vessel performance, yet errors can easily creep in, says Selin Sari, a product manager at StormGeo. In this podcast, she explores where data quality can go wrong and why getting the data right is critical to making better performance and commercial decisions. She also considers the role of AI and human expertise in interpreting vessel performance data

Record premiums, softening rates and war risk dominated debate at IUMI 2026, and Lloyd’s List’s marine insurance editor David Osler was there to find out whether there’s more to the eye-catching numbers being discussed

Any company planning to incorporate AI into its operations should start with a clear plan and set of objectives, Ben Thurecht, chief technology officer at maritime freight management solution provider Veson Nautical, advises in this podcast

WEATHER risk is increasing for shipping. In part one of this episode, we highlighted some particular hotspots to watch out for in the near-term future and laid out how more regions of the globe will be affected by changing weather in the long-term future. This week, Lloyd’s List senior reporter Joshua Minchin asks how stakeholders can mitigate their risk and avoid being disrupted by weather affecting sites a few links up or down the supply chain. Joining Joshua on this week’s podcast are: Mike Yarwood, managing director – loss prevention, TT Club Eirik Hooper, senior associate – ports and terminals, Drewry Shipping Consultants Drew Lerner, founder, World Weather

As chief executive of international towage and marine services company Svitzer, Kasper Friis Nilaus has identified opportunities to improve performance at many ports where the company operates. In this podcast, he shares his ideas for achieving greater efficiency

This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast is brought to you by Veson ASK the compliance team of a major shipping company what the biggest risk to their business is and they might say its sanctions. Ask the security officer and they’ll likely say geopolitical uncertainty and conflict. But ask the operations manager and they might give you a different answer: the weather. Weather risk is something that is assessed by people working hard in shipping offices and on board vessels all over the world, but it has been catapulted into the headlines in recent months amid drought in Europe and a so-called “Super El Nino” phenomenon currently unfolding across the Pacific. How is extreme weather affecting the way vessels operate? What can we expect from El Nino in the coming months? Should we be braced for low water levels across river systems in the future? Joining Joshua on this week’s episode are: Drew Lerner, founder, World Weather Chris Aversano, partnership lead, Wood Mackenzie Eirik Hooper, senior associate ports and terminals, Drewry

This episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast is brought to you by Veson. To find out more visit www.veson.com FIFTEEN years ago, Somali piracy was one of the biggest stories in mainstream news, not just shipping. That may be hard to fathom today, with threats stretching from the Gulf and Red Sea to the Black Sea, which has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for seafarers in recent weeks. Yet between 2010 and 2012, Somali pirates hijacked almost 100 vessels, according to the International Maritime Bureau. By 2013, that number had fallen to zero and remained there through 2016. In fact, just two major commercial vessels were hijacked between 2013 and 2023. What was once the biggest risk to commercial shipping was successfully repelled through international cooperation, but in recent months there is evidence to suggest that Somali piracy is once again on the rise. Six commercial vessels have been hijacked since the start of 2026, including sanctioned Sibu 1 which was hijacked in late August. Rather chillingly, the crew changed its location on its automatic identification system to “pirates onboard help”. The increase in attacks is concerning, but suspicious approaches and occasional hijackings have occurred periodically over the past few years. Many were viewed as isolated incidents, often attributed to a single pirate group acquiring a mothership and exploiting an opportunity. Is this a proper resurgence? Is Somali piracy really back? Joining Joshua on the podcast this week are: Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano, Eunavfor Operation Atalanta Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer, Bimco

In previous editions of the Lloyd’s List Top 100 Container Ports, scale has been king. The more boxes you can handle, the higher up the rankings you will be. But in 2026, the ability to adapt, solve problems and present carriers with alternatives in an age where the shocks keep on coming is proving almost as important as the number of cranes you have available. Deputy editor Linton Nightingale talks through the key takeaways from this year’s rankings, including why the geography of container shipping is shifting and why one simple decision from a major carrier can make or break a port’s fortunes.

This episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast is brought to you by Wirana THERE is plenty of risk in the tanker market today. The Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea and Black Sea have become very dangerous places to operate vessels, but for those who take the risk on, the rewards are substantial. Lloyd’s List senior reporter Greg Miller speaks to International Seaways chief executive officer Lois Zabrocky and chief financial officer Jeffrey Pribor to understand how they choose to deploy their fleet of 64 crude and product tankers. How much is too much risk? And How is this tanker cycle different from the last supercycle we saw in the 2000s? Listen to find out.

This episode is brought to you by Wirana This second episode of a year-long series by the Middle East Vice President and Green Recycling Coordinator at the Singapore-based cash buyer Wirana, Hitesh Vyas, reflects on market developments and outlines the possibility of a significant change in the EU’s attitude to Asian recycling yards.

SHIPOWNERS have stopped asking when the strait of Hormuz is going to open. Instead, they’re asking if it will open by the end of the year, or even further into the future. Military escalation might have ceased for a variety of reasons, but the situation has settle into somewhat of a stalemate. The US wants to avoid the conflict getting hotter, especially before the upcoming elections, while Iran might well think time is on its side in this particular battle. Which begs the question: where are the off-ramps coming from? To answer that question, we’re bringing you highlights of our weekly webinar, in which our analysts discuss the volume and type of traffic passing through the chokepoint, as well as how the Chinese market is assessing the risk in the middle east right now. Joining editor-in-chief Richard Meade on the podcast this week are: • Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director, Lloyd’s List Intelligence • Cichen Shen, maritime intelligence director – APAC, Lloyd’s List Intelligence • Dina Arakji, analyst, Control Risks

IN 1956 the SS Ideal X sailed from New Jersey to Houston with 58 containers on board, marking the birth of modern commercial container shipping. Malcom McClean’s vision of unitized, efficient and relatively cheap global freight has evolved into a global network, criss-crossing the world’s oceans to connect businesses with consumers across continents. Has there been a more important innovation in global trade? What would Malcom McClean say if he walked into a modern container terminal? And is the everyday consumer aware of just how much their lives have been changed by the development of the shipping container? Joining Joshua on the Lloyd’s List podcast are: Joe Kramek, chief executive, World Shipping Council Henning Morgen, group historian, Maersk

SHIPPING is attempting to navigate three distinct, but increasingly overlapping conflicts at present. The resumption of Houthi violence in the Red Sea can be added to the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war in the Black Sea. This episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast brings you highlights from our weekly webinar, chaired by editor-in-chief Richard Meade, in which we discussed whether the Houthis really have the power or capability to attack ships en masse again, plus our senior reporter Greg Miller gives a comprehensive overview of how the tanker market is responding to the crises. Joining Richard on the podcast are: Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director, Lloyd’s List Greg Miller, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List Ian Ralby, founder, IR Consilium

IT’S been years of waiting and lobbying, but we finally have Europe’s proposals for how the EU Emissions Trading System will look beyond 2030. The European Commission has released its long list of proposals for how to reform the cap-and-trade scheme, including how much shipping pays, and how much of the proceeds it gets back. Shipowners, like most European businesses, have to buy and surrender credits called allowances for each tonne of carbon they emit. The industry reckons it will pay about 90 billion euros into the scheme between 2030 and 2040, and it wants that money reinvested in decarbonisation. To remedy that, the European Commission wants to include earmarking 110 million allowances in a mechanism called Sustainable Maritime Alternative Propulsion, or SMAP, to subsidise low and zero-emission fuels. That’s about ten billion euros, give or take. It will crack down on evasive port calls by including some 20 more neighbouring non-EU ports in the schem. And it will also cover smaller vessels, with the minimum gross tonnage limit lowered from 5000 to just 400. Are the revisions fair? Has shipping got what it’s asked for? To find out, Lloyd’s List senior editor Declan Bush is joined by: Sotiris Raptis, secretary general of European Shipowners Simon Bergulf, vice president for environment and climate, World Shipping Council Delphine Kaczorowski, EU advocacy manager, Opportunity Green

SHIPPING has another hotspot to worry about, and it’s a familiar one. Reports that the Houthis were preparing to attack commercial shipping were proven correct after at least one Saudi-linked vessel was attacked in the Red Sea yesterday. This week’s podcast comes from Lloyd’s List’s weekly webinar, which usually focusses on the Strait of Hormuz, but this time also looks at the impact of violence resuming in the Red Sea and where vessels that have already been diverted once would go to then. Joining Joshua on this week’s episode are: Bridget Diakun, maritime intelligence and research director, Lloyd’s List Matthew Rajendra, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List Crystal Chan, principal analyst, Infospectrum Listen to this week's webinar here: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/5431828/8E1ADBE115D62A0FD8046D6F13A32E5A

LESS than a month after its introduction, the US revoked General License X, the waiver allowing the sale and transport of Iranian oil granted in the wake of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries. Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade and maritime risk analyst Tomer Raanan speak to several sanctions experts to find out if the short-lived waiver benefitted anyone, and why it will take more than just a stroke of the pen to undo decades of legislation aimed at crippling the Iranian economy. Joining the podcast this week are: • Claire O'Neill McCleskey, co-founder, Clarity Consultancy • Claire Grunewald, co-founder, Clarity Consultancy • Leigh Hansson, partner, Reed Smith

The new shipbuilding supercycle: Cyclical upswing or structural shift? by Lloyd's List

To mark 2026’s Day of the Seafarer, this edition of the Lloyd’s List podcast asks what shipping has learned from the Strait of Hormuz crisis from a seafarer perspective. Perhaps most importantly, he asks experts whether crews feel empowered to exercise their right to refuse to transit if they feel unsafe, and learns more about how associations and unions are seeking to improve welfare and mental health support during crises. Joining Matt on this week’s podcast are: Helio Vicente, employment affairs director, International Chamber of Shipping Anil Devli, chief executive, Indian National Shipowners Association Captain Sundeep Sequeria, chair, seafarers’ factors workgroup, Singapore Shipping Association Peter Rouch, secretary general, The Mission to Seafarers Learn more about Lloyd's List Intelligence at https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/

It is a seller’s market at the moment in the ship recycling sector, thanks to a shortage of tonnage. But Hitesh Vyas of the Singapore-based cash buyer Wirana says in this first of six podcasts that this could change, depending on the outcome of the situation in the Gulf.

This episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast is brough to you by Veson. Visit www.veson.com for more information Open, closed, and now open again? Optimism that traffic might return to something resembling normality fairly quickly turned to uncertainty again as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard proclaimed the Strait of Hormuz closed on Saturday. It accused the US of not following its agreement and cited Israeli strikes on Lebanon as rationale for closing the strait again. How, as a shipowner, do you begin to decide whether to transit the strait or return to the Middle East Gulf? Will you have to pay a toll? What are investors making of the uncertainty? To answer those questions, Lloyd’s List senior reporter Joshua Minchin was joined by: • Richard Meade, editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List • Cichen Shen, Asia Pacific editor, Lloyd’s List • Tomer Raanan, maritime risk analyst, Lloyd’s List

Trusted data is essential for shipping to get the best from the AI revolution, argues Russ Hubbard, Chief Commercial Officer of Veson Nautical. In this podcast, he explains why that is the case and considers the future impact of further AI implementation on maritime companies and their personnel.

IT’S now been two years since the EU Emissions Trading System was extended to shipping. But it hasn’t always been a happy relationship. Shipowners are not necessarily keen paying extra taxes, especially the green variety. Meanwhile operators in Asia are not fond of having to create accounts in EU countries to report and pay their emissions bills, without seeing any of the revenue. On the other side, greens don’t like the ETS because the extra cost per tonne — about €70 to €80 ($81 to $93) over the past year — isn’t enough to make switching to greener fuels worthwhile. Shipping’s share of ETS credits is about sixty to eighty million a year – less than 10% of the market, so the price of those allowances is outside the industry’s control. It’s considered a good regulation for emissions on land, but a poor one for emissions at sea. But now, an opportunity for change is on the horizon. To find out what changes shipping wants, Lloyd’s List senior reporter Declan Bush spoke to World Shipping Council vice president of environment and climate, Simon Bergulf.

This episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast is brought to you by Veson. Visit www.veson.com for more information EVERY year, seafarers are held for months on end on suspicion of crimes that ultimately, there is little evidence they had anything to do with. Whether its pollution events or, as is increasingly common, suspected drug smuggling, crew are often the only potential perpetrators investigators can lay their hands on. So is there a lot the industry can do to stop this? Once seafarers do land themselves on the wrong side of the law, how can flag states intercede on their behalf? Joining Joshua on the podcast this week are: Ben Bailey, director of programme, Mission to Seafarers Kiran Khosla, principal legal director, International Chamber of Shipping Eleni Antoniadou, lawyer, Gard Leo Bolivar, country manager, Marshall Islands Registry

ATTEND any one of the multiple receptions and parties thrown in Athens this week and you would not walk away necessarily thinking anyone in shipping is remotely worried. A packed exhibition with the whole spectrum of industry stakeholders demonstrated shipping’s diversity and vibrance, but quietly, over coffees in corners, there was tangible concern. Markets are good at the moment, ask any tanker owner, but the undercurrent of caution was palpable. On this week’s episode of the podcast are: • Joshua Minchin, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List • Linton Nightingale, deputy editor, Lloyd’s List • Declan Bush, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast is brought to you by Veson SHIPPING is resilient, and many will tell you it thrives on volatility, but the number of and frequency of crises is taking its toll. It’s also preventing the industry from having honest conversations about other, equally meaningful and perhaps even more treacherous problems coming down the track. Are we going to run out of seafarers? Do we really understand AI? Do regulators listen to shipowners and how long can we expect what some are calling the next supercycle to last? Joining Joshua on this week’s podcast from Capital Link are: Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Costas Delaportas, chief executive, Drydel Shipping Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, chief executive maritime, DNV Andy McKeran, chief growth officer, Lloyd's Register Joshua Divin, senior vice president maritime business development, American Bureau of Shipping Polys Hajioannou, chief executive officer, Safe Bulkers Sotiris Raptis, secretary general, European Shipowners

Speak to a shipowner about bunker supply at the moment, and you’ll find a spectrum of responses. Some are remarkably calm: nothing to worry about, supply is healthy despite the still closed Strait of Hormuz. Yes you might have to pay a bit more, but that’s shipping and you can still operate effectively. Others are decidedly less optimistic. For them, the Strait of Hormuz represents a real threat to bunker supply in major hubs around the world, and spiraling pricing could make some voyages unprofitable altogether. So what’s the reality? Should you be worried about supply? Is quality suffering as a result of scarcity? And how has this latest geopolitical crisis affected how bunkering works as a sector? Joining Joshua on the podcast are: • Alexander Prokopakis, executive director, International Bunker Industry Association • Kenneth Dam, executive director, TFG • Peter Grünwaldt, head of bunkering, Hafnia • Matthew Rajendra, senior reporter, Lloyd's List Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/

You can throw almost every outlook or prediction made for the tanker market in 2026 in the garbage, says Lloyd’s List senior reporter Greg Miller. After all, the US-Iran war and ensuing Strait of Hormuz crisis is perhaps the black swan to end all black swans for the market. More than two months later, the chokepoint remains closed: so what happens to tanker stocks now? To find out, Greg spoke to Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Robertson, who ran through the year so far for tanker stocks and offered some insight as to what might be in store if the crisis continues into late 2026.

THIS week’s edition of the Lloyd’s List podcast looks at the longer-term impacts of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. How much damage to the energy market is already priced in? When are Asian companies expecting the strait to be reopened? And will other nations, such as Indonesia, look at chokepoints in their own waters and wonder whether they can turn them to their advantage? To find out the answers to these questions and more, catch the full webinar on-demand here: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/5348668/FDDE3719FFE364EEDA017BE4BAB3C4CC Joining Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade on the podcast are: Cichen Shen, Asia-Pacific editor, Lloyd’s List Ian Ralby, chief executive, IR Consilium

LAST week, delegates once again met in London for the International maritime Organization’s marine environment protection committee. The two editions in 2025, MEPC 83 in April and the extraordinary session in October, generated some of the biggest stories in shipping. To the surprise of many, the net zero framework agreed in April’s meeting was not adopted in October, thanks to stiff opposition from the US and several oil-producing states. Instead, a one-year postponement was agreed, and shipping’s green deal was left perhaps not dead, but certainly not healthy either. So back we are again, this time at MEPC84, and what has changed? Lloyd’s List senior reporter Declan Bush, who covers decarbonization for Lloyd’s List and attended every day of MEPC84, sat down to explain what happened last week and whether it gets shipping any closer to a decision on a net zero framework or not. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/.

This episode of the Lloyd's List podcast is brought to you by Lloyd's Register DECARBONISATION, changing trade lanes and concerns of seafarer shortages – there is no shortage of reasons for why shipping executives might be losing sleep. But add to that the Strait of Hormuz crisis and the job of running a shipping company has become even more difficult. Our outlook forums are usually a chance to hear from experts from within the shipping industry on what they think are the most important challenges the sector is likely to face over the next few years. But before we get to the crisis in the strait and the fallout from it, Richard started by asking all of our guests a now-familiar question: what keeps you up at night? Joining Richard on this week’s podcast are: Nick Brown, chief executive, Lloyd’s Register Joe Kramek, chief executive, World Shipping Council Adam Kent, managing director, MSI Gaby Bornheim, president, German Shipowners’ Association Captain Raja Subramaniam, chief executive, Fleet Management Martina Bozadzhieva, managing director macro forecasting, Oxford Economics

This episode is brought to you by Wirana Shipping DOES shipping get a good deal when it comes to ship finance? Is Europe still remotely important anymore as a finance hub? Or has the centre of gravity moved eastwards? And how on earth do you make decisions about multidecade financing with so much uncertainty around decarbonisation regulation? That’s just a taste of the questions we tackle this week, as we try to answer as many as possible surrounding ship finance in 30 minutes. Joining senior reporter Joshua Minchin, and law and insurance editor David Osler on this week’s episode are: Guillaume Branco, managing director – asset-based finance, Eurazeo Nitin Mathur, managing director – commercial shipping, Al Seer Marine Tien Tai, partner, HFW

JAN-ERIK Räsänen has been on a personal journey that has led him to some new understandings about how to power both future and existing ships towards decarbonisation, he tells listeners to this podcast. He is chief technology officer of the Finnish ship design and engineering company Foreship, which has been part of the consulting engineering inspection and certification group RINA since June 2025. Foreship’s specialism is the passengership sector, but his views are applicable to all ship types and to both newbuildings and existing ships. Alongside all the alternative fuels now being developed, such as biofuels, e-fuels and even nuclear power, he ranks batteries as a significant technology to help fulfil global and regional decarbonisation goals. It is a view that he attributes to a conversion experience, thanks to a chance meeting in 2011 with the CTO of a battery company during a ship inspection in Vancouver. At the time, he was sceptical that batteries were viable for ships. “My immediate thoughts were that this guy must be crazy,” he recalls. But that meeting was soon followed by a contract to explore whether two ferries could operate solely on batteries, which led to the largest battery retrofits ever done on ferries at that time. With installed battery capacity across the global fleet now standing at about 1,900 MWh, he concedes that “my first impressions of batteries on board ships were completely wrong” and says in this podcast that he now has a mantra: “electrify what can be electrified”. He provides details in the podcast of a number of battery-related passengership “firsts” with which Foreship has since been involved, including the largest battery conversion on a cruiseship and a ferry conversion that features both NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) and LFP (lithium-iron phosphate) batteries on board. Installations such as these allow the generating engines to run at their optimal output, increasing efficiency compared with non-battery power plants, he says. He acknowledges that a variety of solutions will be needed for all ship types and sizes to meet the emissions — and therefore efficiency — goals implied by the IMO and other regulations and ambitions, so he maintains what he calls an open-minded approach to technology choices. For example, as well as his enthusiasm for batteries, he says in the podcast how alternative fuels can help align reality and requirements, but only if they are green fuels, such as bio-methanol, e-methanol or e-diesel. He is less keen on ammonia, especially for passengerships, because of safety concerns. He also discusses LNG — which is a significant fuel in the passenger sector — but is concerned about its associated methane slip, especially at low loads, which brings him back to his core message: “the easiest way to reduce the methane slip from an engine is to install batteries” so that they can operate at their optimum load.

