Red Sea Risk Isn’t Over: Why War-Risk Premiums Are Spiking Again
War-risk pricing in the Red Sea has flared again after renewed Houthi strikes on merchant shipping in late September and early October. Insurers in London and regional markets have pushed additional premiums back toward...
Buying Pressure: Will India and China Cut Russian Oil?
Global pressure on India and China to curb Russian barrels is heating up. Washington says New Delhi is already cutting, Brussels is closing a refinery backdoor into Europe, and enforcement on the shadow fleet...
Fee Shocks, Sanctions, and a Carbon Cliff: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/17/25)
Recent policy shocks and market pivots touch real cash: China’s retaliatory port fees are already showing seven-figure invoices, the IMO’s climate vote could lock in or delay a new global cost line, and the...
6 Proven Ways to Slash Chandlery Costs by 5–20%
Chandlery costs don’t just leak at the gangway; they start bleeding the moment specs are vague. Locking what you buy, how you describe it, and which brands are acceptable turns a messy RFQ into...
UK Clampdown on Russian Oil and Shadow Tankers Shifts Shipping Economics
Britain has moved against Russia’s two largest oil firms and dozens of “shadow fleet” tankers, adding asset freezes, service bans, and transport restrictions that aim to choke off oil revenues and deter sanctions evasion....
Saudi Arabia and U.S. Push to Block IMO Net Zero Plan – Industry Impact Analysis
The United States and Saudi Arabia are coordinating efforts at this week’s extraordinary MEPC session to stall or sink the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework, which would introduce a global carbon price for shipping. Reports indicate...
21st International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG2026 Qatar)
Doha is where LNG’s global deal table sets up in early 2026. For four days, producers, buyers, portfolio players, shipowners, terminal operators, EPCs, and technology suppliers align volumes, timelines, and projects across the full...
8 Ports Racing to Shore Power in 2026 & Beyond
Shore power is moving from pilot to plan. By 2030, EU rules push container and passenger berths to provide plug-in power, and the ports that lock funding, grid capacity, and terminal buy-in now will...
China’s Port Fee Shock Redraws Voyage Math
China began collecting special port fees on U.S.-linked vessels on October 14, 2025, starting at 400 yuan per net ton and stepping up to 1,120 yuan by 2028. Early application included a roughly 12.1...
Policy shocks, trade reroutes, and fresh ordering: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/15/25)
China’s new port levies add hard per-call costs, the IMO’s prospective carbon charge turns emissions into a recurring expense, and Russia’s export surge is boosting tonne-miles for crude. Meanwhile, selective Arctic transits, newbuild programs...
Panama Canal’s New Booking Rules: Slot Strategy for 2026
The Canal’s booking chessboard just shifted. With LoTSA 2.0 splitting long-term reservations into tighter six-month cycles, a lower average of daily long-term slots, new cut-off times in the short-term windows, and the one-slot-per-date cap...
S-100 ECDIS (Layered Charts) Made Simple: 2025 Update
S-100 ECDIS matters because charts are turning into live layers. Instead of a single ENC view, bridge teams can combine official base charts with higher-resolution depth, real-time water levels, surface currents, navigational warnings, and...
Curve Shift Toward Contango Reshapes Tanker Economics
The forward curve is leaning into contango from early 2026, backed by forecasts of supply exceeding demand and a loosening prompt market. Wider spreads incentivize storage plays and longer voyages, which generally help large...
Beijing Sanctions Hit Hanwha’s U.S. Footprint, Rippling Through Yard Finance and Supply Chains
China has barred its companies and citizens from doing business with five U.S.-linked subsidiaries of South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, tying the move to a U.S. probe of China’s shipbuilding dominance and unveiling it the...
10 Contract Clauses That Save You in Volatile Markets
When markets swing, contracts become your line of defense. In volatile times, losing a few percentage points of margin across many voyages can erode the business. Some shipowners don’t just negotiate hire, they bake...
U.S. Pushback Against IMO Net Zero Ups the Stakes
Washington’s threat to penalize countries that back the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework turns a technical climate vote into a commercial and geopolitical risk event. The menu of possible reprisals includes visa limits, sanctions, and added...
