Lloyd's List

Free to listen: The maritime industry is evolving faster than we often realise. Only a few years ago, high-frequency data collection was groundbreaking. Today, cloud-to-cloud connectivity and AI-powered optimisation platforms are a normal part of operations. Advanced vessel connectivity is scaling rapidly, and generative AI and machine learning are poised to accelerate those changes dramatically. If you missed the previous edition of this podcast, go back and listen to the experts explain what has happened, is happening and will happen, because there is progress there; shipping is innovating fast. You can find it here: https://lnkd.in/eaNkF7qk But it’s important to not just focus on the tech, the widgets, the data and the AI. The bit often missed in all this is the human intelligence. And that’s the more interesting part of the story. It’s where the greatest opportunities lie, but it’s also the biggest risk. https://lnkd.in/e3SeRDXC

The reconfiguration of international shipping lanes borne out of the situation in the Red Sea has inadvertently led to a surge in traffic east of the coast of Somalia, an area that has seen a resurgence in piracy activity over the past year. Vessel-tracking data from Lloyd's List Intelligence shows the number of ships sailing the international shipping lane east of the former high-threat area (2021 iteration) has doubled year on year as ships have rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea. The monthly average number of transits of cargo-carrying vessels from January to October 2023 was 305. During the same period in 2024 this figure is 624. Lloyd's List subscribers can read more here: https://lnkd.in/eHizgVB7

A final call to register your interest in attending the Lloyd's List Outlook Forum: 2025 and beyond event in London next week, in association with Lloyd's Register Alongside experts from Lloyd's List Intelligence, there is a stellar line up of panel guests including: 🔵 Nicholas Brown, chief executive, Lloyd’s Register 🔵 Karrie Trauth, senior vice-president and head of shipping and maritime, Shell 🔵 Tanuj Luthra, chief operating officer, Zodiac Maritime 🔵 Andrea Olivi, Global Head of Shipping, Trafigura 🔵 Michelle Linderman, Partner, Van Bael & Bellis 🔵 Daniel Martin, Partner HFW For more details and to register your interest, follow the link below: https://lnkd.in/ewEJeh_X

Free to view: This year has been extremely active for shipping mergers and acquisitions. Next year looks like it will be slower, with a different landscape for both buyers and sellers. “The activity this year has been very, very robust. Higher asset valuations and higher share prices tend to bring out both buyers and sellers,” said Evercore senior managing director Mark Friedman at the Marine Money Ship Finance Forum in New York. There have been major M&A transactions on the private side in 2024, including Adnoc’s $1bn-plus purchase of Navig8 and BlackRock’s sale of its GasLog Ltd stake to GIC. There was also yet another privatisation of a listed company: MSC’s purchase of Gram Car Carriers. There were share-for-share transactions among public players (the merging of Eagle Bulk into Star Bulk), public-to-public share-and-cash deals (the sale of Avance’s very large gas carriers to BW LPG), and the use of public shares to buy private ships (the acquisition of the MTM fleet by Pangaea Logistics). But the market dynamics took a major turn this summer, changing the forward landscape for M&A https://lnkd.in/eZDn4xzp

Free to view: The UK government has sanctioned two Russian insurance companies and 30 tankers for breaching sanctions on Russia’s oil and shipping industry. Alfastrakhovanie and VSK, both providers of marine insurance to vessels shipping Russian energy commodities, were designated. The UK government already sanctioned Ingosstrakh, another provider, last June. This takes the total of ships listed by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in 2024 to 73, the government said. Read more below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eckX6SS5

Free to listen: Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade speaks to shipping’s thought leaders to find out where the true innovation in the industry is happening Where are the breakthroughs? What do the great leap forwards looks like? There is no single unifying answer - that’s part of the problem, but also a huge opportunity. Joining Richard on the podcast this week are: 🔵 Alexander Saverys, chief executive of CMB.TECH 🔵 Soren Christian Meyer, chief executive of ZeroNorth 🔵 Richard Buckley, chief executive of Ninety Percent of Everything (90POE) 🔵 Eman Abdalla, global operations director at Cargill Ocean Transportation 🔵 Saskia Mureau, digital director at the Port of Rotterdam   🔵 Chakib Abi-Saab, chief technology officer at Lloyd's Register Listen below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eaNkF7qk

Exclusive: An elaborate scheme to skirt US sanctions on Iranian shipments of energy products is laid bare in a haul of leaked documents, showcasing the process through which owners, shippers and other supply chain actors sidestep Washington’s prohibitions. An analysis of dozens of leaked emails and documents uploaded by dissident website WikiIran shows the steps behind a shipment of Iran-origin liquified petroleum gas in spring 2023. The emails, which include instructions on manipulating a vessel’s tracking signals and the use of forged shipping documents to obfuscate the cargo’s origin, also showcase the worrying substandard safety practices of shipowners involved in sanctions trades. Emails sent to two of the primary individuals involved in the voyage were not deliverable, suggesting accounts exposed in the leaks have since been shut. As such, Lloyd’s List has not been able to independently verify the source and authenticity of the emails and documents, although much of their contents can be corroborated with Lloyd's List Intelligence Automatic Identification System data and satellite imagery. The leaked communications tell the story of the 1991-built, Cameroon-flagged very large gas carrier Sea Opera (IMO: 9000883). Lloyd's List subscribers can read the full article by Tomer Raanan here: https://lnkd.in/gH8CHGCn

If you would like to hear from shipping leaders who will offer up their views on the opportunities and threats that lie ahead for the industry in 2025 and beyond, register your interest in joining us on December 5 for The Lloyd’s List Outlook Forum More information below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eWbxp5uB

Containership upsizing is a main culprit behind the prevalent container port congestion around the world, a senior executive at a leading carrier said at an industry conference. “Port congestion is prevailing everywhere. It started in Europe first, but is now also harming our very efficient Asian ports,” said CMA CGM executive vice president in charge of assets Christine Cabau Woehrel. “I think a big reason for this is because we shipping lines are operating bigger and bigger ships,” she told a liner shipping and logistics forum as part of Hong Kong Maritime Week. Woehrel said ports face intensifying challenges as more 23,000 teu vessels deploy on Asia-Europe lanes. Bottlenecks stem not necessarily from berth productivity, but rather from container yard capacities when ultra-large ships make consecutive port calls per week, she added. “We need to adapt to this new normal, because it’s not easy for ports worldwide to immediately expand yard space,” said Woehrel. https://lnkd.in/eQJESfMH

Free to view: One year on since the Iran-backed rebel group hijacked car carrier Galaxy Leader and took its crew hostage, there have been more than 300 reported attacks on shipping in the Red Sea Lloyd’s List data tells the story of one of shipping’s most dangerous years Read below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dbjkAMaC