Lloyd's List: The Shipping Podcast

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/