Dealing with freight rate volatility in today’s markets

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