How do you actually transit through the Strait of Hormuz at the moment? Are masters worried when they are making the trip? Is it organised or chaotic? Chief executive of the Indian Shipowners’ Association Anil Devli revealed what he has heard from masters that have made the trip at our India Outlook held in Mumbai last week. Chaired by Lloyd’s List’s senior reporter Matthew Rajendra, the panel discussed the procedure involved in making the trip, the plight of seafarers trapped in the Middle East Gulf and the wider impact that the crisis might have on Indian trade and maritime strategy in the longer term. Joining Matthew on this week’s episode are: Anil Devli, chief executive, Indian Shipowners’ Association P. K Mishra, managing director, Indian Register of Shipping Kiran Prasad Susarla, national head, YES Bank

Discussion about decarbonisation have moved from technical departments within shipping companies into their commercial and financial teams, the president and chief operating officer of Veson Nautical, Sean Riley, says in this Lloyd’s List podcast. While there is uncertainty around the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework, regional requirements — especially those being implemented by the EU — provide a certainty that cannot be ignored. The continuously evolving and expanding nature of regulations in shipping means that decarbonisation is now “both a commercial and operational reality”, he says. Speaking in early March, Riley reflected on the first year of the EU’s decarbonisation scheme, the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, which ended on January 31. By the end of March, shipping companies will have heard from their verifier about the compliance status of each of their ships based on that first year’s data and those results might lead to “some interesting decision-making challenges or dilemmas”, he says. In the podcast, Riley explains why he views FuelEU in particular as an especially impactful regulation to ship operations. He says its “choice driven” options have both positive and negative implications for shipowners and operators, while adding a level of complexity that must be addressed by companies’ systems and processes. He anticipates that the outcome will see companies shift their focus away from strict compliance towards optimising the financial benefits of compliance, creating a trading strategy based around FuelEU-related decision-making. However, Riley also emphasises that it’s ultimately not about optimising for any one regulation in particular, but rather proactively building decarbonisation into daily decisions in a way that leaves room for inevitable change. He explains in the podcast why this commercial response to a change in the regulatory landscape is different from previous environment-inspired changes, such as the sulphur limits imposed on fuel. He contrasts how the impact of low-sulphur fuel was mainly restricted to operating costs, while decarbonisation requirements today are reaching further, across fixing, operating and trading strategies. The flexibility around how to comply provides the industry choice but has also resulted in a lack of clarity about setting commercial priorities and knowing exactly what conditions to optimise for. Instead, these will vary depending on a ship’s location, so “you’ve got to invest in systems and processes that can absorb change easily”, he says. Riley considers whether some industry sectors are responding differently from others and refers to the potential of AI to resolve some of the uncertainties companies face. “There will certainly be more regulations,” he says, and emphasises: “for our clients, pretending that this is not a commercial reality is no longer an option”.

This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast is brought to you by Veson. Find out more at www.veson.com/decarb-guide THE accusations of piracy and unlawful interference with freedom of navigation have been coming thick and fast for a while now, but tactics that generate accusations of piracy one day can’t simply be rebranded as “law enforcement” or “counter-narcoterrorism” the next. The fact that governments are currently accusing each other of undermining the basic principle of freedom of navigation is arguably good news. This cornerstone of international law, guaranteeing ships of all nations can sail, trade, and operate freely on the high seas and through international straits, as enshrined in UNCLOS, is under threat. But if governments are still pointing fingers, then there is, at least, a legal principle still in play to defend. The immediate geopolitical and security threats to maritime trade are self-evident right now from the Strait of Hormuz to the Baltic, to the South China Sea. But the long-term consequences of eroding the rights of innocent passage carry a potentially bigger risk to the global economy. Have these consequences been properly thought through by those that threaten to upend the principle of freedom of navigation? Joining Richard on the podcast are: Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security, The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Kristina Siig, professor of maritime law and law of the Sea, University of Southern Denmark Charlie Brown, senior analyst, United Against Nuclear Iran Robert Beckman, emeritus professor, ocean law and policy programme, National University of Singapore Ian Ralby, founder, IR Consilium

SHORTLY before IMO’s 21st Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships and its 84th Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting, two leading environmental researchers warn that those meetings’ expected focus on biofuels will not solve shipping’s carbon emissions problems. As Comer explains, decisions on which fuels will qualify under any IMO climate policy are being developed now, along with their corresponding lifecycle assessment guidelines. Any mistake in drafting those guidelines will take decades to fix, he predicts but, as they stand, they do not account for the emissions that correspond to the ‘indirect land use change’ emissions linked to biofuel production, he says. Menezes underlines in the podcast the importance of considering the social and economic sustainability aspects of biofuels and explains why she believes that, if IMO ignores these impacts of biofuels, “we risk a transition that might look green on paper, but creates significant negative impacts on health, pollution and local economies”. Both speakers explain that biofuel might appear attractive to regulators because of its cost, but they say that, if shipping adopts biofuel, global demand for it will triple by 2035, leading to significant impacts on other food prices and availability and to environmental damage caused as more land is turned over to its production. In their podcast, they also raise a range of other concerns; for example, making biofuels from waste products might perversely encourage fraud and the creation of more waste, Menezes says. She is also concerned about biomethane, which poses the same climate risks as its conventional counterpart as a result of methane slip — which is 80 times more potent than CO2. To produce biofuels in a sustainable way requires “really strong protections”, Comer says, for example to prevent fraud during its production and to protect human rights, water quality and other environmental aspects. Such models already exist, he says, citing the International Civil Aviation Organization and the FuelEU Maritime regulation. He goes on to say that e-fuels made using green hydrogen are the best zero-carbon fuels, rather than biofuels. And Menezes reminds listeners that net zero fuels are not the only way to reduce shipping’s emissions. The starting point, she says, should be “the prioritisation of speed reduction and wind propulsion. These are some of the most effective tools we have”.

This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast is brought to you by Veson. Find out more at www.veson.com/decarb-guide FREEDOM of navigation — the legal principle that states ships from any country have the right to sail freely in international waters — is under attack. It has been for some time. Long before the Strait of Hormuz became the latest global chokepoint to be weaponised a confluence of geopolitical shifts, security threats and an accelerating frequency of legal assaults have been eroding this fundamental principle. And this is not some arcane point of law. This is the legal principle upon which globalised trade is built. Without maritime security, there can be no global security. Without Freedom of navigation there can be no globalised trade. For the first time since the Cold War, maritime trade lanes have become contested zones and the rules-based order that shipping has previously relied on to protect it has started to disintegrate. The once unthinkable, but entirely predictable closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has alerted the world once again to the fragility of global supply chains. But this is no anomaly. From the Red and Black Seas to the Baltic and the Taiwan Strait: shipping’s access to trade lanes is increasingly coming under fire while a political and legal war is being waged in the background to redefine what is and is not acceptable under the law of the sea. Just over a year ago when we first raised this question about the future of freedom of navigation in this podcast, our assembled experts were concerned about what happens next. Maritime security has taken a nosedive since then and trade is increasingly being geopolitically conditioned – so over the next two editions of this podcast, Lloyd’s List will again ask whether the concept of concept of freedom of navigation is under threat… Joining Richard on this week’s podcast are: Sal Mercogliano, founder, What’s Going on With Shipping? Ian Ralby, founder, IR Consilium Caroline Tuckett, associate fellow, Royal United Services Institute

AS the conflict in the Middle East continues, the full effects on global shipping markets are beginning to become clearer. This week’s episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast once again come to you from our weekly briefing on the Middle East crisis, featuring our journalists and analysts. There’s a focus on the container market and shadow fleet impact, as well as an update on the volume of traffic and operability of ports in the region. Featuring in this week’s episode are: Richard Meade, editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s Lis Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst, Lloyd’s List Cichen Shen, APAC editor, Lloyd’s List Neil Dekker, senior analyst, Infospectrum Watch the full briefing here: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/5273976/D81639300040BBFB6B5988BC9F28135E

