krogragg

Category: Regulatory

  • BIMCO drafting standard clause to address US tariff measures

    BIMCO drafting standard clause to address US tariff measures The world’s largest shipping association, BIMCO, has begun drafting a standard clause to address legal and contractual uncertainties stemming from recent US trade policy developments. The move follows a notice of actions by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to impose new fees on vessels calling…

  • Can global legislation keep up with the ships of the future?

    Can global legislation keep up with the ships of the future? In the second instalment from Ship Concept 2035, our brand new magazine, Splash identifies where regulators are enforcing change and where they are not. In global shipping, we often talk about regulation as a good thing – and rightly so. Rules are meant to…

  • Appeals court temporarily reinstates Trump tariffs

    Appeals court temporarily reinstates Trump tariffs A federal appeals court has reinstated one of president Donald Trump’s broadest tariff actions, just one day after the US Court of International Trade ruled the move unconstitutional and blocked its implementation—triggering renewed uncertainty across global shipping and supply chains. On Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the…

  • Case made for ammonia in the wake of IMO’s Net Zero Framework

    Case made for ammonia in the wake of IMO’s Net Zero Framework A new study from the UCL Energy Institute’s Shipping and Oceans Research Group and UMAS, commissioned by the Global Maritime Forum, concludes that the International Maritime Organization’s recently agreed Net Zero Framework (NZF) sends a strong market signal favouring ammonia dual-fuel ships—particularly from…

  • Federal court blocks Trump’s tariffs

    Federal court blocks Trump’s tariffs In the latest twist in the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump, an American federal court has blocked the president’s sweeping tariffs. The Court of International Trade has ruled that the emergency law invoked by the White House does not give the president unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly…

  • The floating dead: oversight lags behind the rise of zombie vessels

    The floating dead: oversight lags behind the rise of zombie vessels Maritime identity laundering and the rise of so-called zombie vessels have evolved from a niche tactic into a “systemic enabler of large-scale sanctions evasion” with global authorities unable to keep up, according to a new report from Kpler, a maritime analytics platform. “Zombie vessels…

  • UK slaps sanctions on British ship finance veteran over shadow fleet deals

    UK slaps sanctions on British ship finance veteran over shadow fleet deals The UK has imposed sanctions on a British ship finance veteran for allegedly buying tankers for Russia’s shadow fleet. John Ormerod was blacklisted on Tuesday alongside two Russian captains, 18 shadow fleet vessels and 46 financial institutions in the latest wave of British…

  • How to profit from FuelEU Maritime

    How to profit from FuelEU Maritime As the FuelEU Maritime regulation enters into force, the shipping industry may be looking at a surprising upside. Instead of acting solely as a cost driver, the regulation could create a net financial gain, potentially around €250m ($280m), according to a recent analysis by maritime data and compliance firm…

  • EU sanctions target nearly 200 Russia-linked ships

    EU sanctions target nearly 200 Russia-linked ships European Union countries have agreed to impose a new raft of sanctions against Russia, including those targeting nearly 200 ships in the so-called shadow fleet used to circumvent restrictions on oil and gas exports. The new round of sanctions, set to be adopted next week, comes as Moscow…

  • US and China agree to slash tariffs

    US and China agree to slash tariffs In a significant curtailment of the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China have agreed to considerably slash tariffs for the next 90 days. As part of the deal reached in Geneva over the weekend, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said both countries…

  • Dry bulk’s long path towards decarbonisation

    Dry bulk’s long path towards decarbonisation Low-hanging fruit and the ramifications of what was agreed at last month’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) gathering at the International Maritime Organization formed much of the discussion during the Dry Decarbonisation panel moderated by Lloyd’s Register’s Nikos Kakalis at last week’s Geneva Dry summit.  Massimo Giovannini, managing partner…

  • UK readies sanctions on another 100 Russian-linked tankers

    UK readies sanctions on another 100 Russian-linked tankers The UK is set to impose a new wave of sanctions against the Russian oil trade, targeting up to 100 more ships. The biggest sanctions package against Russia’s shadow fleet should bring the total number of oil tankers blacklisted by the UK to more than 230. Announcing…

  • The inconvenient truth about shipping’s decarbonisation

    The inconvenient truth about shipping’s decarbonisation Pierre Aury reflects on MEPC 83 and mankind’s failure to rein in CO2 emissions. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) just held the 83rd session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). Before we deal with the situation of the shipping industry, emissions-wise, it is useful to revisit the recent…

