The 29th Posidonia International Shipping Exhibition opened as scheduled at the Athens Metropolitan Expo Centre. A bellwether event for the global shipping sector, the show brought together over 2,200 maritime enterprises from 83 countries. Centred on the flagship summit themed Resilience Amid Turbulence, the exhibition gathered top global shipowners, leading energy conglomerates, maritime financiers and senior executives from international shipping associations for in-depth deliberations on three defining industry pain points: geopolitical fragmentation, illicit shadow fleets and maritime decarbonisation, alongside assessments of how the global shipping landscape will evolve into a new operational order.
Overall Industry Landscape: Trillion-Dollar Shipping Sector Reels from Geopolitical Shocks Yet Demonstrates Underlying Market Resilience
Steve Gordon, Managing Director of Clarkson Research, unveiled ten key industry metrics illustrating the sector’s current landscape marked by mounting headwinds paired with notable resilience. Statistics put the aggregate value of the global existing fleet and newbuilding orderbook at USD 2.4 trillion, underscoring shipping’s enormous economic footprint. Even so, trillion-dollar industry investments remain overshadowed by deepening geopolitical risks worldwide.
Geopolitical turmoil across the Middle East has dealt a severe blow to seaborne energy supply chains: vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping artery, have plummeted by 95%, with oil shipment losses totalling 1.5 billion barrels since the onset of the crisis. On any given day, roughly 7 million barrels of crude oil and vessels accounting for 2% of global tonnage remain trapped in Persian Gulf waters, including 8% of the world’s Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) fleet and 3% of the Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) fleet, placing unprecedented strain on energy shipping logistics.
Spillover fallout from the Ukraine conflict, Houthi military operations and Iran-related geopolitical frictions has lifted the average sailing distance for global seaborne trade by 10% since 2019. This structural shift continually consumes available shipping capacity and reshapes established patterns of global commodity trade. Against volatile external conditions, however, underlying shipping fundamentals have proven robust: the Clarkson Shipping Index has outperformed all prior early-year readings, with daily spot charter rates for VLGCs and crude tankers surging above USD 40,000, while container shipping maintains positive momentum.
New vessel contracting also stays strong, with outstanding new orders equivalent to 21% of the active global fleet; shipyard deliveries are projected to hit an all-time high of 60 million Compensated Gross Tonnage (CGT) by 2027. Two systemic industry vulnerabilities nonetheless loom large: 41% of existing ships are aged 15 years or older, with an ageing fleet posing a long-term structural risk, while the shipping industry accounts for 2% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions, fuelling persistent debates and mounting compliance burdens around decarbonisation transition.
As a linchpin of global shipping, Greek shipowners control 21% of the world’s bulk carrier, tanker and gas carrier fleets. Their strategic business decisions will steer the trajectory of international shipping over the next decade, even as Greek operators bear the brunt of ongoing industry upheaval.
Shifting Geopolitics: Restructured Trade Flows Spur Industry Debates Over Risk Management and Market Equilibrium
A core forum agenda item explored viable shipping business strategies amid escalating geopolitical fragmentation, with industry leaders engaging in candid, rigorous exchanges covering sanction exposure, trade rerouting and crisis mitigation measures. Paul Pathy, President of BIMCO and CEO of Fednav, noted the shipping industry’s inherent flexibility to adapt to shifting market conditions; shipowners prioritise commercial interests and market dynamics and need not pick sides amid great-power rivalries or US-China tariff disputes.
Charis Plakantonaki, Chief Strategy Officer at Star Bulk Carriers, highlighted how geopolitical realignments have overhauled dry bulk trade patterns: shifting US-China trade dynamics have prompted China to source most bulk commodities from Brazil instead of the United States, while protracted Gulf instability and Red Sea disruptions continue to disrupt vessel operations. One of her firm’s nine vessels stranded near the Strait of Hormuz sustained damage in a militant attack. Even so, she maintains dry bulk market supply-demand fundamentals remain solid, though prolonged geopolitical strife could tip the sector into an economic downturn.
Costas Delaportas, President and CEO of DryDel Shipping, further flagged latent risks from sustained geopolitical conflict: shrinking commodity demand and shrinking cargo volumes would directly depress freight rates. Compounding operational hurdles is an acute bunker fuel shortage: current lead times for marine fuel deliveries stretch 10 to 12 days, with projected market fuel supply cuts of up to 60%, squeezing carrier profit margins and forcing market participants to wait out geopolitical developments.