Port Fees, Sanctions, Arctic Shortcuts, and Methane Fixes: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/13/25)
New tit-for-tat port fees between the U.S. and China, U.S. threats tied to the IMO climate vote, fresh Iran-energy sanctions impacting a Sinopec-linked terminal, a $475m WTIV cancellation, rising EU ETS/FuelEU costs, a rapid...
Contracting in a Rate Slide: Surcharges You Can (and Can’t) Defend
When spot softens and capacity creeps back, every add-on gets questioned. Owners and NVOs still face real compliance and security costs, but only some surcharges are provably linked to external triggers. The art is...
Sanctions, Fees, Contracts, and Fuel Logistics: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/10/25)
A packed week for shipping finance and operations. Fresh U.S. sanctions tighten the screws on Iranian energy trades while the roster of blacklisted vessels continues to swell. U.S. port fees for China-linked ships near...
Sanctions Net Tightens: U.S. Targets Iran’s Energy Export Web
Washington rolled out a broad new sanctions package, hitting the logistics that move Iranian crude and LPG: more than fifty additional people, companies, and ships were designated, alongside a China-based crude terminal and an...
Panama Canal 2025: 8 Key Reasons That Explain the Rebound
War risk, reroutes, and drought whiplash rewired 2024; but in 2025, rainfall finally gave the Panama Canal breathing room. Lake levels firmed, daily slots stepped up in stages, and maximum draft crept back toward...
Cranes Quiet, Schedules Slip: Rotterdam Strike and Antwerp-Bruges Pilot Protest Snarl Box Flows
Container work at Rotterdam paused for a 48-hour lasher strike from Wednesday, October 8 at 15:15 through Friday, October 10 at 15:15, while nearby Antwerp-Bruges has been slowed by a multi-day harbour-pilot protest that...
Panama Canal: More Transits, Fewer Detours, Better Schedules
The Panama Canal just posted a sharp rebound: FY2025 revenue up ~14.4% to $5.7B (preliminary/unaudited) and transits up ~19.3% to 13,404 for the 12 months ended Sept 30. Container and LPG volumes led the...
War Risk Surcharge Heatmap
War risk pricing is moving in bursts this year. After fresh attacks and electronic interference warnings, additional premiums on key lanes have surged, softened, and surged again, turning a seven-day cover into a six-figure...
Longer Hauls, Stronger Earnings: Russia→India Crude Lifts Tanker P&L
Freight for hauling Russian barrels to India has jumped into early October as more crude moves seaborne from Baltic and Black Sea ports. Unplanned refinery outages and wartime disruptions inside Russia are pushing crude...
Shock Costs, Risk Routes, and LNG Pivots: Maritime Bottom-line News (10/8/25)
From new U.S. port-entry fees for China-linked vessels to a fresh spike in Gulf GNSS interference, recent developments directly change voyage math, routing choices, and fuel strategies. Tanker earnings stay underpinned by longer Russian...
10 FuelEU Maritime Pitfalls Owners are Hitting (and How to Avoid Them)
FuelEU Maritime is reshaping day-to-day decisions on fuel, paperwork, and port operations. Small gaps, like scope tags, OPS records, or factor versions can snowball at verification, while well-documented choices can unlock real headroom against...
Capacity Pulled, Costs Rewired: Blank Sailings Roar Back
Carriers are yanking voyages to stop the slide in spot rates, concentrating cuts on Asia–US and Asia–Europe loops just as Q4 orders move. The result is tighter effective capacity, more rollovers and skipped calls,...
“Pay Before You Berth” CBP Locks In New U.S. Fees for China-Linked Ships
Starting October 14, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will enforce new Section 301 port-entry fees on vessels that are Chinese-owned/operated (Annex I) and on Chinese-built ships (Annex II), with payment due before...
Container Spot Rates in Freefall: What It Could Mean for Q4 Contracts
Container spot rates fell sharply into early October, hitting their lowest level since January 2024. Drewry’s WCI slid another 5% on October 2 to $1,669/FEU, with Far East–US lanes and Asia–Europe both under pressure;...