Dealing with freight rate volatility in today’s markets

WHAT happens if you don’t buy cyber risk insurance? Well, Jaguar Landrover 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. That will have been welcome to JLR, of course. But the episode raises some important questions. Privately owned JLR has effectively benefited from state support when it could, of course, have insured itself commercially against the risk. The company made £2.5bn profit last year, so the premiums would easily have been within its means. Reportedly it even discussed that possibility of buying cyber cover with its insurance brokers but decided not to go ahead. Some commentators have framed this point in terms of moral hazard. By backstopping the company, the state was indirectly underwriting JLR’s lax cyber security standards, they contend. That sets a dangerous precedent and sends other big firms the message that they too can skimp on premiums. In the worst case, the decision will ultimately have emboldened the criminals. As well as JLR, other recent victims of cyber crime include Heathrow Airport and household name 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 Altmann, director, CyberCube Stephen Wares, head of international underwriting, Coalition

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