COLLECTING data to meet emissions regulations is good for business, two guests from 90POE tell listeners to this latest Lloyd’s List Intelligence podcast. Dhara Patel, Head of Product Performance at the maritime technology provider, 90POE — a name that reflects shipping’s role in transporting 90% of everything — and its Senior Advisor for Performance, Dimitris Argyros, argue that the data that must be collected and reported to meet IMO and regional regulators can also give shipowners and operators significant commercial advantages. Mr Argyros refers to a number of regulations that rely on fuel consumption — and thus emissions — data, in particular for IMO’s Data Collection System (DCS) and the EU’s Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Regulation. Complying with the latter effectively provides a licence to operate, he says. Ms Patel also acknowledges the operational significance of these regulatory requirements, saying that when talking to fleet managers, it is “really striking... how quickly the conversation is shifting from a compliance conversation to a... financial budgeting conversation.” Those discussions find a particular focus around the need for a “clear strategy around emissions” to avoid the penalties for non-compliance with, in particular, the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). For a large fleet, these could amount to millions of euros per year, she says. At least with the EU ETS and its FuelEU Maritime regulation, their application is clear, Mr Argyros says. Based on factors including a carbon price coupled with compliance penalties or surpluses, “it’s quite easy to quantify [their] impact,” he says. But when it comes to the IMO’s annual Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), “it gets a bit more interesting”, because vessels with lower ratings are less attractive in the market, he says, with charter parties often requiring a ship to be returned with the same CII rating as when it was delivered. Ms Patel offers some comments in the podcast based on feedback from compliance managers who are “having to deal with multiple reporting frameworks simultaneously” while managing emissions, planning voyages and optimising their commercial planning, which “leads to an increased demand in having the right data near real time”. She believes that this is where platforms such as 90 POE’s OpenOcean STUDIO can simplify management of multiple systems, each generating their own data that might be stored in separate siloes. By making all this accessible, she says that the data that has been collected for compliance can be used to discern “real time actionable insights.” This approach will be especially significant in the future, Mr Argyros suggests, as new fuels come into use and if IMO tightens its CII thresholds. Looking ahead, he is not hopeful of IMO and EU emissions requirements becoming aligned, “and that’s the real challenge,” he concludes.

THE conflict in the Middle East is entering its second full week, and shipping continues to find itself on the frontlines. Vessels have been attacked and seafarers have paid with their lives, as missiles are exchanged back and forth over the Middle East Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz is at the very centre of this conflict’s consequences. The narrow chokepoint is critical to global energy supply, and traffic through it has slowed to a trickle. So is the strait itself effectively closed to shipping? Will owners take the risk to secure huge charter rates? How is the insurance sector providing cover for those that do want to transit the strait? Listen to the episode and register for the webinar on demand to get the answers to these questions and many more. Joining Richard on this week’s podcast are Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst, Lloyd’s List Cichen Shen, APAC editor, Lloyd’s List Tomer Raanan, maritime risk analyst, Lloyd’s List David Osler, law and marine insurance editor, Lloyd’s List Register for Lloyd’s List’s briefing on the Strait of Hormuz here: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/5264575/E998B50EC5FF87C27028010CCA885055 This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast is brought to you by Veson. Find out more at www.veson.com/decarb-guide

This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast is brought to you by Veson. Find out more at www.veson.com/decarb-guide The 2024/2025 P&I policy year came to a close as it always does on the stroke of midday on February 20, marking the culmination of the annual ritual known as the renewal round. The hard deadline is the date by which 85% to 90% of the world fleet must seal its maritime liability insurance cover for the coming 12 months. Admittedly, it wasn’t an earth-shattering experience. NorthStandard managing director Jeremy Grose even characterised it to me as – in his words - a low-excitement renewal. A number of clubs have proudly proclaimed health growth in entered tonnage, well in excess of the growth in the world fleet. Mathematically, that means there must be losers among the 12 affiliates that make up the International Group of P&I Clubs. But no-one has publicly admitted any shrinkage yet. There were few dramatic moves between clubs, at least that we know of. If anybody emerged as the winner, it was Norway’s Skuld, which picked up business from some big name owners, including SK Shipping, CMA CGM and Oldendorff. There were also suggestions that two British clubs came under a bit of pressure, which may be reflected when they eventually unveil their underwriting positions. But it seems a good time to take stock of what is going on in the sector. David is joined on this week’s episode by: Thomas Nordberg, chief executive, The Swedish Club Julian South, managing director, Wilson Europe Sachin Bhojani, associate director, S&P Global Ratings

The shadow fleet has started the year under pressure. Millions of barrels of unsold Iranian and Russian crude have accumulated in storage due to buyers switching to unsanctioned barrels at reasonable prices. But as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine looms, a step change in sanctions enforcement has the potential to disrupt shadow fleet trades much more dramatically. The US is rumoured to be looking at more shadow fleet targets to intercept and usher off into the scrapyards. Meanwhile, there is a crackdown looming in Europe, and this time they are serious. The EU’s long-trailed shift to a full maritime services ban still have hit a few political hurdles, but the immediate direction of EU policy promises to significantly ratchet up the sanctions imposed on Russian oil. This increased pressure coincides with an influx of shadow fleet tonnage back into the Russian flag, a lot of which switched following US intervention in Venezuela. That Moscow is keeping a closer eye on its fleet may be evidence that Europe’s pressure (not to mention US boardings) is working and the shadow fleet is beginning to feel the heat. Speaking on this week’s edition of the Lloyd’s List podcast: Bridget Diakun, Senior Risk and Compliance Analyst Tomer Raanan, Maritime Risk Analyst Richard Meade, Editor-in-Chief

Synmax chief executive officer Eric Anderson joins Lloyd’s List Intelligence global head of compliance and regulatory affairs Eric Orsini to discuss how satellite-derived intelligence is becoming essential in offering ‘ground truth’ evidence for illicit activities being conducted in the maritime space.

THE electronic bill of lading has been one of the most talked-about innovations in container shipping for years now. Advocates say it can slash costs, cut fraud, and ultimately unlock an entirely new world of digital trade finance. Sceptics say we've been hearing that promise for a decade — and paper still dominates. The latest DCSA figures put global EBL adoption at around eleven percent. That's growing, but it's a long way from the one-hundred-percent target that container shipping carriers have set themselves for 2030. So where do we actually stand? To find out, APAC editor Cichen Shen sat down with two people at the centre of the shift: George Guo, the chief executive of IQAX, one of the two largest EBL providers in the world by volume; and Peter Hartz, Maersk's head of ocean surcharges, value-added services and energy products.

In the last episode in our series preparing you for the year ahead, we turn our attention to the dry bulk and shipbuilding sector. Senior reporter Greg Miller and markets editor Robert Willmington assess how each market fared in 2025 before laying out what you should be across in 2026, including an increased focus on tonne miles for the dry bulk sector and the continuing interest shown by national governments in shipbuilding as a strategic business. Will China continue importing record amounts of iron ore? Does it matter if volumes drop off if voyage length increases? Will we see more tankers and bulkers being built or will yards continue to fixate on containership orders? Listen to find out the answers to these questions and more and ensure you’re prepared for what the rest of 2026 has to throw at shipping. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/…oyds-list

SHIPPING’S road to net zero was made longer and more complicated in 2025, a year which was supposed to clear up a lot of the uncertainty hanging over shipowners looking to make investment decisions for years to come. But events at the International Maritime Organization in October’s extraordinary meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee mean shipowners must again wait and see if a global carbon price can be agreed, and if so what it means for the future of their fleets. Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade and senior reporter Declan Bush help answer a few of the outstanding questions, or at least narrow down the ones to ask, and make sure you’re prepared for the year ahead when it comes to decarbonisation policy and technology. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/…oyds-list

AS we continue our series to prepare you for the year ahead, attention turn to the container market, which is dominated by one big question: will carriers return to the Red Sea this year or not? Some have already signalled a gradual return, while other have kept their counsel. Lloyd’s List deputy editor Linton Nightingale and Infospectrum senior analyst Neil Dekker explain why a return to the Red Sea could spell a rate hike initially, but will ultimately be bad news for carriers. Plus, Linton explains why the demise of the workhorse of the container market could be bad news for some ports. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/…oyds-list

It's been an exciting start to the year. That somewhat of an understatement comes from Lloyd’s List senior reporter Greg Miller, who in this week’s episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast tries to make sense of the crazy start to 2026 and how geopolitical events might affect tanker markets. Trump’s intervention in Venezuela has changed the game completely, but it follows historically high crude tanker rates in 2025, reaching the six-figure mark at some points, before trending downwards towards the end of the year. Greg talks us through the market outlook for both crude and product tankers in the wake of such instability and gives you a big picture of the year ahead for one of shipping’s most exciting sectors. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/…oyds-list

As events in 2026 continue to move at considerable pace, ensuring compliance and assessing risk as a shipping company is only becoming more difficult. Help is at hand though, as Lloyd’s List senior risk and compliance analyst Bridget Diakun and maritime risk analyst Tomer Raanan point out some key trends to keep an eye on in the year ahead. They explain how the shadow fleet is evolving and why an end to Russian sanctions doesn’t necessarily mean an end to the shadow fleet too. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/…oyds-list

REGIME change in Venezuela, shifting shadow fleets and the small matter of how to decarbonise one of the world’s most critical industries. Who’d be a shipowner in 2026? To kick off the new year, Lloyd’s List is bringing you a series of shorter podcast episodes highlighting key issues to watch out for in each of our key topics, including the tanker, container and dry bulk markets, risk and compliance plus the ongoing decarbonisation saga. But to start with, editor-in-chief Richard Meade and APAC editor Cichen Shen give you a broader, overall picture of the most pressing issues facing shipping. And the list is a long one. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/lloyds-list

