IT’s been a busy week for the UK Shipping industry. UK warships have been shadowing British oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz since Iran threatened to seize one in response to the impounding of a tanker carrying Iranian oil off Gibraltar on July 4.

Amid an increasingly tense security situation in the region, diplomatic and legal wrangles have flared while the macro political picture becomes ever more complicated by US moves to secure military protection for energy supplies. Caught in the middle, as ever, is the shipping industry, which has been left with few good choices beyond avoiding the area completely. 

Meanwhile, on the domestic front, the great and the good of the UK political establishment have been out in force this week to trumpet the future opportunities of the UK shipping sector in advance of London International Shipping Week in September.

While the launch of clean energy policies and the 2050 maritime strategy (not in itself a new policy) have been welcomed eagerly by most, the current cheerleading operation has all but ignored the looming catastrophe that is Brexit and the fact that more than 30% of the UK fleet has evaporated in the past year alone as a direct result of the problems it will cause shipping.

So with that newsworthy backdrop of topics to discuss, who better to have on the podcast this week than Bob Sanguinetti, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping.

Joining our editor Richard Meade for a second appearance on the podcast, he offers an invaluable insight into the current security issues and sets out a compellingly optimistic take on why Brexit might actually be the greatest opportunity that UK shipping has had in some time to get itself back into the position of industry leadership. 

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