Lloyd's List: The Shipping Podcast

The new shipbuilding supercycle: Cyclical upswing or structural shift? 06.07.2026 27min

The new shipbuilding supercycle: Cyclical upswing or structural shift? by Lloyd's List

Day of the Seafarer 2026: Lessons learned from Hormuz 25.06.2026 24min

To mark 2026’s Day of the Seafarer, this edition of the Lloyd’s List podcast asks what shipping has learned from the Strait of Hormuz crisis from a seafarer perspective. Perhaps most importantly, he asks experts whether crews feel empowered to exercise their right to refuse to transit if they feel unsafe, and learns more about how associations and unions are seeking to improve welfare and mental health support during crises. Joining Matt on this week’s podcast are: Helio Vicente, employment affairs director, International Chamber of Shipping Anil Devli, chief executive, Indian National Shipowners Association Captain Sundeep Sequeria, chair, seafarers’ factors workgroup, Singapore Shipping Association Peter Rouch, secretary general, The Mission to Seafarers Learn more about Lloyd's List Intelligence at https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/

Recycling values are high, but Gulf situation is pivotal 23.06.2026 19min

It is a seller’s market at the moment in the ship recycling sector, thanks to a shortage of tonnage. But Hitesh Vyas of the Singapore-based cash buyer Wirana says in this first of six podcasts that this could change, depending on the outcome of the situation in the Gulf.

What is going on in the Strait of Hormuz? 22.06.2026 19min

This episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast is brough to you by Veson. Visit www.veson.com for more information Open, closed, and now open again? Optimism that traffic might return to something resembling normality fairly quickly turned to uncertainty again as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard proclaimed the Strait of Hormuz closed on Saturday. It accused the US of not following its agreement and cited Israeli strikes on Lebanon as rationale for closing the strait again. How, as a shipowner, do you begin to decide whether to transit the strait or return to the Middle East Gulf? Will you have to pay a toll? What are investors making of the uncertainty? To answer those questions, Lloyd’s List senior reporter Joshua Minchin was joined by: • Richard Meade, editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List • Cichen Shen, Asia Pacific editor, Lloyd’s List • Tomer Raanan, maritime risk analyst, Lloyd’s List

Shipping needs its own maritime-specific AI revolution 17.06.2026 19min

Trusted data is essential for shipping to get the best from the AI revolution, argues Russ Hubbard, Chief Commercial Officer of Veson Nautical. In this podcast, he explains why that is the case and considers the future impact of further AI implementation on maritime companies and their personnel.

An EU ETS that liner shipping can live with? 16.06.2026 15min

IT’S now been two years since the EU Emissions Trading System was extended to shipping. But it hasn’t always been a happy relationship. Shipowners are not necessarily keen paying extra taxes, especially the green variety. Meanwhile operators in Asia are not fond of having to create accounts in EU countries to report and pay their emissions bills, without seeing any of the revenue. On the other side, greens don’t like the ETS because the extra cost per tonne — about €70 to €80 ($81 to $93) over the past year — isn’t enough to make switching to greener fuels worthwhile. Shipping’s share of ETS credits is about sixty to eighty million a year – less than 10% of the market, so the price of those allowances is outside the industry’s control. It’s considered a good regulation for emissions on land, but a poor one for emissions at sea. But now, an opportunity for change is on the horizon. To find out what changes shipping wants, Lloyd’s List senior reporter Declan Bush spoke to World Shipping Council vice president of environment and climate, Simon Bergulf.

Can we stop seafarers from being criminalised? 08.06.2026 18min

This episode of the Lloyd’s List podcast is brought to you by Veson. Visit www.veson.com for more information EVERY year, seafarers are held for months on end on suspicion of crimes that ultimately, there is little evidence they had anything to do with. Whether its pollution events or, as is increasingly common, suspected drug smuggling, crew are often the only potential perpetrators investigators can lay their hands on. So is there a lot the industry can do to stop this? Once seafarers do land themselves on the wrong side of the law, how can flag states intercede on their behalf? Joining Joshua on the podcast this week are: Ben Bailey, director of programme, Mission to Seafarers Kiran Khosla, principal legal director, International Chamber of Shipping Eleni Antoniadou, lawyer, Gard Leo Bolivar, country manager, Marshall Islands Registry

The Posidonia 2026 wrap: overcapacity concerns and the AI buzz 05.06.2026 24min

ATTEND any one of the multiple receptions and parties thrown in Athens this week and you would not walk away necessarily thinking anyone in shipping is remotely worried. A packed exhibition with the whole spectrum of industry stakeholders demonstrated shipping’s diversity and vibrance, but quietly, over coffees in corners, there was tangible concern. Markets are good at the moment, ask any tanker owner, but the undercurrent of caution was palpable. On this week’s episode of the podcast are: • Joshua Minchin, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List • Linton Nightingale, deputy editor, Lloyd’s List • Declan Bush, senior reporter, Lloyd’s List