James Lewis, Global VP of Operations at Cargill Ocean Transportation, emphasised that shipping is undergoing its most profound transformation in two decades amid unprecedented uncertainty from great-power competition. Rapidly evolving geopolitics and market volatility oblige carriers to elevate risk management to a core corporate priority to boost operational efficiency and market agility amid full-value-chain challenges.
Industry Malpractice: Unregulated Shadow Fleet Expansion Stemmed Largely from Weak Oversight and Enforcement
A dedicated forum session addressed the rampant proliferation of unregulated shadow fleets, now a critical compliance hazard for legitimate global shipping development. Rolf Westfal-Larsen Jr., CEO of Westfal-Larsen Management and senior representative at INTERTANKO (International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Association), laid out the extensive harm shadow fleets inflict on the wider sector.
He argued existing global crackdowns on shadow fleets consist of disjointed, ad-hoc responses lacking standardised, permanent cross-border enforcement frameworks and robust national regulatory oversight. Loose supervision and minimal financial penalties enable unlicensed shadow fleet operators to flout rules with near-impunity, distorting fair market competition and eroding revenue for law-abiding shipowners. Without meaningful regulatory reform, unlawful shadow fleet activity will continue to escalate. Forum participants unanimously called for harmonised global enforcement standards and enhanced cross-border regulatory cooperation to eradicate unregulated shadow shipping practices.
Decarbonisation Debates: Industry Aligns on Transition Imperative, Disputes Persist Over Implementation Costs and Regulatory Policies
Maritime decarbonisation emerged as one of the forum’s most hotly contested topics. Delegates debated pressing concerns including delayed rollout of the IMO’s net-zero roadmap, unilateral EU carbon legislation, alternative fuel uptake and prohibitive transition expenses to map out current obstacles facing the industry’s low-carbon shift.
A broad industry consensus has solidified around unavoidable decarbonisation. Baroness Charlotte Vere, Head of Market Development at CORE POWER, and Claire Wright, Managing Director Europe at Hanwha Ocean, both confirmed the industry debate has evolved from whether to decarbonise toward identifying pathways for a smooth, resilient energy transition. Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of Maersk’s Zero Carbon Shipping Centre, observed rising voluntary uptake of low-carbon fuels and eco-friendly technology among global shipowners, as carriers pre-invest in decarbonisation solutions pending finalised unified global IMO regulations. He urged the IMO and European Union to design equitable, consistent emissions reduction rules for the entire shipping sector.
Transition cost remains the biggest bottleneck facing all vessel operators. On alternative fuel pathways, Alexandra Ebbinghaus, Global Decarbonisation Director for Shell Maritime, affirmed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) stands as a viable transitional low-emission fuel option for today’s shipping industry.
By contrast, the European Shipowners’ Association has voiced fierce opposition to the EU’s unilateral carbon regulatory regime. Sotiris Raptis, the association’s Secretary General, stated European shipowners pay EUR 9 billion annually under relevant EU levies with little transparency over fund allocation. Industry stakeholders are pressing the EU to make a formal commitment to repeal unilateral measures including the EU Shipping Emissions Trading System (ETS) once a unified global IMO emissions accord enters into force, sparing carriers duplicate compliance costs from conflicting regional and international rules.
Industry Titans Speak Out: Criticism of Partial Sanctions, Prioritising Seafarers’ Safety and Open Shipping Lanes
The forum closed with a fireside chat featuring Evangelos Marinakis, Founder and Chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp., one of Greece’s preeminent shipping conglomerates, who shared hard-hitting insights on prevailing geopolitical sanctions and seaway security.
Addressing Middle Eastern transit risks, Marinakis confirmed none of his group’s vessels will attempt risky transits of the Strait of Hormuz, citing crew safety as the overriding corporate priority. He added that moderate transit fee payments to keep key chokepoints navigable represents a more industry-friendly alternative to full waterway blockades.
He slammed the EU’s partial sanctions on Russian crude as counterproductive and largely ineffective. While China and other nations secure discounted Russian oil imports, European economies face inflated energy costs that harm domestic shipping and broader real-economy performance. In his view, sanctions can only deliver intended outcomes via comprehensive blanket restrictions; partial punitive measures simply skew global trade balances and inflict collateral damage on uninvolved third-party economies.