This episode is brought to you by Wirana Shipping Until the opening decade of this century, shipowners were among the chief beneficiaries of what was known at the time as ‘relationship banking’. The market was dominated by a handful of British and German banks, who usually just allowed their ship finance teams to get on with it and didn’t ask too many questions. It seemed that there were few problems that couldn’t be sorted out over a three-bottle lunch at a rather expensive restaurant. If the top brass were ever sufficiently impertinent as to ask why leniency had yet again been extended, they were told they simply didn’t understand the cyclical nature of the shipping industry. Then a bunch of derivatives traders came along and spoiled the party. In the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008 onwards, shipping loans could be bought for just cents on the dollar and bad shipping loans even forced a number of long-established banks to close their doors altogether. Private equity rushed in and, by and large, lost its shirt. To repurpose the earlier euphemism, it simply didn’t understand the cyclical nature of the shipping industry and was never going to wait around long enough to get its money back. While European banks still lend to blue chip shipowners, many smaller and medium-sized owners have turned to Asian, and especially Chinese, leasing companies to source their S&P needs. For a while that worked, especially because the Asian lenders were politically mandated to keep domestic shipyard orderbooks as full as possible. But even that arrangement has been under strain in the last 12 months, thanks to tariff and port fee tensions between Washington and Beijing. So what happens now? If you need to borrow money next year, who is going to lend it to you and how much will you be expected to pay? Joining David on the podcast this week are: Stephen Fewster, global head of shipping finance, ING Bank Pankaj Khanna, chief executive, Heidmar Maritime Holdings Dimitris Karamacheras, partner, Hill Dickinson

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast is brought to you by Lloyd's Register - visit www.lr.org for more information. LAST week, Lloyd’s List held its Annual Outlook Forum at the beautiful Trinity House in London, sponsored by Lloyd’s Register. Having gathered a baseline of crowdsourced knowledge from Lloyd’s List readers, we invited a star-studded line-up of shipping’s sharpest minds to join us for a discussion of the opportunities and threats that will be shaping shipping next year and beyond. In a year dominated by tariffs, port fees, continuing security concerns in the Red and Black Seas, and the faltering of shipping’s decarbonisation drive, our panel reveal what keeps them awake at night and discuss shipping’s incredible resilience in the face of increasingly challenging conditions. Joining editor-in-chief Richard Meade on this episode are: Cargill Ocean Transportation president, Jan Dieleman Hanwha Ocean Europe chief executive, Claire Wright Lloyd’s Register chief executive, Nick Brown Zodiac Maritime head of regulatory affairs, Katy Ware Sky news economics editor, Ed Conway Download our Key Takeaways document from this event, including our Outlook Survey 2025 results, here: https://info.lloydslistintelligence.com/london-outlook-forum-key-takeaways

PRESIDENT Trump tops this year’s Top 100 People list and ranks as the most influential person in the shipping industry. But why? Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade and deputy editor Linton Nightingale discuss why there was only ever one decision to be made for the top spot and point out some other high-profile entries in this year’s rankings. The full list is available to subscribers via the link below: https://www.lloydslist.com/one-hundred-edition-sixteen Subscribe to Lloyd’s List here or learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here.

In this candid podcast, Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore’s cyber security technical leader Panagiotis Anastasiou outlines his concerns about what he views as shipping’s limited approach to cyber security and a need for increased awareness of its importance. His career-long knowledge and experience of cyber security arrangements in the aerospace sector — particularly with satellite technology — gives him an authoritative overview of cyber security and, for an industry that has autonomous vessels in development, he had expected to find shipping to be very advanced in its cyber security implementation and attitudes. Instead, he found that was not the case. His remarks include an example of a recent incident in which a service provider’s systems were compromised, affecting at least 120 ships. The breach was subsequently repaired but the full story prompts Anastasiou to observe that “we fall in the same hole again and again”. He says this is because of limited efforts to prepare for cyber security difficulties. In contrast to shipping’s approach, cyber security is the starting point when satellite systems are designed, he says. Controls, procedures and governance are built on that foundation, with ground infrastructure and component design following on. This approach should be common to all industries, including marine, he says. He acknowledges that maritime regulations now apply to cyber security which make it mandatory to take precautions, but he believes that shipowners and their system suppliers should go further. Attitudes must change So, he explains in the podcast that attitudes must change and he outlines some ideas about how cyber security awareness could be strengthened by better – and repeated – education and cyber drills that are backed up by companies’ tested policies on how to respond to cyber security incidents. He goes on to describe how a cyber attack on a vessel might be triggered by an attack on shoreside systems, given the growing connectivity between ship and shore and vice versa. Not only that, but the implications of a maritime cyber attack can extend far beyond the company itself, since any resulting operational delay could have an impact on an entire supply chain. Class societies have addressed cyber security concerns by developing two Unified Requirements — UR 26 and UR 27 — and Anastasiou was a member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Cyber Systems Panel that developed them. But he suggests in the podcast that these should be viewed as starting points for class societies to evolve requirements to match the pace of change in technology. As a response to his remarks, he encourages listeners to conduct internal assessments of their own cyber security and to reach out to their class societies for guidance to improve their resilience.

More than two years has passed since the hijacking of car carrier Galaxy Leader by the Houthis, which signalled the advent of a campaign of terror from the Yemeni rebel group on international shipping. In that time, several vessels have been sunk and many seafarers have unfortunately lost their lives. The impact on global shipping has of course been sizeable, with most key container carriers deciding to reroute services via the Cape of Good Hope instead. But Houthi activity has quelled in recent weeks, with no vessels attacked since Eternity C. in July, after a ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hamas; the Houthis’ purported aim is to support the people of Gaza. Whispers of a return have grown into murmurs, with comments from Maersk suggesting a return to the Red Sea may be sooner rather than later. The Danish giant said it would “take steps” to return to the Suez Canal and Red Sea “as soon as conditions allow” after a meeting with the Suez Canal Authority. So, should we expect a return to the Red Sea imminently then? Joining Joshua on the podcast this week are: Ian Ralby, founder and chief executive, IR Consilium Jakob Larsen, chief security and safety officer, BIMCO Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst, Lloyd’s List Take the Outlook survey here: https://lloydslist.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1X5A55mVBKM156m

CLIMATE diplomacy is not dead, but it’s not looking too healthy right now. A month after the International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework was put on life support for a year in the hope that a cure could be found, many of the same politicians, negotiators, non-governmental organisations, claques and hacks still reeling from that setback headed to Brazil for this year’s COP climate summit. A push by more than 80 countries for plans to quit fossil fuels ultimately failed, but states did manage a less ambitious agreement to keep the wheels from falling off. So where does that leave shipping? “Not dead yet” is hardly the rallying cry that will spur a generation of bold zero-carbon innovation and investment. We gathered insights from people who were in the thick of the COP negotiations for shipping, and where the IMO discussions leave us and what happens next. Joining Richard on the podcast this week are: Ellie Besley-Gould, chief executive of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative Katharine Palmer, shipping lead at the UN High-Level Climate Champions team Christiaan De Beukelaer, senior lecturer in culture and climate at the University of Melbourne and author of ‘Trade Winds’ Beatriz Martinez Romera, associate professor of environmental and climate change law at the University of Copenhagen Subscribe to Lloyd's List: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/…oyds-list Learn more about Lloyd's List Intelligence: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/

TALK long enough about green shipping scenarios and sooner or later all roads lead to Africa. Africa’s renewable energy potential, particularly in solar and wind, is vast and largely untapped, which explains why green energy investment in Africa is booming. Imports of solar panels, largely from China, are up 60% in the past 12 months alone. While that is from a relatively low base, the investments are coming thick and fast when it comes to clean fuel production. Given the collapse of the Net-Zero Framework at the International Maritime Organization and the context of a somewhat lacklustre COP out in Brazil, you may well be asking yourself: “why am I listening to yet another decarbonisation diatribe?” Regardless of the headline political headwinds, the business case for green shipping projects continues to be relevant. And if you’re looking for some optimism to get you through some admittedly uncertain times when it comes to shipping’s decarbonisation agenda, Africa is good place to start. This week’s episode of the podcast travels to Namibia and South Africa, via a green corridor into Europe, to understand why Africa could hold the key to shipping’s decarbonisation. Joining Richard on this week’s podcast are: Alexander Saverys, chief executive, CMB.Tech Jesse Fahnestock, decarbonisation director, Global Maritime Forum James Mnyupe, senior vice-president sub-Saharan Africa, Thyssenkrupp Subscribe to Lloyd's List: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/…oyds-list Learn more about Lloyd's List Intelligence: www.lloydslistintelligence.com/

OVER the past few months, our team of analysts has been quietly at work, giving our shadow fleet* watchlist a huge revamp. For those not in the know, the list identifies vessels that fit a specified set of criteria making them likely candidates for the shadow fleets serving Russia, Iran and Venezuela. As the sanction campaigns from the UK, US and EU intensify, the behaviour and identifying characteristics of these vessels has changed — telltale giveaways in 2023 are not the same in 2025 at all. With that in mind, we thought we’d bring on our two in-house shadow fleet experts to explain what’s changed and why you should take notice. Lloyd’s List reporter Joshua Minchin sat down with Lloyd’s List senior risk and compliance analyst Bridget Diakun and maritime risk analyst Tomer Raanan to understand how things have changed. Subscribe to Lloyd’s List here, or learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

WHAT happens if you don’t buy cyber risk insurance? Well, Jaguar Land Rover certainly found out earlier this year. The luxury carmaker was hit by a devastating cyber attack in late August, causing it to shut down its production lines for more than four weeks and costing it £50m a week. It only got things back to normal in early October. It was initially forced to withhold payments from suppliers. That is no small matter, given that the automotive parts supply chain, which famously runs on the just-in-time model, supports 200,000 jobs in the UK. It even had to turn to its bankers to secure a £2bn funding facility, which won’t have come cheap. On top of all that, the government saw no choice but to step in with a £1.5bn credit guarantee, simply to avoid the potential economic fallout. Other recent victims of cyber crime include Heathrow Airport and high street retailers Marks & Spencer and the Co-op. Many big players in the maritime industries have also been on the receiving end, from boxship giants Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM to ports giant DP World and top broker Clarksons. A recent report from IBM, which examined data breaches experienced by about 600 organisations worldwide, put the average cost of an incident at $4.4m (or £3.3m). What is clear is that cyber risk is a growing threat, as hackers becoming increasingly more sophisticated. This special joint Insurance Day/Lloyd’s List podcast will look at how insurance can at least mitigate the worst impacts for companies in both the maritime and wider business sectors. Joining Insurance Day reporter Queenie Shaikh are: Robert Dorey, chief executive, Astaara William Altman, director, CyberCube Stephen Wares, head of international underwriting, Coalition Subscribe to Lloyd's List: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/lloyds-list Learn more about Lloyd's List Intelligence: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast was brought to you by Veson. Visit veson.com for more information. SHIPPING has a serious efficiency problem. There is the obvious uncertainty and chaos within the International Maritime Organization-led decarbonisation plans. But this is not just a carbon efficiency problem — the current direction of geopolitical drivers generally are making shipping, and global trade, significantly less efficient. US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s latest tit-for-tat trade showdown is just the latest in a long list of frictional forces making seaborne trade more costly, more complicated and less efficient.