  • Mediterranean ECA starts

    Mediterranean ECA starts Today sees the Mediterranean Sea officially become an emission control area (ECA) for sulphur oxides (SOx). All vessels operating in the region must now comply with stricter environmental standards whereby they either use maximum 0.10% sulphur content in fuel, or use approved exhaust gas cleaning systems also known as scrubbers. In contrast…

  • US issues further sanctions against Iran

    US issues further sanctions against Iran Yesterday, the US imposed sanctions on seven entities engaged in Iranian petroleum products and petrochemical products trade as well as identifying two vessels as blocked property.  The tankers Eloise and Olia managed by Vroom Marine Venture were the ones picked up for the latest sanctions as the US continues…

  • US sanctions three tankers over ties to the Houthis

    US sanctions three tankers over ties to the Houthis The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted three vessels and their owners for allegedly providing support to the Houthis.  Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading facilitated the delivery of LPG to the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa using the…

  • All ships passing through European waters must now provide proof of insurance

    All ships passing through European waters must now provide proof of insurance The European Commission has adopted another key measure to crackdown on the so-called shadow fleet passing through its waters. The amendment to the Vessel Monitoring Directive now requires all vessels, including those merely passing through European Union waters without entering an EU port,…

  • ZIM ordered to pay Samsung $3.7m for US demurrage violations

    ZIM ordered to pay Samsung $3.7m for US demurrage violations Israeli carrier ZIM has been ordered to pay about $3.7m to Samsung Electronics America (SEA) for violating the US Shipping Act. The American affiliate of the Korean manufacturing giant filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in October 2022, claiming Zim engaged in…

  • World’s second-largest owner opens Washington office

    World’s second-largest owner opens Washington office In a sign of the times, Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), the world’s second-largest shipowner, will open a new office in Washington, DC. “As global challenges continue to evolve-ranging from geopolitical uncertainties and stricter environmental regulations to increasingly intricate supply chains-strengthening cooperation with governments and international organizations has become…

  • US unveils much-anticipated port call fees

    US unveils much-anticipated port call fees The United States will impose fees on Chinese-built ships calling at American ports—regardless of ownership, in a ruling that the global shipping community has been waiting to hear about for months. The glimmer of good news for non-Chinese owners is that the final measure is less severe than the…

  • Trump administration chases substandard flags in bid to thwart Iran’s shadow fleet

    Trump administration chases substandard flags in bid to thwart Iran’s shadow fleet The latest American sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil industry make specific warnings to shipping about the use of substandard shipping. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) yesterday designated a China-based independent teapot refinery, Shandong Shengxing Chemical, for its…

  • 54 ships abandoned so far this year

    54 ships abandoned so far this year The scourge of crew abandonment is proving very hard for global administrators to rein in. A total of 54 ships and their crews have been abandoned so far this year, according to data carried by the International Labour Organization (ILO), putting 2025 potentially on track to be the…

  • Contentious late night IMO meeting ends in stalemate

    Contentious late night IMO meeting ends in stalemate Splash has obtained the contentious draft text regarding how shipping will pay for its green transition, with news that a flat levy is very much off the agenda at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). A draft legal text on a package of regulations for the implementation of…

  • World’s largest ECA to stretch from Portugal to Greenland

    World’s largest ECA to stretch from Portugal to Greenland At this week’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting held at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the world’s biggest emission control area (ECA) has been agreed upon.  The new Northeast Atlantic ECA, due by 2027, stretches along coastlines from Portugal to Greenland (see map below), joining…

  • Uptick in blank sailings as US and China trade tariff blows

    Uptick in blank sailings as US and China trade tariff blows Global supply chain managers are having to contend with more blanked container sailings as the world’s top two economies show no sign of giving ground in an escalating trade war. China responded today to US president Donald Trump’s cumulative 145% tariffs, placing 125% tariffs…

  • US targets UAE-based Indian in latest Iranian sanctions

    US targets UAE-based Indian in latest Iranian sanctions The Trump administration’s so-called maximum pressure campaign on Iran has turned its attention to Jugwinder Singh Brar, an Indian national based in the United Arab Emirates, who owns the companies Prime Tankers and Glory International. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)…