The Posidonia 2026 Special…feat. Arsenio Dominguez, Polys Hajioannou and more 01.06.2026 16min

This episode of the Lloyd's List Podcast is brought to you by Veson SHIPPING is resilient, and many will tell you it thrives on volatility, but the number of and frequency of crises is taking its toll. It’s also preventing the industry from having honest conversations about other, equally meaningful and perhaps even more treacherous problems coming down the track. Are we going to run out of seafarers? Do we really understand AI? Do regulators listen to shipowners and how long can we expect what some are calling the next supercycle to last? Joining Joshua on this week’s podcast from Capital Link are: Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Costas Delaportas, chief executive, Drydel Shipping Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, chief executive maritime, DNV Andy McKeran, chief growth officer, Lloyd's Register Joshua Divin, senior vice president maritime business development, American Bureau of Shipping Polys Hajioannou, chief executive officer, Safe Bulkers Sotiris Raptis, secretary general, European Shipowners

How worried should you be about bunkers? 27.05.2026 30min

Speak to a shipowner about bunker supply at the moment, and you’ll find a spectrum of responses. Some are remarkably calm: nothing to worry about, supply is healthy despite the still closed Strait of Hormuz. Yes you might have to pay a bit more, but that’s shipping and you can still operate effectively. Others are decidedly less optimistic. For them, the Strait of Hormuz represents a real threat to bunker supply in major hubs around the world, and spiraling pricing could make some voyages unprofitable altogether. So what’s the reality? Should you be worried about supply? Is quality suffering as a result of scarcity? And how has this latest geopolitical crisis affected how bunkering works as a sector? Joining Joshua on the podcast are: • Alexander Prokopakis, executive director, International Bunker Industry Association • Kenneth Dam, executive director, TFG • Peter Grünwaldt, head of bunkering, Hafnia • Matthew Rajendra, senior reporter, Lloyd's List Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/

What’s next for tanker stocks as Hormuz crisis drags on? 18.05.2026 19min

You can throw almost every outlook or prediction made for the tanker market in 2026 in the garbage, says Lloyd’s List senior reporter Greg Miller. After all, the US-Iran war and ensuing Strait of Hormuz crisis is perhaps the black swan to end all black swans for the market. More than two months later, the chokepoint remains closed: so what happens to tanker stocks now? To find out, Greg spoke to Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Robertson, who ran through the year so far for tanker stocks and offered some insight as to what might be in store if the crisis continues into late 2026.

What happens in Hormuz… doesn’t stay in Hormuz 14.05.2026 23min

THIS week’s edition of the Lloyd’s List podcast looks at the longer-term impacts of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. How much damage to the energy market is already priced in? When are Asian companies expecting the strait to be reopened? And will other nations, such as Indonesia, look at chokepoints in their own waters and wonder whether they can turn them to their advantage? To find out the answers to these questions and more, catch the full webinar on-demand here: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/5348668/FDDE3719FFE364EEDA017BE4BAB3C4CC Joining Lloyd’s List editor-in-chief Richard Meade on the podcast are: Cichen Shen, Asia-Pacific editor, Lloyd’s List Ian Ralby, chief executive, IR Consilium

Did anything happen at MEPC last week? 05.05.2026 15min

LAST week, delegates once again met in London for the International maritime Organization’s marine environment protection committee. The two editions in 2025, MEPC 83 in April and the extraordinary session in October, generated some of the biggest stories in shipping. To the surprise of many, the net zero framework agreed in April’s meeting was not adopted in October, thanks to stiff opposition from the US and several oil-producing states. Instead, a one-year postponement was agreed, and shipping’s green deal was left perhaps not dead, but certainly not healthy either. So back we are again, this time at MEPC84, and what has changed? Lloyd’s List senior reporter Declan Bush, who covers decarbonization for Lloyd’s List and attended every day of MEPC84, sat down to explain what happened last week and whether it gets shipping any closer to a decision on a net zero framework or not. Learn more about Lloyd’s List Intelligence here: https://www.lloydslistintelligence.com/.