One week on from the extraordinary meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee at the IMO, and many in shipping are still asking themselves the same question: what on earth happens next? Here at Lloyd’s List we’ve been busy gathering the thoughts of as many people as possible from across the sector to help answer that question. Earlier this week, Declan Bush explained what actually went down on a crazy Friday afternoon last week at the Albert Embankment, giving a blow by blow account of how the US and Saudi Arabia were able to successfully postpone the vote on the Net-Zero Framework for an entire year. But now we’re looking at what comes next. Can the IMO come back around the table next year and get consensus on the world’s first carbon price? Or are the divisions simply too great to heal? Joining Joshua on the podcast are: Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Tristan Smith, professor of energy and transport, UCL Emma Scheiris, deputy director of environment, INTERTANKO Stuart Neil, director of strategy and communications, International Chamber of Shipping For more information on how Lloyd's List Intelligence can help you navigate the emissions reporting landscape, follow this link: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/products/seasearcher/emissions

This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast was brought to you by Veson. Visit veson.com for more information. Arguably the most important week in the history of the International Maritime Organization ended in stalemate after an extraordinary meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee voted to adjourn proceedings for a whole year. Last week was supposed to be the week shipping ratified the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework and in doing so become the first industry to adopt a global carbon price. Despite confidence that the yes side “had the numbers”, efforts to thwart the framework by the US and Saudi Arabia were partially successful. Lloyd’s List senior reporter and decarbonisation expert Declan Bush takes you inside the IMO and details a turbulent four days that could define the UN body and its ability to lead on climate change.

IN today’s episode, we're diving into one of the most significant transformations in modern shipping: how geopolitical tensions and supply chain realignments are altering maritime trade routes. From the implementation of tit-for-tat port fees between the US and China to the rise of Southeast Asia as a manufacturing powerhouse, the shipping industry is navigating uncharted waters. Today, we'll hear from three industry leaders who are at the forefront of these changes. In an era where regulations increasingly link vessel nationality to cargo access, shipping’s hard‑won resilience is being tested as never before. But for those who can successfully navigate these changes, the question isn't whether they're temporary or permanent—it's whether they can adapt fast enough to turn chaos into opportunity. Joining APAC editor Cichen Shen on the podcast are: SK Lim, managing director Pacific, G2 Ocean Jayendu Krishna, head of Maritime Advisory, Drewry William Khoury, vice president of ports and terminals Southeast Asia, DP World

IN THIS episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast, Synergy chief executive Jesper Kristensen considers two significant and timely questions: where is maritime leadership heading and who will define it? He tackles them from both an individual and an industry standpoint before discussing whether attitudes outside shipping are now influencing the sector’s direction. In the current climate of global regulatory and trade changes, the shipping industry is extremely volatile, requiring its leaders to be rapid adapters; “we need to be capable of accepting that tomorrow is most probably not going to be like yesterday”, he says in this podcast.

In this podcast, Veson Nautical’s Chief Operating Officer Sean Riley shares his thoughts on current pressures on market volatility. It is not necessarily a bad thing, he says, especially if data is used properly to understand its causes and effects

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast was brought to you by Veson. Visit veson.com for more information. In just over a week’s time the International maritime Organization will take what could be one of the most consequential votes shipping’s history. At an extraordinary meeting of the Marine Environment protection Committee, IMO member states will vote on whether to formally adopt the net zero framework agreed at MEPC83 in April. A yes would see shipping adopt the world’s first legally binding carbon price. A no would undo years and years and work and dump the industry back where it started. Lloyd’s List senior reporter Declan Bush explains what will actually be voted on next weekand outlines the consequences of a yes vote, and perhaps more pertinently, what happens if the answer is no.

FIGURES from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime suggest the annual global value of laundered money is between $800bn and $2trn, representing between 2% and 5% of global GDP. Much of this money is cleaned through trade-based money laundering, where criminals disguise the proceeds of crime through trade transactions to legitimise their origin. When that money hits a bank account, its links to say a smuggling ring or drug cartel will be masked, and anyone that looks will instead be presented with a legitimate transaction, say for the sale of commodities. With 90% of global trade transported by sea, shipping companies find themselves in an unwanted position of vulnerability. It’s of course impossible to check every container and grain hold, but due diligence still has to be performed. If not, the consequences can be severe, from a loss of reputation to even legal ramifications.

Singapore literally would not exist without the shipping industry. In 1819 the East India Company reached agreement with the local ruler to use it as a waystation for vessels carrying opium to China. Five years later, it bought the entire country for cash. Two hundred years later, it would not be much of a stretch to describe it as a powerhouse port with a small southeast Asian city-state attached. But until last month, the International Union of Marine Insurance conference had not taken place there since 2004. Even then, Singapore’s standing in the maritime industries was undeniable. But at that point it remained an emerging market in marine insurance terms. As the 600-plus delegates who assembled for this year’s event were told, that is clearly no longer the case. It is now the fourth-largest hull market in the world. Its share of the global hull book now stands at 7.9%, leaving it just a fraction of a percentage point behind the once-almighty Lloyd’s. Nor is it the only Asian nation to see its marine insurance presence take a great leap forward. China is now writing around 12% of world hull premiums and must now be counted as a core market for H&M. It also writes 17% of cargo business, which is more than Lloyd’s and the London companies markets put together. The late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping - who died in 1997 - argued that the twenty-first century would be the Asian century. If marine insurance is anything to go by, he may have had a point. Joining David on the podcast are: Veith Huesmann, chief analyst, IUMI Sean Dalton, head of marine underwriting North America, Munich Re Alicia Leong, head of marine liabilities Asia, Markel Jun Lin, vice president, Gard

Why is the shadow fleet growing? Why do Chinese owners continue to sail their vessels through the Red Sea? And what happens if the International Maritime Organization does not adopt the Net-Zero Framework next month? In an age where uncertainty is simply part of doing business, Lloyd’s List gathered some of its expert analysts and journalists to brief selected guests on the key issues of the day during London International Shipping Week. Listen to the highlights of the event in this edition of the Lloyd’s List podcast. If you want to learn more, you can download the slides produced by our expert panel, featuring Lloyd’s List Intelligence data and figures. Featuring on this episode are: Richard Meade, editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List Bridget Diakun, senior maritime risk analyst, Lloyd’s List Cichen Shen, APAC editor, Lloyd’s List Declan Bush, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List

On the final day of London International Shipping Week, Lloyd’s List reporter Joshua Minchin brings you the key takeaways from the week, alongside senior maritime reporter Greg Miller, maritime risk analyst Tomer Raanan and senior reporter Declan Bush. The three ask whether shipping could suffer from too much inefficiency, or at least the wrong kind anyway, and reflect on the policy uncertainty coming out of Washington at present. Plus, Declan offers his final take of the week on how the net zero framework will fare at next month’s extraordinary MEPC meeting. Will the US’ threats make any material difference at all?

Does shipping whinge too much? That’s the question Lloyd’s List senior reporter Joshua Minchin is asking on this edition of the daily reaction from London International Shipping Week, joined by editor-in-chief Richard Meade, APAC editor Cichen Shen, and senior risk and compliance analyst Bridget Diakun. Governments around the world, but particularly in the UK, are often criticised for being uninformed and unenthusiastic about the maritime industry. But former shipping minister and Core Power vice-president Baroness Vere argues the shipping industry doesn’t sell itself in the right way, and instead comes to politicians with complaints, rather than solutions. Elsewhere, Cichen reflects on conversations he’s had with the Cosco delegation in London this week, while Bridget explains why there is a feeling of helplessness surrounding the shadow fleet in the industry at the moment.

Day three of London International Shipping Week sees the circus descend on the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization, which is playing host to the week’s headline conference. Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade, who moderated a session on decarbonisation, and senior reporters Joshua Minchin and Declan Bush were joined by Cargill Ocean Transportation president and chair of the Global Maritime Forum Jan Dieleman to reflect on the day’s discussions and ask whether next month’s crucial Net-Zero Framework vote would go through. Plus, Joshua asks whether shipping is suitably reassured by the several, passionate promises by military leaders this week that their forces are determined to protect shipping.