  • North Korean iron ore shipments spark sanctions

    North Korean iron ore shipments spark sanctions The government of South Korea has imposed sanctions on a non-flagged vessel the country seized for illegally transporting iron ore produced in North Korea. Sanctions were also imposed on two Chinese nationals, Sun Zhengzhe and Sun Feng, who operated the ship and Russian company LLC Consul DV, which…

  • Tariffs on China set to dramatically alter US trade flows

    Tariffs on China set to dramatically alter US trade flows Supply chain planners are busy booking shipments from non-Chinese destinations into the US today following last night’s tariff surrender by Donald Trump, the American president.  Trump announced a 90-day pause for countries hit by higher US tariffs amid financial turmoil and a weakening dollar in…

  • Trump leaves this week’s green talks at IMO up in smoke

    Trump leaves this week’s green talks at IMO up in smoke Donald Trump has done to the International Maritime Organization what he did to the Paris Agreement, in choosing to distance the US this week from ongoing talks over a global carbon levy on shipping. The most eye-catching scene from the ongoing 83rd gathering of…

  • How Trump’s new economic order risks sinking green shipping

    How Trump’s new economic order risks sinking green shipping Matt Kenney, the head of Laureate Communications, warns readers on how Trump’s economic policies could sideswipe the most ambitious maritime transformation in a generation. Let’s begin with a truth so plain it should not require reiteration: President Trump’s tariff agenda is not a tantrum, nor a…

  • Liners draw up defensive measures in their armoury to fight Trump’s tariff war

    Liners draw up defensive measures in their armoury to fight Trump’s tariff war Global container growth is set to head into a hard reverse this year on the back of the tariff war initiated by Donald Trump, the American president, which is already seeing noticeable cargo booking cancellations in Asia.  In a post on his…

  • China slaps retaliatory tariffs on all US goods

    China slaps retaliatory tariffs on all US goods After US president Donald Trump imposed tariffs on countries across the world earlier this week, it did not take much time for Beijing to return the favour. The Chinese authorities said on Friday that the country would impose 34% tariffs on all imports from the US starting…

  • Shipping and scenario planning

    Shipping and scenario planning How can you plan for the future when the present is so uncertain, writes Pierre Aury? Scenario planning involves looking at different scenarios with associated assumptions and events. These scenarios are not forecasts but views of how the future could unfold. These scenarios only need to be plausible. The idea is…

  • Car carriers in retreat as Trump unveils 25% auto tariffs

    Car carriers in retreat as Trump unveils 25% auto tariffs The US administration confirmed yesterday that it will go forward with the implementation of a 25% tariff on all foreign-built cars, something that is expected to add greater pressure to car carrier rates which have been coming off multi-year highs in recent months. US president…

  • Trump’s tariff war only directly impacting 1.5% of global seaborne trade volumes for now

    Trump’s tariff war only directly impacting 1.5% of global seaborne trade volumes for now Despite their high profile, US trade tariffs – and retaliatory actions – are to date impacting directly only 1.5% of global seaborne trade volumes, according to the latest data from Clarksons Research, which notes that in the previous 2018-19 trade war…

  • $3.5m: How much this COSCO ship might be charged when calling at a US port

    $3.5m: How much this COSCO ship might be charged when calling at a US port Public comments continue to fly into the US Trade Representative (USTR) ahead of Monday’s hearing into controversial plans to tax Chinese-built tonnage calling at US ports.  In the more than 150 submissions sent in, a considerable number have hit out…

  • Flags of questionable quality grow market share

    Flags of questionable quality grow market share Over 5,000 vessels  – equivalent to 14.5% of the global merchant fleet – operate under registries with less than 10% ratification of International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organization conventions, increasing exposure to enforcement actions, according to new data from analytics firm Kpler. “Flag risks are increasingly…

  • Chinese owners and yards come out fighting in US trade dispute

    Chinese owners and yards come out fighting in US trade dispute Both the China Shipowners’ Association (CSA) and the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) have left public comments criticising the US Trade Representative’s proposals to charge extra for fleets with Chinese-built tonnage calling at American ports, arguably the biggest shock policy to…

  • Tons down, miles up

    Tons down, miles up Andrew Craig-Bennett provides readers with an overview of what tariffs mean for seaborne trades. A problem with trying to write about the possible effects of tariffs on the merchant shipping business is that the people who want to stick tariffs on stuff keep changing their minds. However, there are some broad…

  • A blank spot in cadet training?