What keeps shipping awake at night? LIVE from Singapore 27.04.2026 27min

This episode of the Lloyd's List podcast is brought to you by Lloyd's Register DECARBONISATION, changing trade lanes and concerns of seafarer shortages – there is no shortage of reasons for why shipping executives might be losing sleep. But add to that the Strait of Hormuz crisis and the job of running a shipping company has become even more difficult. Our outlook forums are usually a chance to hear from experts from within the shipping industry on what they think are the most important challenges the sector is likely to face over the next few years. But before we get to the crisis in the strait and the fallout from it, Richard started by asking all of our guests a now-familiar question: what keeps you up at night? Joining Richard on this week’s podcast are: Nick Brown, chief executive, Lloyd’s Register Joe Kramek, chief executive, World Shipping Council Adam Kent, managing director, MSI Gaby Bornheim, president, German Shipowners’ Association Captain Raja Subramaniam, chief executive, Fleet Management Martina Bozadzhieva, managing director macro forecasting, Oxford Economics

Does shipping get a good deal when it comes to finance? 22.04.2026 31min

This episode is brought to you by Wirana Shipping DOES shipping get a good deal when it comes to ship finance? Is Europe still remotely important anymore as a finance hub? Or has the centre of gravity moved eastwards? And how on earth do you make decisions about multidecade financing with so much uncertainty around decarbonisation regulation? That’s just a taste of the questions we tackle this week, as we try to answer as many as possible surrounding ship finance in 30 minutes. Joining senior reporter Joshua Minchin, and law and insurance editor David Osler on this week’s episode are: Guillaume Branco, managing director – asset-based finance, Eurazeo Nitin Mathur, managing director – commercial shipping, Al Seer Marine Tien Tai, partner, HFW

Making reality meet the requirements 15.04.2026 20min

JAN-ERIK Räsänen has been on a personal journey that has led him to some new understandings about how to power both future and existing ships towards decarbonisation, he tells listeners to this podcast. He is chief technology officer of the Finnish ship design and engineering company Foreship, which has been part of the consulting engineering inspection and certification group RINA since June 2025. Foreship’s specialism is the passengership sector, but his views are applicable to all ship types and to both newbuildings and existing ships. Alongside all the alternative fuels now being developed, such as biofuels, e-fuels and even nuclear power, he ranks batteries as a significant technology to help fulfil global and regional decarbonisation goals. It is a view that he attributes to a conversion experience, thanks to a chance meeting in 2011 with the CTO of a battery company during a ship inspection in Vancouver. At the time, he was sceptical that batteries were viable for ships. “My immediate thoughts were that this guy must be crazy,” he recalls. But that meeting was soon followed by a contract to explore whether two ferries could operate solely on batteries, which led to the largest battery retrofits ever done on ferries at that time. With installed battery capacity across the global fleet now standing at about 1,900 MWh, he concedes that “my first impressions of batteries on board ships were completely wrong” and says in this podcast that he now has a mantra: “electrify what can be electrified”. He provides details in the podcast of a number of battery-related passengership “firsts” with which Foreship has since been involved, including the largest battery conversion on a cruiseship and a ferry conversion that features both NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) and LFP (lithium-iron phosphate) batteries on board. Installations such as these allow the generating engines to run at their optimal output, increasing efficiency compared with non-battery power plants, he says. He acknowledges that a variety of solutions will be needed for all ship types and sizes to meet the emissions — and therefore efficiency — goals implied by the IMO and other regulations and ambitions, so he maintains what he calls an open-minded approach to technology choices. For example, as well as his enthusiasm for batteries, he says in the podcast how alternative fuels can help align reality and requirements, but only if they are green fuels, such as bio-methanol, e-methanol or e-diesel. He is less keen on ammonia, especially for passengerships, because of safety concerns. He also discusses LNG — which is a significant fuel in the passenger sector — but is concerned about its associated methane slip, especially at low loads, which brings him back to his core message: “the easiest way to reduce the methane slip from an engine is to install batteries” so that they can operate at their optimum load.

How do you transit through the Strait of Hormuz? 14.04.2026 13min

How do you actually transit through the Strait of Hormuz at the moment? Are masters worried when they are making the trip? Is it organised or chaotic? Chief executive of the Indian Shipowners’ Association Anil Devli revealed what he has heard from masters that have made the trip at our India Outlook held in Mumbai last week. Chaired by Lloyd’s List’s senior reporter Matthew Rajendra, the panel discussed the procedure involved in making the trip, the plight of seafarers trapped in the Middle East Gulf and the wider impact that the crisis might have on Indian trade and maritime strategy in the longer term. Joining Matthew on this week’s episode are: Anil Devli, chief executive, Indian Shipowners’ Association P. K Mishra, managing director, Indian Register of Shipping Kiran Prasad Susarla, national head, YES Bank

Decarbonisation is a significant factor in commercial decision-making 01.04.2026 14min