As London International Shipping Week gets off to a frantic start, Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade and reporter Joshua Minchin bring you their highlights from the first two days of the event. Richard assesses London’s role in the shipping industry as the week kicks off, and asks what the UK needs to do to stay relevant in an industry that has moved away from it as the centre of gravity it was for centuries. Joshua reflects on a fascinating session on data sharing held on Tuesday September 16 with a star-studded panel, and comes to the conclusion that actually shipping might not want to share its toys. Can regulators find a big enough stick to make them? And then there were the nukes. Long-heralded as the potential silver bullet, and dismissed as too expensive and too dangerous, Richard explains why he is optimistic about nuclear power in shipping, but not in the manner you might expect. Stay tuned for our daily roundup every day of London International Shipping week – but don’t forget you can listen to every episode ever of the Lloyd’s List podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, as well as the Lloyd’s List app.

THREE hundred years ago, when Lloyd’s List was still a list of ships pinned to a coffee shop wall, London was the epicentre of global trade. It was the hub where the shipowning, the insurance, the finance, the technology and the workforce got business done. And that was the case for centuries. But London is not the epicentre of global trade any more – far from it. As the shipping industry descends upon the UK capital once again for London International Shipping Week – we ask what shipping needs from a maritime hub. London is good. But how do we make London great again? Joining Richard on the podcast this week are: Tanuj Luthra, chief operating officer, Zodiac Maritime Jos Standerwick, chief executive officer, Maritime London Gihan Ismail, director, Marine Capital Peter Aylott, director of policy, UK Chamber of Shipping

Shore leave is a fundamental part of life at sea. It has been for centuries. The modern seafarer can spend up to 11 months on board a vessel during a contract, so getting on to dry land whenever possible can be an important form of rest and recuperation. But this custom is under threat. A recent report by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust showed that a quarter of seafarers surveyed said they did not get any shore leave during the entirety of their contract. For those that did manage to get ashore, nearly half said they spend less than three hours ashore. From visa requirements, a simple lack of time, or even the prohibitive cost of a ride to the port gate, seafarers face many barriers to getting shore when one of the very limited opportunities presents itself. Can anything be done to halt the extinction process? Joining Joshua on this week’s podcast are: Tim Hill, chief executive, Stella Maris Ben Bailey, director of programme, Mission to Seafarers Several serving seafarers aboard vessels across the world

Every year, Lloyd’s List publishes a list of the world’s Top 100 container ports. And to mark the release of this year’s ranking, we’re taking a deep dive in this week’s episode to understand the key trends seen across the container sector last year, and work out what the rest of the year has in store. In a year defined by disruption, the world’s leading container ports still managed to increase their throughput by 8% - a sharp turnaround from some of the sluggish growth we’ve become accustomed to in recent years. The geopolitical upheaval shipping has had to deal with in the last 18 months has clearly created some winners, as well as some losers that continue to suffer at the hands of Red Sea rerouting and tariff wars. To download the Lloyd’s List Top 100 Ports report, visit www.lloydslist.com/one-hundred-container-ports-2025, where you can see the full list of rankings as well access the data behind it, including regional and country-level analysis. Joining Joshua on this week's podcast are: Linton Nightingale, deputy editor, Lloyd's List Eleanor Hadland, senior ports and terminals analyst, Drewry

Low Earth orbit connectivity doesn’t occupy the same number of column inches as say Houthi terror in the Red Sea, or the climate regulatory tussles at the IMO, but it has arguably changed shipping just as much, if not more. Vessels that have long relied on dependable, but relatively slow internet connectivity now have access to the kind of upload and download speeds used to create this very podcast, thanks in no small part to Elon Musk’s Starlink system, which uses its own constellation of satellites. There’s no doubt this has opened endless doors for both shipowners and seafarers. Data collection and analysis is possible on a scale unimaginable at sea just a decade ago. Crew can now video-call family or stream live sports despite being hundreds of miles from land. But, in a microcosm of society as a whole, this advent of instant connectivity brings with it negatives too, potentially opening the door to would-be hackers who are starting to see shipping as a rich target. Joining Joshua on this week’s podcast are: Daniel Ng, chief executive, CyberOwl Tore Morten Olsen, president of maritime, Marlink Ben Palmer, president, Inmarsat Maritime

WHEN an oil tanker can trade internationally and switch between fictional flags and take on digital identities of ghost ships that were scrapped years ago, there is a problem. Not a fictional problem. A real life, tangible problem that relates to a real ship performing really dangerous operations with zero accountability and, apparently, no means to stop it. In the first edition of this podcast, we detailed how a growing black market of fraudulent ship registers, created by linked networks of international scammers have sprung up. This edition will focus on why these fake flags are just a symptom of a much wider problem. The system is broken. Fixing that system, however, is going to require a root-and-branch reappraisal of how we ensure compliance and oversight in global trade, and it’s going to require governments to be genuinely accountable for the ships they flag. Let’s start with the basics. We know what a fraudulent ship register looks like and what it doesn’t do, but what should a flag be doing? Why does the flag a ship is flying matter? Joining Richard this week are: Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst, Lloyd’s List Christian Panto, independent open-source intelligence analyst Alfonso Castillero, chief executive, Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry

Until fairly recently the government of Malawi were blissfully unaware of the fact that they inadvertently stumbled into a tense political stand-off between Nato and Russia. Ministers in the landlocked capital Lilongwe were understandably surprised to find that they had been enthusiastically registering sanctioned shadow fleet tankers and fixing them up with new identities. They were, initially at least, perplexed by questions regarding a fleet of tankers being used to load crude out of the Baltic, then escorted by Russian naval ships and tracked by the combined surveillance capacity of NATO’s forces. And that’s because they had no idea until Lloyd’s List told them. In this special two-part podcast, Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade explains how the system of ship registration has corrupted to the point that governments are unable to tell the difference between real and fake ship identities; and looks at what it will take to fix that broken system. Joining Richard on this week’s episode are: Polina Ivanova, foreign correspondent, Financial Times Christian Panto, independent open-source intelligence analyst

The EU’s two big green regulations on shipping have had many consequences, whether intended or otherwise. But their original purpose was as a threat. Four years ago the International Maritime Organization had been dragging its feet on agreeing any kind of meaningful limits on CO2 from ships. So Brussels effectively told the regulator: reduce your emissions, or we will. The European Commission extended its emissions trading system to cover half of emissions from voyages to and from the EU. It also pitched a green fuel standard called FuelEU Maritime, which fines companies unless they phase in greener fuels over time. The ETS started at the beginning of 2024 and the first credits are due to be handed over by September 30. FuelEU is being phased in too, with its own set of deadlines in the coming years. Shipping has been preparing ever since. But now the EU could be close to getting its original wish. A global net zero framework for cutting emissions is on its way from the IMO, though it needs to be formally adopted in October. So, now we have a global regime on the horizon, shouldn’t Europe fall into line? The commission has said will consider changing its ways – if it considers the IMO system ambitious enough for the planet. So, what will it do? Joining Declan on this week's podcast are: Magda Kopczyńska, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission Simon Bennett, Deputy Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping

This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast was brought to you by Veson. Visit veson.com for more information. MOST end-of-life ships usually meet their demise on the beaches of the Indian subcontinent or Aliaga in Türkiye, with the ship recycling industry not being known for a culture of safety or environmental consciousness. But the long-term efforts of NGOs, regulators, flag states, shipowners and the recycling industry have done much to improve things in recent years. This culminated in the landmark Hong Kong Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships entering into force on June 26 this year. Lloyd’s List markets editor Rob Willmington spoke to recycling industry stakeholders to find out why the Hong Kong Convention is so significant and what its implementation means for shipowners. At the same time, we asked following three years of negligible ship recycling because of strong shipping markets, when will the sale of old ships finally start to pick up again? Joining Rob on this week’s episode are: Anil Sharma, chief executive, GMS Tone Knudsen Fiskeseth, principal consultant, Environment Advisory, DNV Nikos Mikelis, chairperson, Ship Recycling Alliance Hitesh Vyas, vice-president Middle East and green recycling coordinator, Wirana

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast was brought to you by Veson. Visit veson.com for more information. Moored off Yemen’s coast, the FSO Safer is a decaying supertanker that could have spilled more than a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea. The result would have been an environmental, humanitarian and economic catastrophe. But the UN raised over $50 million to buy a replacement tanker and transfer the oil, only to then see the Houthis take control of both tankers and start using the replacement tanker as a platform to store sanctioned Russian oil. This is part two of the FSO Safer story, in which Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade looks at the bigger picture of Houthi power in the Red Sea. Should we have seen this situation coming? And why does the world continue to underestimate the Houthis, despite repeated warnings from inside Yemen about their capabilities? Joining Richard on this week’s podcast are: Nadwha Al-Dawsari, non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute Ian Ralby, chief executive, IR Consilium

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast was brought to you by Veson. Visit veson.com for more information. This is a story about a ship that has been used as a floating bomb, as political leverage, as an environmental threat. It’s a story about how the international community was convinced into raising $50m to buy a group designated by the US government as terrorists, a ship, and how that ship is being used today to store sanctioned Russian cargoes. And it’s a story about how an Islamist political organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s, that barely registered on even regional risk lists a few years ago, has been allowed to rapidly evolve into a powerful military organisation apparently able to defy the combined naval protection capabilities of the Western world. And it’s a story about why that transformation is far from over — and why the threat to shipping is growing. Joining Richard Meade to tell the FSO Safer story are: • Ian Ralby, chief executive, IR Consilium • Tomer Raanan, risk analyst, Lloyd’s List Read the original article by Tomer Raanan here: https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1154126/Exclusive-How-a-UN-purchased-tanker-became-a-Houthi-floating-storage-facility-for-Russian-oil

