From the dockers’ tanner strike of 1889 to the Pentonville Five dispute of 1972, stoppages on the waterfront have literally changed the course of British history. Let them stay in the history books

The container segment has been in a mess for the past two years, and an additional one-week hiccup in August may look like no big deal. But there are broader issues at stake

Do it because you clients want it and because your bankers demand it. And most of all, because it’s the right thing to do

Agreement to resume shipments is good news from a commercial standpoint, and even better news for the tens of millions who are one subsidised loaf away from an empty stomach

Many will remember the third world debt crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. We hope that what faces Sri Lanka next will be easier on its population than what came next in Argentina

In a multipolar world, the rest don’t have to follow the demands of the west. Shipping is a case in point

There are difficult conversations to be had in shipping, but having them behind closed doors in order to avoid scrutiny is a retrograde step. It is also at odds with the demands of wider society and their customers

Russia’s isolation has redrawn maritime trade lanes, but China’s coronavirus-fuelled supply chain crunch offers a glimpse of what any potential decoupling may bring in the future. If there is a single lesson of the past few years it is that reliance on a single source of supplies is never a good idea

Tanker recovery or decarbonisation play? You pays your money and you takes your choice

Whether a slimmed-down IG would meet the textbook definition of oligopoly is a matter of taste, but six entities with 90% of a market between them is never a good look

While Greece, Cyprus and Malta seek to have EU sanctions on the lifting of Russian crude watered down, European solidarity with Ukraine is more important than making money from shipping

Lawmakers would be within their rights to order an end to insurance for vessels lifting Russian crude. But if they want to turn off the taps, they should just come out and say so

China’s International Maritime Sustainability Funding & Reward scheme is low on detail and lower in ambition. But at least it’s a plan

The recent flurry of green pledges shows work is being done behind the scenes. But as we move from ideas to action, the devil is in the detail

The ongoing scrap between the Fredriksens and Saverys families may make the path of the big merger between Frontline and Euronav announced this week far from smooth 

This was more spin than substance, designed to placate public and media outrage while doing little to address the root causes at work

The International Maritime Organization should continue to use its best endeavours to find a safe way out for ships stuck in the conflict zone, and the industry should throw its full weight behind that outcome

DP World boasts of being a ‘Great Place to Work’; the international shipping community must carefully consider whether this is the kind of workplace champion it wants to embrace

Trade relations may soon come to resemble those of the Cold War we all thought we had left behind long ago. The last time the world can remember similar was when Lennon and McCartney were in vogue

Like other globalised industries, shipping is faced with tough choices as a result of Putin’s war, in which considerations of the bottom line must be tempered by morality

The west absolutely should show solidarity with Ukraine. But such is our dependence on seaborne Russian energy and commodities that there are limitations to even symbolic support

It is almost unimaginable that a P&I club would willing kiss goodbye to one of the largest marine insurance accounts on the planet. But — incredibly — that’s what West of England has done with MSC, not least because of the latter’s loss record

The extraordinary profits that container lines are reporting for 2021 will be needed as the industry prepares to decarbonise, but cargo interests should not expect a return to the days of rock-bottom freight rates

They say imitation the sincerest form of flattery. But Fredriksen-owned tanker operator Frontline may think otherwise

If war breaks out between Russia and its neighbour, our industry will find itself caught up in the crossfire, hopefully of the metaphorical rather than literal variety

The benefits of regulatory even-handedness should be apparent to all. But keeping things that way entails good behaviour — or at least not egregiously bad behaviour — on the part of the regulated

Recognition from Brussels — still far from certain — that charterers should pay for their emissions is a start. But it is still up to owners to make the big calls on investing in greener ships. They must not take this week’s news as permission to do nothing

Being the world’s number one containership operator is not like being the world’s number one tennis player. That said, sheer size does come with the accompanying benefits that are usually listed together under the general heading of economies of scale and there are bankable advantages in being big

The shipping and logistics industries have worked so well for so long that politicians and public have had little real reason to notice them in recent decades. And despite recent minor turbulence, that will continue to be largely the case

Anyone hoping for a wind of change to sweep in from Glasgow and spur the IMO to dispense with 71 years of history and procedure, sweep aside national differences and pull a neat solution to climate change out of its hat obviously doesn’t understand how the IMO works

You pretty much have to be a boomer to remember significant inflation. But rising prices are back, and that goes for marine insurance too

The Swedish climate activist’s suggestions about where to stick climate change are clearly anatomically unfeasible. But five days of ‘blah, blah, blah’ at the COP26 summit, there are small and welcome signs of progress