Discussion about decarbonisation have moved from technical departments within shipping companies into their commercial and financial teams, the president and chief operating officer of Veson Nautical, Sean Riley, says in this Lloyd’s List podcast. While there is uncertainty around the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework, regional requirements — especially those being implemented by the EU — provide a certainty that cannot be ignored. The continuously evolving and expanding nature of regulations in shipping means that decarbonisation is now “both a commercial and operational reality”, he says. Speaking in early March, Riley reflected on the first year of the EU’s decarbonisation scheme, the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, which ended on January 31. By the end of March, shipping companies will have heard from their verifier about the compliance status of each of their ships based on that first year’s data and those results might lead to “some interesting decision-making challenges or dilemmas”, he says. In the podcast, Riley explains why he views FuelEU in particular as an especially impactful regulation to ship operations. He says its “choice driven” options have both positive and negative implications for shipowners and operators, while adding a level of complexity that must be addressed by companies’ systems and processes. He anticipates that the outcome will see companies shift their focus away from strict compliance towards optimising the financial benefits of compliance, creating a trading strategy based around FuelEU-related decision-making. However, Riley also emphasises that it’s ultimately not about optimising for any one regulation in particular, but rather proactively building decarbonisation into daily decisions in a way that leaves room for inevitable change. He explains in the podcast why this commercial response to a change in the regulatory landscape is different from previous environment-inspired changes, such as the sulphur limits imposed on fuel. He contrasts how the impact of low-sulphur fuel was mainly restricted to operating costs, while decarbonisation requirements today are reaching further, across fixing, operating and trading strategies. The flexibility around how to comply provides the industry choice but has also resulted in a lack of clarity about setting commercial priorities and knowing exactly what conditions to optimise for. Instead, these will vary depending on a ship’s location, so “you’ve got to invest in systems and processes that can absorb change easily”, he says. Riley considers whether some industry sectors are responding differently from others and refers to the potential of AI to resolve some of the uncertainties companies face. “There will certainly be more regulations,” he says, and emphasises: “for our clients, pretending that this is not a commercial reality is no longer an option”.

Is freedom of navigation under threat? Part II 30.03.2026 27min

This episode of the Lloyd’s List Podcast is brought to you by Veson. Find out more at www.veson.com/decarb-guide THE accusations of piracy and unlawful interference with freedom of navigation have been coming thick and fast for a while now, but tactics that generate accusations of piracy one day can’t simply be rebranded as “law enforcement” or “counter-narcoterrorism” the next. The fact that governments are currently accusing each other of undermining the basic principle of freedom of navigation is arguably good news. This cornerstone of international law, guaranteeing ships of all nations can sail, trade, and operate freely on the high seas and through international straits, as enshrined in UNCLOS, is under threat. But if governments are still pointing fingers, then there is, at least, a legal principle still in play to defend. The immediate geopolitical and security threats to maritime trade are self-evident right now from the Strait of Hormuz to the Baltic, to the South China Sea. But the long-term consequences of eroding the rights of innocent passage carry a potentially bigger risk to the global economy. Have these consequences been properly thought through by those that threaten to upend the principle of freedom of navigation? Joining Richard on the podcast are: Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security, The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Kristina Siig, professor of maritime law and law of the Sea, University of Southern Denmark Charlie Brown, senior analyst, United Against Nuclear Iran Robert Beckman, emeritus professor, ocean law and policy programme, National University of Singapore Ian Ralby, founder, IR Consilium

Biofuels will not help shipping reach its net zero emissions goal 25.03.2026 20min

SHORTLY before IMO’s 21st Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships and its 84th Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting, two leading environmental researchers warn that those meetings’ expected focus on biofuels will not solve shipping’s carbon emissions problems. As Comer explains, decisions on which fuels will qualify under any IMO climate policy are being developed now, along with their corresponding lifecycle assessment guidelines. Any mistake in drafting those guidelines will take decades to fix, he predicts but, as they stand, they do not account for the emissions that correspond to the ‘indirect land use change’ emissions linked to biofuel production, he says. Menezes underlines in the podcast the importance of considering the social and economic sustainability aspects of biofuels and explains why she believes that, if IMO ignores these impacts of biofuels, “we risk a transition that might look green on paper, but creates significant negative impacts on health, pollution and local economies”. Both speakers explain that biofuel might appear attractive to regulators because of its cost, but they say that, if shipping adopts biofuel, global demand for it will triple by 2035, leading to significant impacts on other food prices and availability and to environmental damage caused as more land is turned over to its production. In their podcast, they also raise a range of other concerns; for example, making biofuels from waste products might perversely encourage fraud and the creation of more waste, Menezes says. She is also concerned about biomethane, which poses the same climate risks as its conventional counterpart as a result of methane slip — which is 80 times more potent than CO2. To produce biofuels in a sustainable way requires “really strong protections”, Comer says, for example to prevent fraud during its production and to protect human rights, water quality and other environmental aspects. Such models already exist, he says, citing the International Civil Aviation Organization and the FuelEU Maritime regulation. He goes on to say that e-fuels made using green hydrogen are the best zero-carbon fuels, rather than biofuels. And Menezes reminds listeners that net zero fuels are not the only way to reduce shipping’s emissions. The starting point, she says, should be “the prioritisation of speed reduction and wind propulsion. These are some of the most effective tools we have”.