The shipping industry entered Posidonia week confronting a new maritime world order. In a keynote address that set the tone for the day's debate for the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum, Steve Gordon, Managing Director, Clarksons Research, presented ten data points that laid bare both the extraordinary pressures and the remarkable resilience defining global shipping.

The world fleet and its order book now stand at a combined value of $2.4 trillion — a measure of the industry's sheer scale — yet that capital is being deployed against a backdrop of deepening geopolitical stress. Transits through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen by 95%, with an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil lost during the ongoing crisis; some 7 million barrels per day and 2% of the global fleet by tonnage remain trapped inside the Gulf, including 8% of the world's VLCC fleet and 3% of its VLGC fleet. Meanwhile, due to the domino of geopolitical conflicts from Ukraine, Houthi and Iran war disruptions, the average distance of seaborne trade has grown by 10% since 2019 — a structural shift that continues to absorb tonnage and reshape trade geography.

Yet the industry's commercial indicators tell a story of striking robustness. The ClarkSea Index has recorded its strongest start to a year on record, with VLGC and crude tanker rates touching $40,000 per day and container markets performing strongly alongside. The global order book stands at 21% of the existing fleet, with a record 60 million CGT in shipyard deliveries expected in 2027. The age profile of the fleet is sharpening as a strategic concern — 41% of vessels are now fifteen years or older — while shipping's contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, at 2% annually, remains a contentious issue with regards to the size of the decarbonisation challenge lying ahead.

For Greece, the stakes are particularly high: Greek owners control 21% of the global bulker, tanker and gas fleet, making the country's shipowners among the most consequential actors in the decisions that will define the industry's next decade.

The TradeWinds Shipowners Forum Greece opened Posidonia's main week conference programme with a bold examination of how the global shipping industry is managing risk in an era of geopolitical fragmentation, economic uncertainty and intensifying regulatory pressure.

Held under the theme "Resilience in the Face of Disruption", the forum brought together senior executives from the world's leading shipowning companies, financial institutions and industry bodies to chart a course through one of the most volatile periods in modern maritime history.

In a wide-ranging and at times pointed exchange, senior industry leaders explored how operators are repositioning their businesses, safeguarding asset values and adapting to rapidly shifting trade patterns in an era of sanctions risk, dark fleet proliferation and superpower rivalry.

“Shipowners are adaptable and flexible depending on market conditions and circumstances. Ultimately money talks and shipping doesn’t need to take sides on various differences between states, such as the US-China tariffs debacle,” said Paul Pathy, President, BIMCO & CEO, Fednav.

Charis Plakantonaki, Chief Strategy Officer, Star Bulk Carriers said that geopolitics have redefined the entire dry bulk market: “For example the US-China situation shifted China’s focus from the US to Brazil. The ongoing Persian Gulf crisis has also hit us as hundreds of vessels are trapped either side of the Hormuz Strait. One of our nine vessels trapped in the region was recently damaged by an attack and the Red Sea instability is still a cause of concern. Overall however, supply and demand for bulker carriers ontinue to be strong and the market fundamentals are solid. However, if we end up having a prolonged crisis an economic downturn will be inevitable.”

Costas Delaportas, President & CEO, DryDel Shipping agrees: “If the crisis lasts longer the market will suffer as cargo flows will be reduced due to lower demand. In the long term, we should be prepared to manage the challenge of fuel shortages for which the current waiting list for delivery is 10-12 days long, a challenge compounded by an estimated reduction in fuel availability of 60%. Shipping is a very complex business and we simply need to wait and see how the crisis evolves.”

James Lewis, Vice President, Global Operations, Cargill Ocean Transportation argued that the biggest challenge is the speed of change which is unlike any other period in modern history. He said: “We haven’t seen change of this scale for the last 20 years. While the world is witnessing tensions between West and East, uncertainty between the two superpowers is concerning. Risk management is the key to building the efficiencies and flexibility required to address the challenges across every facet of our business.”

Rolf Westfal-Larsen Jr, CEO & Chair, Westfal-Larsen Management; INTERTANKO, focused on the threat the dark fleet is pausing to global shipping. “Shipping needs stronger enforcement and state control is required to fix this problem. Currently any corrective measures are ad hoc and follow no visible disciplined manner and if this doesn’t change, impunity for dark fleet operators will increase.”

The forum's second session turned to what has become one of the industry's most contested and consequential debates: the future of maritime decarbonisation. The discussion built on themes aired during the opening ceremony, where disagreement over alternative fuel availability and the readiness of enabling technologies set a candid tone for what followed.

Panellists examined what the continued delay of the IMO Net-Zero Framework means for long-term planning and investor confidence; whether sustainable shipping retains genuine urgency among owners or risks being deprioritised amid commercial pressures; and how lenders and investors are incorporating sustainability criteria into financing decisions at a time of profound uncertainty.

Baroness Charlotte Vere, Group Head Market Development, CORE POWER said that “shipowners have accepted that decarbonisation is coming”. Claire Wright, Managing Director, Hanwha Ocean Europe agreed that the discussion is no longer whether decarbonisation will happen, but rather that the conversation has shifted from talk on energy transition to talk about resilience.

Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO, Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, said that we work in a world where shipowners are willing to get going and try out new fuels and new technologies. “As the IMO and the EU negotiations continue, I am confident that weI’ll get regulation that is fair for all. The cost issue remains though and needs to be taken seriously. For owners it’s important to ask questions to get clarifications. We are enabling now the technologies for when they are really needed in the future when regulations are in place.” Dr Alexandra Ebbinghaus, General Manager Decarbonisation, Marine Sector, Shell believes that LNG is the best solution.

Representing the European shipowners’ voice in the panel, Sotiris Raptis, Secretary General, ECSA said: “We want a clear commitment from the EU that if we have an agreement with the IMO, the points about ETS etc. will be dropped. European shipowners are paying Europe €9 billion annually. Where is this going,” he wondered.

Evangelos Marinakis, Founder and Chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp., shared his views on the geopolitical situation during a fireside panel session towards the end of the TradeWinds conference. He stated that none of his vessels would attempt crossing the Strait of Hormuz, citing crew safety as the overriding concern, but added: "Even if we had to pay a passage fee, it would be far better than having the Strait closed."

On European sanctions against Russian oil, Marinakis was equally direct, arguing that partial sanctions are counterproductive. "Indians and Chinese are buying drastically discounted Russian oil and we Europeans are paying sky-high prices," he said. In his view, if sanctions are to be effective they must be total: "They should blockade any shipment from Russia to the rest of the world, because if sanctions apply only partially, that's bad for Europe and the rest of the world that does not trade Russian oil."

Posidonia 2026 continues until Friday with a plethora of conferences, seminars, MoU signings and networking events. Tomorrow, Lloyd’s Register will launch its new ESG Advisory Service and ESG Index, who are presenting the maritime industry’s first ESG benchmarking report. Also, the Maritime Emissions Reduction Centre (MERC), which LR established with 5 leading Greek shipowners, will announce a major new industry programme, combining research, pilot projects and data development to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the existing global shipping fleet.

Posidonia 2026 is organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and the Union of Greek Shipowners, with the support of the Municipality of Piraeus and the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee.

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Artemis Vamvakopoulou, Posidonia Press Officer, EXTROVERT | Business Communications,
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