    A blank spot in cadet training? Andrew Craig-Bennett calls for new requirements before going to sea. The need to recruit cadets is constant and many, but certainly not all, ship managers and ship owners have cadet recruitment and training programmes. I hear rather often from friends at sea that they are concerned about the education…

  • Andrew Craig-Bennett on globalisation

    Andrew Craig-Bennett on globalisation The editor (whom God preserve!) is of the opinion that CK Hutchison’s sale of their ports and terminals operation to a consortium of BlackRock and MSC marks the end of globalisation as an idea which rules our thinking on trade in general and trade by sea in particular, and that the…

  • Trump’s trade war steps up a gear

    Trump’s trade war steps up a gear US president Donald Trump’s new round of tariffs against his country’s top three trading partners has sparked retaliatory action, launching new trade conflicts. On Tuesday, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports, as well as a 20% duty on Chinese goods. China responded in kind, imposing…

  • Shipping central to EU’s new Clean Industrial Deal

    Shipping central to EU’s new Clean Industrial Deal The European Union has unveiled its Clean Industrial Deal that will prioritise the domestic production of renewable fuels for aviation and shipping, among a host of measures worth more than EUR100bn ($105m) designed to green many industry sectors. “The EU needs to secure access to such materials…

  • Pertamina International Shipping boss arrested over alleged oil import scheme

    Pertamina International Shipping boss arrested over alleged oil import scheme Pertamina International Shipping chief executive Yoki Firnandi has been arrested in connection with an alleged $12bn corruption scandal involving the procurement of crude oil and oil products. Indonesia’s Attorney-General’s Office named Yoki as one of seven suspects, four of whom were officials of Pertamina subsidiaries.…

  • Container sector set to take biggest hit from US plans to charge Chinese-built vessels

    Container sector set to take biggest hit from US plans to charge Chinese-built vessels Shipping is reeling from what could be the most seismic decision to effect the industry yet in the opening weeks of Donald Trump’s second term in office. The American president will make a decision, likely in around a month’s time, on…

  • UK blacklists 40 shadow fleet ships

    UK blacklists 40 shadow fleet ships The UK is imposing a new wave of sanctions against the Russian oil trade, targeting an additional 40 ships. The biggest sanctions package against Russia’s shadow fleet brings the total number of oil tankers sanctioned by the UK to 133—more than any other European nation. Publishing details of the…

  • Whitewashing the greenwashing

    Whitewashing the greenwashing Rob Mortimer, managing director of fuel specialist Fuelre4m, takes a challenging look at the outcomes from last week’s IMO Intersessional Working Group on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships My biggest takeaways from the recent convening of 107 parties, representing 97% of the world’s shipping tonnage are: We’re committed to cutting…

  • More than 70 ships set to be added to EU sanctions list

    More than 70 ships set to be added to EU sanctions list European Union countries have agreed to impose a new raft of sanctions against Russia, including those targeting the so-called shadow fleet used to circumvent restrictions on oil and gas exports. The wide-ranging 16th package of sanctions is expected to see more than 70…

  • How the IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator could halve shipping’s climate emissions

    How the IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator could halve shipping’s climate emissions Ahead of a big green meeting at the International Maritime Organization next week, John Maggs from the Clean Shipping Coalition writes on how getting a global fuel standard and levy over the line will set us up for the future. The international shipping sector…

  • Countries registering 70% of global tonnage support a carbon levy

    Countries registering 70% of global tonnage support a carbon levy Two new reports led by UCL Energy Institute and Oceans Research Group show what’s at stake at the upcoming International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings and in the crucial period in the run-up to the Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting set for April. The IMO is…

  • ‘We are not a shelter for sanction evasion’: Panama flag

    ‘We are not a shelter for sanction evasion’: Panama flag Facing pressure from Washington, the Panama Maritime Authority, which looks after the world’s second largest ship registry, has defended its position, insisting it is deflagging many sanctioned vessels.  US officials have accused Panama of not taking action to help enforce sanctions on vessels and shipowners…

  • Steel and aluminium up next in Trump’s tariff campaign

    Steel and aluminium up next in Trump’s tariff campaign China’s retaliatory tariffs on some American goods came into effect on Monday, while Donald Trump, the American president, vowed yesterday to impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into the US, with a full announcement to come today. “Any steel coming into the…

  • UN reviews regulation as seafarers revealed to work 74% above global average

    UN reviews regulation as seafarers revealed to work 74% above global average Following exhaustive research showing how jobs onboard are still too 24/7, the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) will look to tighten up the language surrounding work/rest regulations at sea at a Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), scheduled to…