Amid all of the seemingly endless ups and downs that have dominated 2025 so far, dry bulk, as it always does, just keeps on going, moving some of the world’s most important commodities across our oceans. At the end of last year, the almost unanimous prediction for 2025 was that the dry bulk market wasn’t set for its best year ever. Market fundamentals looked pretty weak, especially from China, which accounts for so much of bulk demand. Have things changed drastically since those predictions were made more than six months ago? So much has happened since the turn of the year after all, with the speed of policy from the White House in the early months of the year almost unprecedented. Joining editor-in-chief Richard Meade this week are: Joshua Minchin, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List Greg Miller, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List

This episode of The Shipping Podcast is brought to you by Veson AI can provide valuable decision-making support in maritime supply chain management and it is not just a dry academic exercise: in this podcast we hear that we should play with it and have some fun along the way Eric Christofferson is Chief Product Officer at Veson Nautical, which is a provider of maritime data and freight management solutions to support global commerce. His experience with AI outside maritime reveal interesting insights in how to approach AI and get the most from it. Eric Christofferson shares his perspective on AI’s role in the maritime industry coming from the fintech industry. There are some interesting differences between them, in particular its management of data standards and information. In this podcast, he discusses how shipping relies heavily on what he calls traditional tools, such as emails and messaging services, saying that managers have to “mine that information and … structure the unstructured data.” In fintech, data is more organised. Algorithms can execute trades based on such parameters as price points and market movements but shipping has not yet reached a level of standardisation that would allow AI to make equivalent decisions. “In this industry, I haven’t seen a clean enough data set for that type of guidance to be given,” Mr Christofferson says. But in this podcast, he is confident that solutions that Veson and others provide offer “really compelling workflows and solutions” that can address this situation, bringing together data from disparate and unstructured sources. He explores whether decisions are better if they are supported by AI and believes it can play an important role in decision making. During the podcast, he offers some practical advice on getting the best out of AI-based decisions, saying that it is important to decide where in a workflow they will add value. This is how Veson approaches its work with clients and within its own organisation when introducing AI across its portfolio of solutions. He also shares why it’s important to avoid “trying to ‘AI’ everything”, why not everything is suitable for an AI solution and how to make using AI fun in an organisation. He tells the podcast that it is important to build trust for AI-generated decisions, describing that process in a similar way to developing a human relationship; “you can trust it, but you verify it,” he says. And because it can streamline data input and communication between systems, it enables people to focus on other decision-making priorities and allows them “to connect with each other at a human level” he says.

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast was brought to you by Veson. Visit veson.com for more information. Every year, Lloyd’s List publishes two sets of market outlooks. One at the end of the year and one mid-way through. Disruption and uncertainty have been synonymous with container shipping in recent years. So far, 2025 has seen more of the same and the only certainty at this stage is that this is unlikely to change through to December. After last week’s episode brought you the outlook for the container market, this week we’re focussing on the tanker sector, with Lloyd’s List senior reporter Greg Miller. Greg reflects on the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and examines their impact on the tanker market, while also offering a warning to those who think disruption can only be a good thing for the sector…

EVERY year, Lloyd’s List publishes two sets of markets outlooks. One at the end of the year and one mid-way through. Disruption and uncertainty have been synonymous with container shipping in recent years. So far, 2025 has seen more of the same — and, well, the only certainty at this stage is that this is unlikely to change through to December. US trade policies under Trump 2.0 have dominated proceedings in the opening months of the year, with the industry, like everyone else, second-guessing the president and his administration’s next move in an unpredictable game of yo-yo tariffs being played out on the global stage. This week’s episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast takes a look at the container sector’s year so far in 2025, and offers some insight into what the next six months might hold for the market amid tariff uncertainty and increasing geopolitical tensions. Joining Joshua Minchin on this week ‘s episode are: Linton Nightingale, Lloyd’s List deputy editor Neil Dekker, Infospectrum senior analyst

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast was brought to you by Wirana - visit www.wirana.com/ for more information THERE are tens of thousands of shipowners in the world, but only a handful of them can be properly be classified as major players. Much of the content of Lloyd’s List naturally focuses on the MSCs, Frontlines and Maersk’s of this world, whose fleet lists run to the hundreds. When they want to pick up some newbuildings or even to buy one of their rivals, they have few problems finding the finance. Banks refer to them as tier one clients and actively court their business, on preferential terms. But the mean average owner is probably a family-owned businesses with maybe half a dozen ships and the median average operator will have perhaps a few dozen. These kinds of guys are the backbone of our industry. Historically, they didn’t have too hard a time of time it either. Until the early years of this century, many European banks were up to their neck in ship finance and indeed, some were devoted to it entirely. This was the era of what was known as relationship banking. Shipping bankers actually understood shipping, including its cyclical nature. Owners with a sensible business plan, maybe backed by long-term charter employment, and a decent equity stake could usually negotiate a sustainable mortgage. This lost age disappeared with the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, when European banks largely quit the scene. In the following decade, private equity moved in and made a small fortune, but only by starting with a large one. Chinese leasing deals became the preferred option – and sometimes the only option - for many. But their S&P choices face increasing constraints. New environmental regulations are coming in thick and fast, and there is still no agreement on what alternative fuels will be standard, or even available at all, a few years from now. Politics is always the wild card, and Trump’s decision to introduce hefty port fees on tonnage build in China or legally owned by Chinese lessors will have blindsided many. So if your surname is not Aponte or Fredriksen, how the heck do you make rational S&P decisions? Joining law and insurance editor David Osler this week are: Dagfinn Lunde, co-founder eshipfinance.com Kavita Shah, partner, Watson, Farley and Williams Costas Delaportas, chief executive, DryDel Shipping

Who are the winners and losers of shipping’s decarbonised regulatory future? by Lloyd's List

What does China’s unassailable lead in terms of naval power, the wording of recent US statutes and the adaptability of shipping, all have to do with how a chief financial officer eats their breakfast? It’s all about how shipping perceives risk and uncertainty right now. Uncertainty has dominated the shipping industry in the past months. But this narrative that shipowners are paralysed by the geopolitical volatility is only part of the story. The global economy is at a crossroads. We are entering an era of superpower rivalry between the US and China that will fundamentally upend established trading assumptions and fragment shipping down geopolitical lines. Now, depending on who you are talking to, the response to that uncertainty results in either a barely concealed fist-bump of joy as they mentally run through the profitable opportunities ahead, or near term paralysis as they conclude that there is no value in strategic investment in the face of such unknowable odds. And that’s because this isn’t just the long -term disintegration of a rules-based order that we are talking about, although that is part of it. Near term that uncertainty is created by the fact that it is now security not economics that is driving the bus when it comes to US decision making, and that’s confusing everyone. Agility is the new currency for shipping. We have to adapt to all these challenges – shipping’s bullish elite told us. Volatility is the lifeblood of profitable shipping and certainty has never been a prerequisite for making decisions. So, why complain about exogenous shocks now? On stage, the message was defiant: shipowners paralysed by the geopolitical swings risk losing out. Off stage, their commitment to specific questions of progress and investment was generally more hesitant. But they still need to make decisions – and that’s the focus of this week’s podcast. Joining Richard this week on the podcast are: Øystein Tunsjø, Professor of International Relations, Head of Security in Asia Program, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, Norwegian Defence University College Brian Maloney, Partner, Seward & Kissel Annicken Kildahl, CFO, Grieg Maritime Group Hing Chao, Executive Chairman, Wah Kwong Maritime Transport

Efficiency is good business. Forget any lofty notions of environmental altruism for the moment. Burning less fuel, emitting less CO2 that just makes sense financially speaking. Except, that in shipping, inefficiency can often bring opportunity. Arbitrage and trading optionality is often a bigger, more profitable pull away from strict notions of carbon reduction. Emissions regulation is about compliance not profit. And that has generally speaking been the attitude in shipping while we have been talking conceptually. But carbon pricing is no longer a distant regulatory threat — it’s already impacting shipping and trading, even if the majority of shipping is either not ready or in the case of 60% of you missed the first regulatory hurdle of submitting verified emissions reports. The European Union is leading the charge, with the EU Emission Trading System and FuelEU Maritime adding an estimated $6.1bn to industry costs in 2025 alone. The IMO’s Greenhouse Gas Fuel Intensity (GFI) measure is set to join the mix from 2028, driving up costs even further. Shipowners and charterers could be staring down a combined carbon bill approaching $50bn by 2030 in a business-as-usual scenario. These surging costs will ripple through supply chains, driving up freight rates, influencing fuel choices, and potentially reshaping global trade patterns. Carbon pricing has moved from a regulatory abstraction to an immediate financial reality and that’s what we are talking about in this edition of the Lloyd’s List podcast. We have two speakers who offer an instructive view on what is, and isn’t, happening right now. Sigmund Kyvik is the CEO of Siglar Carbon – a data-led business that offers emissions insights that cut carbon and costs. Robert Hvide Macleod is a former chief executive of tanker giant Frontline, but he’s also an active investor in Siglar and is someone who has spotted the financial opportunity in managing carbon efficiency.

The global shipping fleet is getting older, but it is also getting more dangerous. As freight rates surged in a tonne-miles driven market, many shipowners delayed scrapping older vessels, which put seafarers, cargo and the environment at greater risk. The industry must now act decisively to improve safety standards amid an ageing fleet, argues the class society DNV who have used Lloyd’s List Intelligence casualty data to analyse the trends. Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade sat down with Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV Maritime, on the sidelines of the Nor-Shipping event being held in Oslo this week to discuss what this means and what can be done about it