  • Fastest growing flag data brings shadow fleet into light

    Fastest growing flag data brings shadow fleet into light San Marino, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Comoro Islands, Guinea Bissau and most notably Guinea are the flag states that stand out for their extraordinary fleet growth in the latest data compiled in Clarksons Research’s World Fleet Monitor, statistics that highlight the whack-a-mole game authorities in the West…

  • New report highlights shipping’s weak position within the global energy transition

    New report highlights shipping’s weak position within the global energy transition A new report from UCL’s Energy Institute Shipping and Oceans Research Group assesses the financial risks to the shipping industry from stranded assets due to stricter greenhouse gas regulations, possibly due for adoption at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) this year, in combination with…

  • Number of falsely flagged ships doubles in the space of 22 months

    Number of falsely flagged ships doubles in the space of 22 months The UK is leading a bid to stamp out falsely flagged ships at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).  In a submission to the IMO’s legal committee, backed by 21 other countries, the UK has counted that the number of falsely flagged vessels has…

  • Coalition grows to launch GHG levy on shipping

    Coalition grows to launch GHG levy on shipping A levy on greenhouse gas emissions could be one of the single largest shipping news items of the year with a growing coalition now aiming to force this much-discussed environmental measure through when member states gather at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April for the 83rd…

  • COSCO targeted by the Pentagon over alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army

    COSCO targeted by the Pentagon over alleged ties to the People’s Liberation Army COSCO, the world’s largest shipping company, is among a host of Chinese shipping-related names added to a list of companies the US Department of Defense views as having links to the People’s Liberation Army. While being on the Pentagon’s blacklist carries no…

  • Steering through the challenges of maritime autonomy

    Steering through the challenges of maritime autonomy Professor John McDermid, director of the Centre for Assuring Autonomy, a partnership between the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the University of York, kicks off 2025’s Contributions section. Autonomous systems can improve the maritime industry in a number of ways. For instance, it can contribute to the industry’s decarbonisation…

  • Thomas Kazakos appointed ICS secretary general

    Thomas Kazakos appointed ICS secretary general The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has appointed Thomas Kazakos as its next secretary general. The director general of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber since 1995 will replace Guy Platten, who will be stepping down at shipping’s top lobby group in June next year after holding the position for nearly…

  • Insurance checks instituted for Russian shadow fleet passing through the Baltic

    Insurance checks instituted for Russian shadow fleet passing through the Baltic A number of European nations have followed the lead taken by the UK in demanding insurance details from Russian-linked ships passing through their waters, something that is expected to put pressure on Russia’s exports through the Baltic.  The UK started this crackdown in October,…

  • Finland forces ships to discharge wastewater in port

    Finland forces ships to discharge wastewater in port The Finnish parliament has passed legislation banning cargo ships from discharging wastewater in the country’s coastal waters. The law will become effective next July.  “This is a huge achievement. Major environmental victories are rare, but this decision is truly world-class. No other country has enacted such ambitious…

  • Premier Alliance launch delayed as US demands more details

    Premier Alliance launch delayed as US demands more details The Premier Alliance, a new Asian liner grouping, had planned to start selling bookings later this week, something that will now likely have to be put on hold following intervention from the US. The Premier Alliance is made up of members of the soon-to-disappear THE Alliance,…

  • Exhaustive three-year study exposes the lie about work/rest hours at sea

    Exhaustive three-year study exposes the lie about work/rest hours at sea A three-year exhaustive study has shown the structures supporting the implementation of work/rest regulations at sea are being broken with close to two-thirds of seafarers adjusting their work/rest records. Under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC), a seafarer has the right to regulated hours…

  • FuelEU Maritime’s Impact on the specialised market

    FuelEU Maritime’s Impact on the specialised market Sudheer Vijapurapu, managing director of New Asia Shipbrokers and Risto Kariranta, CEO of the Ahti Pool, write for Splash today on January 1’s big new regional regulation hitting shipping. The demand dynamics for specialised products are distinct from those of other shipping sectors. Most causes are shared with…

  • Call to create new UN body to focus on maritime security

    Call to create new UN body to focus on maritime security A new 77-page report from the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) has suggested the UN needs a whole new body to address growing maritime security concerns around the world.  The report suggests the UN lacks an institutional structure to address maritime security…